Today Fabolous and Jim Jones were chopping it up in an interview when police made an impromptu inquiry. Although a routine inquiry, the context in which it was posed gave Jones pause.
Fabolous’s Incident A Symptom of a Greater Ill
It’s not difficult to raise questions of legitimacy when police approach a man of color in our current social climate. However, the question that always arises is, was the response a result of racial profiling? This was the question Jones posed after police approached fabulous as he sat in his car on the side of the road.
Fabolous’s Experience
As an intelligent and responsible driver, Fabolous pulled his car onto the side of the road to have a conversation with Jim Jones. In fact, both were engaged in banter when Fabolous was approached. According to a source, upon seeing Fabolous’s car on the side of the road, the police made their approach. The officer inquired about why the artist had pulled his car off to the side of the road explaining that he had received a report regarding a car with no plates.
The performer’s response,
“I was just pulled over to do this interview on the phone,”
Undoubtedly, this is a logical response; no additional details are necessary.
One would think okay, so the officer pulled him over in doing his due diligence.
However, it is the officer’s other response that raises speculation. The officer also asks Fabolous if he has a witness?
But does one need a witness to pull over to the side of the road to have a conversation?
Post Incident Response
The artist and Jones chuckled before Jones closed the interview following the inquiry.
After the incident, Jones hopped on social media. He raised some valid points. According to Jones,
That’s kinda wild, um, he was sitting in a Rolls Royce. How is the police hating on that man?” This is crazy. Firsthand, we get to see what it feels like to be Black and rich in America. It doesn’t matter if you rich or if you poor, it matter the color.”
The question remains was this a matter of profiling?
Assessing the issue
Unquestionably it does raise a few eyebrows. In this climate, it’s not easy to tell between a routine traffic inquiry and racial profiling. We live in a society constantly on edge, much of it due to imbalances in the scales of justice. So, admittedly, when things such as this occur, it will raise more than a few questions. Unfortunately, until there is real change, it will remain an issue. As Jones so eloquently poses to his viewers in such cases as the one with Fabolous, everyone must view the video and be the judge.
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Written by Renae Richardson
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TDE had some insights on how he felt a Verzus between Fabolous and Andre 3000 would turn out. Interested in what TDE had to say? Then check out FM Hip Hop’s retrospective article.
