WEBVTT - Rap can be a dangerous game – even in Australia

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<v Speaker 1>Fight knights have always attracted some colorful characters all the

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<v Speaker 1>way back to Georgian times in England. But raves these

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<v Speaker 1>days attract a different sort of colorful crowd, and raves

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<v Speaker 1>can attract the people who go by the working title

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<v Speaker 1>of rappers. We've often advised our listeners that nothing good

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<v Speaker 1>happens after two am. I'm Andrew Rule his life and crimes.

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<v Speaker 1>There was a time, way back in the old days

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<v Speaker 1>when I lived in Kensington, which is one of the

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<v Speaker 1>old inner Western suburbs. In those days it had stockyards

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<v Speaker 1>and sheep selling pens and all that sort of stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>and you could smell a cattle and the sheep when

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<v Speaker 1>you live there. It was like a little country town.

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<v Speaker 1>Had pepper trees around the sale yards and you could

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<v Speaker 1>hear dogs barking all that sort of stuff. Now and

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<v Speaker 1>again cattle would jump out of the yards and run

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<v Speaker 1>down the streets. Which is another story. But I used

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<v Speaker 1>to drive in from Kensington to my then place of work,

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<v Speaker 1>which was on the Spencer Street side of town. It

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<v Speaker 1>was about a five minute.

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<v Speaker 2>Drive, perhaps it was about.

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<v Speaker 1>Seven on the train. Usually I'd take the train, but

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes drive and I'd take a shortcut. I would come

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<v Speaker 1>down McCauley Road, and before I got to the old

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<v Speaker 1>North Melbourne football ground where they used to play there.

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<v Speaker 1>Then I would turn right down Langford Street and cut

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<v Speaker 1>through sort of factory blocks and warehouses to Arden Street,

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<v Speaker 1>and then pick up Arden Street and take the short

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<v Speaker 1>cut back through North Melbourne, past North Melbourne Station, pass

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<v Speaker 1>Festival Hall and to the city. And this was a

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<v Speaker 1>common shortcut if you lived out that way. Langford Street

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<v Speaker 1>was interesting. This shortcut just dove on the west side

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<v Speaker 1>of the North Melbourne footy Ground because sometimes in the

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<v Speaker 1>evenings you'd be driving down there and you would see

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<v Speaker 1>someone standing at the front of unallegedly empty warehouse an

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<v Speaker 1>old brick joint, and it'd be somebody having a smoke

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<v Speaker 1>and looking a bit.

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<v Speaker 2>Sort of watchful and bit furtive.

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<v Speaker 1>And you might think, I wonder what that bug's doing. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I know what he was doing. He would have been

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<v Speaker 1>a cocker tooo a lookout for the floating two up

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<v Speaker 1>game that used to sometimes set up in that street,

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<v Speaker 1>because Nappy Olington's famous floating two up game would move

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<v Speaker 1>from venue to venue around town, and the officionados of

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<v Speaker 1>the two up school, many of them crooks, knock about

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<v Speaker 1>scaley wags, rogues, unfrocked priests and rogue police and sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>undercover coppers.

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<v Speaker 2>They would know where it was.

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<v Speaker 1>And they would head off and play two up, which

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<v Speaker 1>of course is a most excellent homegrown Australian gambling game

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<v Speaker 1>which is now almost extinct. And Nappy Ollington's game was

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<v Speaker 1>like the famous Tomo's Two Up School in Sydney. It

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<v Speaker 1>was sort of part of the furniture. It was well known.

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<v Speaker 1>Probably most Melbournians would never have been near it, but

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<v Speaker 1>they had all heard of it, and that was what

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<v Speaker 1>used to happen sometimes in Langford Street, North Melbourne. But

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<v Speaker 1>I'm here to say that times change and so do crimes,

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<v Speaker 1>because these days in Langford Street, North Melbourne, forty years later,

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<v Speaker 1>we have a different scene altogether. Ollington's Two Up School

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<v Speaker 1>has gone to God.

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<v Speaker 2>It died well.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Nappy did, and in its place comes from other

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<v Speaker 1>activities in Langford Street, North Melbourne. And one of those activities,

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<v Speaker 1>in possibly even the same building, is another floating enterprise

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<v Speaker 1>called a rave. And the raves are another money making

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<v Speaker 1>concern that attracts people to the district. They turn up,

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<v Speaker 1>some of them probably bring pockets full of cash just

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<v Speaker 1>like their forefathers that went to the tuo Op school.

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<v Speaker 1>And sometimes the cash might be cash that they obtained

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<v Speaker 1>in some naughty way, and they attend the rave and

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<v Speaker 1>they might buy or sell certain substances. I'm not sure,

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<v Speaker 1>but possibly and certainly some of those same people might

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<v Speaker 1>get along to another event a few blocks away up

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<v Speaker 1>in Racecourse Road, up in Newmarket, Racecourse Road, new Market

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<v Speaker 1>or South Kensington if.

