Lil Boosie-On the Loosie*

*after finishing an 8 year sentence for "conspiracy to introduce codeine into the Louisiana State Penal system"

Lil Boosie was found not guilt this weekend in Baton Rouge.

I just want to point out a few crucial details in the case.

1.  The guy Lil Boosie may or may not have paid $2,800 to kill Terrance Boyd has a tattoo of an AK-47 on his chest with the phrase "Yo Boosie, Who next?"

2.  The night of the murder Boosie rapped about how his buddy "Marlo" Mike was going to kill a rival of his.

3.  Boosie may or may not have Terrance Boyd killed because he saw a letter that said Boyd was going to "slap him and jack him."

4.  And I'm not saying Boosie is guilty, but, I do find it important to relate the following story.  And know, this is information that was not available for the court case, in fact, this is inside information I gleamed myself!

When Boosie got linked to all these murders and the DA announced he was going to seek the death penatly, which he has since dropped, I just happened to be in New Orleans.  Needless to say, it was quite a big deal.  On set, we were talking about Boosie casually and how crazy all this was.  At this time, the big news was whether or not Boosie had Nussie, his Baton Rouge cross-town rival gunned down.  The Boyd case was not even on the horizon yet.  Well, according to this kid working on set, the reason why Boosie and Webbie haven't made anything together in a while is because Webbie is sick of Boosie ways. To quote, "Webbie was in the street but once they got famous, he started being about his money, Boosie, he stayed killing people."  And that is a direct quote, when a man says someone "stayed killing people," you don't paraphrase.


And there's my personal involvement with the case.  Not much I know, but enough to make me feel very important.   But what is important is that Boosie won the greatest rap-music legal victory since TI. And when T.I. got sentenced to a year and day for having the goddamn Halo arsenal in his house, I thought that was the most amazing thing to ever happen in an American courthouse.  This fucking guy, got off with a murder charge, and yeah, some of the evidence like the tattoo is circumstantial, but it's still a tattoo saying "Yo Boosie, who next."  And that is amazing.

Lil Boosie Trial - Jury Deliberation Begin


The defense called no witnesses, citing the burden of proof was in the hands of the prosecution.  The jury deliberates.

Boosie Trial - Testimony of Constantino Dimitrelos

Constantino is a computer expert who did some deep, dark examining of Boosie's hard drive.  No homo.  On the drive, he found photos of both Louding and Pitteman getting tattoos of Ak-47's with the phrase "Yo Boosie, who next?"  Both the photos were taken in Boosie's home after the Boyd murder.

He also looked at cell phone records to show Louding's movement the night of the murder.  The gops tracker on the phone showed Louding at Boosie's house, near the murder scene, and then back at Boosie's house after the murder.

The defense asked if any of the incoming calls were from Boosie, Dimitrelos said no.

The highlight dealt with Boosie's song lyrics.  There was a big debate over whether or not Boosie's lyrics would be admissible, they were.  The prosecutors weren't only presenting the content into evidence, but more damaging, when they lyrics were recorded.

According to Dimitrelos, Boosie recorded some lyrics to "187," specifically the lines "YO Marlo, he drive a Monte Carlo, that shit grey, I want that bitch dead today.  Here go the cake," between 11:24 and 11:54 te night of the murder.  The song also mentions "five dead in six months," which is about the number of murders the cops think Boosie had his hand in.  Shortly after midnight, Boosie recorded the song Bodybag containing the lines "get on my level if shoot and miss it's death.  You must have heard when you die you shit and piss on yourself."  Doesn't really have too much to do with the case, but I thought it's a good enough sentiment to share with everybody.

They also played another song, unrelated to the timeline, where Boosie rhymes "ain't got no love in my body, got Marlo Mike in the backseat begging me for a body."  It's not clear if the prosecution played the song Bossman, where Marlo Mike actually has a verse bragging "Marlo Mike Bitch, i'm insane in the brain/bust a nigga ass when they fuck with bad azz/do it all for the love I don't need no green/straight kill a nigga I ain't nuthing but 15."

Boosie Trial - Testimoy of Carvis "Donkey" Webb, Rochelle Wagner, and DA Hillary Moore

So I'll mention right now, before you skim everything looking for the answer, no, the orgin of his nickname was never elborated upon.  To me, the state of Lousiana should disbar the prosecutors for not making this the first question.

The prosecution has tapes of calls Louding made to Webb while in jail.  Webb told Louding to say he brought up Hatch's name because the police were threatening him.   They also argue Boosie sent Louding a letter saying "listen to Donkey, he know the deal."

Webb took the stand and first things first, made it clear he wasn't anywhere near Baton Rouge the night of the murder.  Just in case anyone was asking, he was in Atlanta.   He said Louding called him because he knew his way around prison and was trying to give the guy some pointers.  He said Boosie's letter only confirms that, knowing the deal meant knowing  how to survive in prison.

