Notorious C.O.P.; The Inside Story of the Tupac, Biggie, and Jam Master Jay Investigations from NYPD's First "Hip-Hop Cop"

by Derrick Parker with Matt Diehl

• ISBN13: 9780312352516
• ISBN10: 0312352514
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2006-08-08
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary

The stories are as infamous as the artists who tell them. With their boasts of drugs, extortion and even murder, in today's world rappers need rap sheets before they can even hope to have a platinum record. So with all this grandstanding about their criminal nature, why haven't more hip-hop artists been busted for the crimes that they brag of, and why haven't high profile crimes replete with witnesses and media coverage ever been solved? Derrick Parker knows why. A veteran of the NYPD, Parker served as the lead detective in the Rap Intelligence Unit, the first special force devoted to hip-hop crime. For over twenty years he served on the force, covering the hip-hop beat and uncovering the truth behind some of music's most notorious crimes. But in the midst of politics and internal strife, Parker's efforts to close the cases were stymied by the NYPD. Notorious C.O.P. will be the Serpico of the new millennium, exposing the flaws in the NYPD that have rendered them unable to adequately deal with the threat of hip-hop crime. From cops working part-time for the artists they are supposed to be pursuing, to their lack of understanding of gang culture and drug warfare, which has left not only these widely publicized murders unsolved, but has allowed notorious gang leaders to go unprosecuted for decades. Filled with photos, documents, interviews, and anecdotes, Notorious C.O.P. will be the most extensive and authoritative book ever written on hip-hop crime, exposing the facts behind the legends and the foibles of the NYPD that have left them unresolved to this day.

Author Biography

A twenty-year veteran of the NYPD, Derrick Parker headed the first special units force dedicated to the investigation of hip-hop-related crime. Now off the force, Parker serves as the media’s rap-related crime expert, appearing in Rolling Stone, New York magazine, Blender, Vibe, The New York Times, Newsday, and dozens of other magazines and newspapers as well as shows on MTV, Fox, VH1, Unsolved Mysteries, and CourtTV.
 
Matt Diehl is a journalist whose work has appeared in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Washington Post, GQ, VIBE, Spin, The Village Voice, and Blender. He served as the music columnist for Elle magazine for four years and now serves as the music editor-at-large for Interview magazine. His first book was No-Fall Snowboarding.

Table of Contents

NOTE TO THE READER	ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	xi
1. IT'S LIKE THAT, AND THAT'S THE WAY IT IS: The Unsolved Mysteries of Hip-Hop Tragedy	1	(26)
2. THESE ARE THE BREAKS: The Birth of Hip-Hop-and the Hip-Hop Cop	27	(10)
3. WHITE LINES: Undercover in the Boogie-Down at the Dawn of Crack	37	(22)
4. WELCOME TO CROOKLYN: Give Us Twenty-Two Minutes, and We'll Give You a Homicide	59	(26)
5. JACKING THE RAPPER: The "Puff Daddy" Era—Rap Legends Born into Blood	85	(22)
6. HIDE OR DIE: The Rise and Fall of Tupac Shakur	107	(30)
7. READY TO DIE: Inside the Tragic Slaying of the Notorious B.I.G.	137	(26)
8. THROW YA GUNS IN THE AIR, AND BUST 'EM LIKE YOU JUST DON'T CARE: Puff Daddy, the Club New York Shooting—and the Birth of "Rap Intel"	163	(32)
9. KILLER QUEENS: Clocking Hip-Hop on "Giuliani Time"	195	(18)
10. BACK TO BROOKLYN: Losing the "Commission"—The Ones That Got Away	213	(20)
11. WHERE'S THE BEEF?: The Lit' Kim Shooting—And the Birth of the "Binder"	233	(22)
12. EXCEPTIONAL CLEARANCE: Solving the Unsolved Homicide of Jam Master Jay.	255	(18)
EPILOGUE. MURDER INC. WAS THE CASE: The Federal Takedown of Hip-Hop Crime	273	(30)
BIBLIOGRAPHY	303