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<v Speaker 2>You wish where.

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<v Speaker 1>There is a place called the Melbourne Pavilion, which is

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<v Speaker 1>a rather grand name for a recycled factory. Essentially that

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<v Speaker 1>is used for fight nights. Now that's boxing, but also

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<v Speaker 1>all the other forms of fighting for which members of

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<v Speaker 1>the public will pay money at the door to go

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<v Speaker 1>and watch. So you would be having your kickboxing as

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<v Speaker 1>well as your orthodox boxing and anything else that will

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<v Speaker 1>put bumps on seats, and the fight nights there I

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<v Speaker 1>think attract a let's say, a vibrant multicultural crowd is

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<v Speaker 1>one way to put it. And among those vibrant multicultural

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<v Speaker 1>aficionados of the martial arts and the boxing and pugilism,

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of colorful people who like to bet on

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<v Speaker 1>the results, who like to see who else is there,

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<v Speaker 1>who like to rub shoulders and stare down other people

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<v Speaker 1>that they don't like, and so sometimes we have trouble

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<v Speaker 1>at the fight nights and occasionally.

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<v Speaker 2>People get shot there, which is very sad.

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<v Speaker 1>I think there might be currently an ongoing investigation into

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<v Speaker 1>a shooting at such a fight night. Fight knights have

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<v Speaker 1>always attracted some.

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<v Speaker 2>Colorful characters all the way back.

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<v Speaker 1>To Georgian times in England, but raves these days attract

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<v Speaker 1>a different sort of colorful crowd, and raves can attract

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<v Speaker 1>the people who go by the working title of rappers.

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<v Speaker 1>These are rap artists who can rhyme stories into songs

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<v Speaker 1>in a very ingenious way. The best of them are

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<v Speaker 1>very good at it, and in Melbourne we have some

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<v Speaker 1>people who may not be as good at it as

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<v Speaker 1>their brothers in Los Angeles and in Brooklyn and other places,

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<v Speaker 1>but they do have a go. It was one of

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<v Speaker 1>these young fellows, a young bloke called Pell Bedong now

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<v Speaker 1>pell Bedong Pell is his correct name. It's not a nickname.

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<v Speaker 1>His nickname is, or was, sadly, Peasy, and Peas is

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<v Speaker 1>no longer with us because he was shot in the

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<v Speaker 1>early hours of a recent Saturday morning a few weeks ago,

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<v Speaker 1>just around Halloween. We've often advised our listeners that nothing

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<v Speaker 1>good happens after two am, and I have to say

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<v Speaker 1>that it's not improved by an extra hour, because pas

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<v Speaker 1>was found shot dead in Langford Street, North Melbourne at

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<v Speaker 1>three point fifteen on this particular Saturday morning, and whatever

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<v Speaker 1>had happened to lead PZ to be shot dead had

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<v Speaker 1>happened shortly before that in or about Langford Street, North Melbourne,

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<v Speaker 1>which tells us that that old shortcut through from Kensington

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<v Speaker 1>to the city still attracts its share of skulduggery and

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<v Speaker 1>crime and all the rest of it. In fact, there

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<v Speaker 1>was a time when a very well known and notorious

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<v Speaker 1>figure had some building so like old army huts or

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<v Speaker 1>similar down at the Arden Street end of Langford Street.

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<v Speaker 1>And this fellow was a neo Nazi, and he was

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<v Speaker 1>a neo Nazi who actually converted to Islam, which was

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<v Speaker 1>an intriguing transition, but I guess we can all transition

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<v Speaker 1>if we want to. And he ran these sort of

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<v Speaker 1>army hut things and he would take in I think

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<v Speaker 1>officially what he was doing was taking in perhaps ex

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<v Speaker 1>prisoners and offering them a place to stay. I think

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<v Speaker 1>unofficially what he was doing was running a gathering point.

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<v Speaker 2>To put crooks together so.

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<v Speaker 1>That he could organize them into doing crimes for him,

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<v Speaker 1>for him.

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<v Speaker 2>More with him, and so on.

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<v Speaker 1>And he had a lot to do with a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of very bad things, including murder, but we won't dwell

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<v Speaker 1>on that because we're talking about a far more recent event.

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<v Speaker 1>So who was pell Bidong? Well, he was a twenty

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<v Speaker 1>year old Sudanese migrant kid who took on rapping in

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<v Speaker 1>recent years. He's not the only Sudanese rapper around town.

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<v Speaker 1>The death of Pasi Bidong remains a bit of a mystery.