And as far as Boyd goes, he and Boosie were "not in the same lanes."  Webb also let the courtroom know Boyd was not a likable guy, after all the guy got shot 14 times in one go at a nightclub.

Rochelle Wagner

Wagner is Boyd's sister and has a child with Boosie.  She testified Boosie and Boyd were not friends, but weren't enemies either.

So that clears things up.

Hillary Moore

Moore said he was called into the violent crimes unit and he went to the inview area to listen to Louding's interrogation.  Louding then singed a cooperation agreement with the D.A's office that he would serve something less than life, but it could be anywhere from one day to 100 years.  The agreement stated that it is Moore's decision to decide if Boyd's testimony is truthful.

The defense asked, "so you decide what is truthful?"

Moore said, "yes."

"But this jury decides what the truth is?"

And when Moore said yes again, the defense replied, "thank God for that."

The defense also asked why if they had a kid admitting to six murders shouldn't they turn the tape recorder on sooner.  Moore said it was up to them to decide when to hit record, but "I wish they would have."

Snap!

Boosie Trial - The Testimony of Michael "Marlo Mike" Louding

 Oh man. It's heating up down in Baton Rouge. The courthouse is packed. The judge has ordered all cellphones and any connections to the outside world surrendered before entering the courtroom. Get caught with your phone going off, only an immediate six month incarceration. Guess they don't play down south.

Also, some guy tweeted he had a sniper rifle ready for D.A. Hillary Moore and if they don't free Boosie he's going to "shoot the courthouse up." He has since been arrested. He also said he was only "fooling around." The big event in the first days of the trial was Michael "Marlo Mike" Louding's testimony.

 Marlo Mike confessed not only to killing Boyd but told the cops Boosie paid him $2,800 for the hit in a tapped jailhouse testimony. But now, on the stand, he changed his story. Louding said he never killed Terry Boyd and he was at Boosie's house along with Adrienne Pittman, the getaway driver the night of the murder. After hearing this, the prosecutor replayed the jailhouse confession and asked him again if it refreshed his memory. "I never killed Terry Boyd," Louding answered. "And, Mr. Hatch never paid me to kill Terry Boyd." Notice how he threw the old Hatch didn't pay me either in there.

The craziest moment came when the judge instructed Louding to stand in front of the jury, lift up his shirt, and show tattoo on his stomach. The tattoo, which the prosecution already had a huge, blown up photo of, is an AK-47 with the the phrase "Yo Boosie, who next?" around it. Man.

 But, according to Louding, he doesn't really know what it means, it's just a tattoo.

 Louding claims the cops threatened him, threatened to lock up his family, and told him Boosie put out a $25,000 hit on him. He testified he was tricked into the confession and takes it all back. The defense made a big deal about the tape itself. Louding was questioned for seven hours before they started recording. 

The Trial of Lil Boosie

It's been far too long since I've posted anything here. Once you stop, too much happens and you don't know what will bring you back in. Rap music, Milwaukee, something involving Jews, the death of an important figure in the history of sandwiches? All are worth their own posts, their own blogs even. But, I return to the world of internet talking because I know, if it were not for this humble blog, too many of you dear readers would be unable or possibly, unwilling to keep up with the day to day proceedings of the Lil Boosie trial. And while far from the trial of the century, it is the most important rap music related court case currently happening right now in Baton Rouge, LA. I know most of you care not and will not to spend hours reading the Baton Rouge Advocate, or watching video of KSLA's (Baton Rouge's CBS affiliate) breathtaking coverage. Don't worry, I got you. This blog is for the people, and I've always been for the people hearing about what's going on with Lil Boosie.

  Lil Boosie - A Background on Genius
 Lil Boosie, for all you super uncool people that don't know anything about music, is a Baton Rouge hip-hop legend. He's not just a rapper from the south, he makes southern rap music. He raps about killing people, having sexual intercourse, and using and abusing all sorts of drugs in a jarringly high pitched voice. Imagine Neil Young being scraped through gravel and you're almost there. It's unlike anything in rap music. But aside form his unique voice and thugged out lyrics, Boosie Boosie has a real introspective side. He's not just celebrating the thug life, he puts it under a microscope, examining it, judging it, and never being afraid to expose its ugly side. Boosie frequently questions his own behavior, wondering how justifiable his actions really are. He raps about his fame with a level of honesty not seen in hip-hop. On "What About Me," Boosie asks why all other southern rappers were able to break out of their states but his fame seems confined in Lousiana. He worries the majors don't put money into his career because they're worried he be dead in a year.

