Ohio-based rapper Joseph Edgar Foreman, known popularly by his stage name Afroman, had his home searched by the Adams County Sheriff’s Office police on August 21, 2022. According to the “lawfully-issued search warrant,” the search was carried out under the suspicion that marijuana and other drug paraphernalia would be found on Foreman’s property, as well as kidnapping and trafficking-related activities.
The police raid found nothing incriminating and no charges were filed against the “Because I Got High” hitmaker.
At the time of the botched armed raid, Afroman wasn’t on his property, but his wife was there and took some videos of the search. His security cameras that were installed in his home also caught some portions, which included police officers kicking his door and an officer looking into a lemon pound cake in the rapper’s kitchen encounter.
This footage was then used by Afroman in music videos for his 2022 songs “Lemon Pound Cake” and “Will You Help Me Repair My Door.”
According to Afroman, the songs were born out of his frustration as he lost out on gigs due to the accusation and admitted that he felt powerless at the time.
In an interview with VICE, the rapper said: “I’m a civilian. Then, to make matters worse, I’m a Black civilian in America. The police department was not designed to serve and protect me.”
“I felt powerless yet angry. These guys can destroy my property and I literally couldn’t do nothing about it. The only thing I could do was to take my pen and sing about the injustice,” he continued.
Aside from the music, he also posted some of the clips on his social media accounts, as well as an image of a shirt with the face of Shawn Cooley, aka “Officer Pound Cake,” besides Family Guy’s Peter Griffin.
The law enforcement officers filed a lawsuit against the singer.
According to court documents, the officers—composed of four deputies, two sergeants, and a detective—alleged the “Crazy Rap” singer’s actions were “willful, wanton, malicious, and one with conscious or reckless disregard” for their rights.
It added that the police officers received threats, were ridiculed and embarrassed, and even suffered “mental and emotional distress” and “loss of reputation.” The group accused Afroman of using their personas without authorization and for invasion of privacy.
The officers are also suing Afroman’s record label Hungry Hustler Records, Media Access, and three John Does relative to the case.
Each officer is seeking damages of $25,000 per four counts.
“Defendants (Afroman, Hungry Hustler Records, Media Access, and the three John Does) continue to violate Plaintiffs’ (police officers) rights and subject them to undue ridicule, mental distress, and danger by posting untrue and demeaning depictions of them on social media and elsewhere,” the document read.
“Unless Defendants are restrained, Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable injury to their reputations, their mental health, and their legally protected rights as Defendants continue to willfully and maliciously violate those rights,” it added.
After the Adams County Sheriff brought the lawsuit, Afroman said that he felt “a drop of anger, disbelief, and a little of anxiety, followed by tons of laughter” upon hearing the news. He also told NPR that he is already planning to countersue.
“I want to sue them for stealing my money. I want to sue them for writing ‘kidnapping’ on a warrant and making me suffer financially in my industry because just that accusation makes people raise an eyebrow about you,” he said.
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