(RAW Rating: 4.5) -- It's a different world out there
NOTORIOUS C.O.P. by Derrick Parker gives the unknown stories of many hip-hop crimes. Parker was a detective with the New York Police Department and the first cop on the special unit set up strictly to solve hip-hop crimes. Parker was raised in the same neighborhoods and personally knew many of these hip-hop icons which gave added depth to his story. He was in Las Vegas after the Tupac Shakur murder and in Los Angeles following the murder of Biggie Smalls. He even had details that never made the papers, yet pointed directly to the killers. He gave interesting details of Li'l Kim's conviction on perjury and good reasons why she did it. Before Jam Master Jay's murder, Derrick Parker had retired from the police department, but he was still very interested and as a result, he personally protected one of the eye witnesses and requested witness protection from the department for her. Needless to say, they reneged after promising to help and it angered him very much. He also tells of hip-hop crimes that were never reported such as the home invasion Foxy Brown and her mother endured.
If you've ever wondered what is really going on in the hip-hop world, then NOTORIOUS C.O.P. is the book to read. It gives the background of the rappers as well as a vivid description of the neighborhoods and backgrounds they come from. Parker even explains why there is so much crime in the hip-hop music business. As he so realistically points out, it is going on in the regular business world also, just on a much lower key and so we never hear about it until an Enron explodes. It is a fascinating and enlightening book.
Reviewed by Alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
