Afroman made a brilliant music video from clips of Ohio police's misguided raid of his home
This might be the greatest musical comeback ever.
Afroman ready for the 2024 United States Presidential Election
Joseph Foreman, better known to music fans as rapper Afroman, had his Ohio home raided by Adams County Sheriff's deputies last August. The deputies were acting on a warrant claiming probable cause that drugs, drug paraphernalia, and evidence of drug trafficking and kidnapping would be found on his property.
Afroman wasn't home at the time of the raid, but his wife captured footage of it on her phone.
The deputies found nothing, confiscated over $5,000 worth of Afroman’s hard-earned money, bashed in his front door, broke his front gate and destroyed his home security camera system. No charges were filed after the raid. The money was later returned to the "Because I Got High" rapper.
“They come up here with AR-15, traumatize my kids, destroyed my property, kick in my door, rip up and destroy my camera system,” he said in August, according to Fox 19.
Afroman got hilarious revenge on the sheriff's deputies by turning the security camera footage into music videos for two new songs, “Will You Help Me Repair My Door” and “Lemon Pound Cake.” The videos have nearly 4 million views on YouTube combined.
“Will You Help Me Repair My Door” tells the story of the raid using security footage.
“Lemon Pound Cake” is a song about the officer who eyed the delicious confection in Afroman’s kitchen with his pistol drawn.
Afroman also created merchandise featuring images of the deputies involved in the raid.
The deputies have now filed a lawsuit against Afroman, claiming that he used their personas for commercial purposes without permission. The deputies claim the attention caused them to suffer "embarrassment, ridicule, emotional distress, humiliation, and loss of reputation."
The complaint adds that Afroman “created dozens of videos and images of Plaintiffs’ personas and posted them on various social media platforms including Facebook, YouTube, Snap Chat, TikTok and Instagram.”
The deputies believe they are entitled to all the profits from using their personas, including concert ticket sales, music videos, and all products associated with the Afroman brand, including beer, marijuana and clothing.
So Afroman got his house trashed, his kids traumatized, and his money taken, and now the officers involved want to sue him for appearing in the video recorded on his property? The rapper believes that the deputies' activities were criminal.
“The warrant put the Adams county sheriff in a position to attempt to kill me,” he wrote on Instagram. “After the Adams County Sheriff. Burglarized vandalized and destroyed my property. They became thieves and stole my money. After they stole my money they became criminals. After they became criminals they lost their right of privacy. My house is my property, my video camera films, everything on my property as they begin, stealing my money, disconnecting plus destroying my video camera system, they became my property!”
Afroman’s attorney has released a statement claiming he will countersue.
The attorney statement shared by Afroman shared on Instagram says that they are waiting on public records requests from Adams County. “We are planning to counter-sue for the unlawful raid, money being stolen, and for the undeniable damage this had on my client's family, career and property," it adds.
Afroman is right to feel that he’s the victim in this story. He was wrongly accused of multiple crimes and took retribution by making a video of the raid, which was conducted by public officials. In Ohio, it is legal to film police interactions, and it’s an important right that holds law enforcement accountable.