  Rise to Fame

 In 2003, the late, great Pimp C signed him to his own label, Trill Entertainment, and released his first album, For My Thugz. Boosie teamed up with Webbie, and they made a few albums and charted a few hits. Swerve was in Hustle and Flow, and Webbie dropped Gimme That,a radio staple, which I can attest to, because I once heard it on the radio. Even then, widespread success eluded Boosie. He struggled to sell more records outside of the south, or even outside of his part of the south. His biggest hit, "Wipe Me Down," wasn't even his song, it is credited to Foxx, Boosie is just a featured rapper. But enough about the music.

  Murder
 Right now Lil Boosie is on trial for the 2009 murder of Terry Boyd. Boosie was already in prison on a drug and gun charge when during the indictment. The prosecution argues Lil Boosie paid Michael "Marlo Mike" Louding $2,800 to kill a his rival Terry Boyd. Yeah, Marlo Mike got his nickname from HBO's very popular tv show Girls. So the prosecution alleges Boosie got a letter warning him Terry Boyd was going to "slap him and jack him" so Marlo Mike and his accmoplish Adrian Pittman shot him through his living room window. The defense argues this is all wrong, Terrance Hatch is a rapper who has cultivated an image to sell records. They argue Marlo Mike killed Boyd on Michael "Ghost" Judson, another Boosie accomplish who may or may not have been robbed by Boyd weeks earlier. But here's the twist, Marlo Mike and Michael "Ghost" Judson worked together to kill Chris "Nussie" Jackson, another Baton Rouge rapper was beefing with Boosie. Word on the street is that Boosie paid them $15,000 for the hit. And to complicate matters more, Michael Judson is also now dead and the cops have Marlo Mike as the prime suspect. But to be clear, Boosie is only being charged with Boyd's murder. The DA decided to aboandon the death penalty, and now he faces life. There's no DNA evidence connection Boosie to the murder, but, there is a taped jailhouse connfession of Marlo Mike telling the cops Boosie paid him for the hit.

  The Players

Terry Boyd - The deceased Marlo Mike - The Triggerman Lil Boosie - Rapper on trial for paying Marlo Mike to kill Terry Boyd DEctive Charles Johnson - Interogated and secured Marlo Mike's jailhouse confession Jason Williams - Boosie's defense attorney Hilary Moore - Baton Rouge DA

Anti-Semite Watch: #3

Dear all,

I've been a way for quite some time. With a brief exception of a posting a few photos celebrating America's victory over the No Football enemy, it has been over a year since I have chimed in about rap music, Milwaukee, movies, or everything else in life. And this is not to say amazing things haven't occurred in those four categories. But, dear readers, it is shameful, tragic, and heartbreaking to return to this website to report that once again the terrible scourge of anti-Semitism has reared its ugly head.
You must be thinking, looking at the news today that surely the Egyptians and Jordanians storming the Israeli embassies forcing the evacuation of Israeli diplomats is strictly a protest against Israel and such behavior should never be confused with anti-Semitism. But I'm not even speaking of that. No, this incident occurred in America the Great. The land of the free.

LOCATION: South 4th Bar & Café
Brooklyn, NY

Date: Sept 2. 11:54 pm



Description of Incident:

I met up with my friend Devin to have a drink. While I haven't had the pleasure of knowing Devin for too long, one can usually assume based on the quality of one's character that their friends will be of similar ilk. Devin and I drank a beer, watched some sports highlights, and soon his friends began to arrive. At first they seemed like a good bunch of people. I spoke with all of them, and they seemed no different than anyone else our age. At one point, they even ordered food and offered to share some of it with me. I was delighted. And not just because I was able to partake in their nachos, but because by sharing their food it made me feel accepted. It made me feel like I was one of the groups.

How wrong I was.

One of Devin's friends had a friend in from out of town. Becky seemed like a nice enough girl. She was from Chicago and we started talking all about the midwest and our times living in Chicago. She then told me where she was from. She named a suburb I was vaguely familiar with. I then asked her if that was near Des Plains, a western suburb. She said, no actually it's a southern suburb. I apologized and said, "I don't know why I thought it was near Des Plains. I guess I'm really only familiar with the north shore suburbs."

Her response, "Well that figures."
I was shocked.

I asked, "what, what figures? Why does that figure?”
She just laughed. And tried to act cute, hoping her sudden charm would erase my memory of our exchange. But I persisted, I wanted her to say it.
"No for real, why does that figure."
She only laughed more.
I told her that I knew the northern suburbs cause they were the ones closest to Milwaukee, and all the times I'd drive down to Chicago, I would see the exit signs for these burbs on the interstate.
After all, what other possible reason would a person ever have to think I would be more familiar with the north shore of Chicago than any other suburban area? But alas, it was to no use.
She laughed again and it wasn't cute at all.

As August Bebel once said, "Anti-Semitism is the socialism of fools." I would add ugly to that.