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<v Speaker 1>At the point that we're recording this podcast, the police

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<v Speaker 1>are still looking for the shooter or shooters. The reaction

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<v Speaker 1>to his death is a little intriguing, it seems to me.

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<v Speaker 1>On the night it happened, this is after three o'clock

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<v Speaker 1>in the morning, so we're talking the hours before dawn

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<v Speaker 1>on a Saturday morning, the police who gathered at the

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<v Speaker 1>scene were I won't say besieged, but I'm tempted to

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<v Speaker 1>use that word. They were certainly forced to line up

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<v Speaker 1>a line of police around the crime scene to protect

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<v Speaker 1>the crime scene from the throng of angry young people.

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<v Speaker 1>These would be rap fans or the sort of people

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<v Speaker 1>that go to raves where rappers perform, and they were

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<v Speaker 1>very agitated and very angry and upset that their friend,

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<v Speaker 1>mental mate, relative, whatever, mister Bidong was no longer with

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<v Speaker 1>us and the police. And I don't think they can

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<v Speaker 1>be blamed for this. They have been blamed for it,

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<v Speaker 1>but I don't think it's fair. The police thought that

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<v Speaker 1>they were looking after a murder scene, a crime scene,

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<v Speaker 1>and that had to be preserved at all costs so

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<v Speaker 1>the forensic people could get there and check what was left.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, the bullet shells, blood, you name it, DNA,

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<v Speaker 1>all that stuff, all the clues, and so they stood

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<v Speaker 1>in a line and protected the crime scene despite the

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<v Speaker 1>fact that a couple of dozen of these young people

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<v Speaker 1>were there milling around.

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<v Speaker 2>They started a brawl.

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<v Speaker 1>They were fighting, they were punching on and it wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>a very good look. The police have been criticized from

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<v Speaker 1>some quarters for not stopping the brawls and the fights,

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<v Speaker 1>but I think in the circumstances, it was one of

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<v Speaker 1>those situations where they were damned if they did, and

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<v Speaker 1>they were damned if they didn't, because we all know

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<v Speaker 1>that as soon as the police moved in on that

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<v Speaker 1>gathering of brawling young men, mostly that they would have

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<v Speaker 1>to be forcibly detained and forcibly arrested, and that would

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<v Speaker 1>mean that they would be filmed by various people media

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<v Speaker 1>or otherwise forcibly handcuffing young African men, and that those

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<v Speaker 1>images would be used against the police as some sort

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<v Speaker 1>of suggestion or proof or evidence that the police are

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<v Speaker 1>a terrible, wicked, bullying, racist group of people, which is

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<v Speaker 1>probably deeply unfair to the police, but that is the

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<v Speaker 1>situation in which they have to work, and so their

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<v Speaker 1>choice was not to do anything active against the agitated

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<v Speaker 1>young people, but to get on with the investigation, which

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<v Speaker 1>I think.

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<v Speaker 2>Was probably the wisest course.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, we got some interesting reactions afterwards, because on one hand,

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<v Speaker 1>we had what appeared to be very sensible.

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<v Speaker 2>People such as police.

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<v Speaker 1>Spokespersons and a Sudanese community spokesman who is a lawyer

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<v Speaker 1>called kott Manoah. Now Kotmanah is a lawyer I think

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<v Speaker 1>out in the Western suburbs. He I think belongs to

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<v Speaker 1>the South Sudanese group of people, and he's regarded by

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<v Speaker 1>the media as a spokesman for at least one group

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<v Speaker 1>of Sudanese citizens.

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<v Speaker 2>He is, as far.

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<v Speaker 1>As I know, a person of impeccable reputation and character,

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<v Speaker 1>and he joined in with the police in warning against retaliation, saying,

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<v Speaker 1>retaliations are a very real possibility in this situation. Parents,

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<v Speaker 1>please do not let your sons and daughters out late

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<v Speaker 1>at night on the streets because they could easily get

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<v Speaker 1>involved in this retaliation sort of payback stuff. Now, that

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<v Speaker 1>would seem to be a very sensible warning to the

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<v Speaker 1>entire community. But the dead man's brother, whose name is

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<v Speaker 1>Bidoon Bedon, came out pretty strongly and said that wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>a good thing to do. He said that such warnings

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<v Speaker 1>against retaliation spread a false narrative, is what he said,

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<v Speaker 1>a false narrative that African youths were violent thugs and

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<v Speaker 1>so on and so forth. I reckon he probably overstated

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<v Speaker 1>the case a bit, but anyway, that was his case

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<v Speaker 1>to state it as he saw fit, And of course

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<v Speaker 1>he is a grieving, concerned relative of the dead man.

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<v Speaker 1>He described his brother predictably enough, as a gentle soul, kind,

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<v Speaker 1>lovely and all that good stuff, which tends to be

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<v Speaker 1>the sort of phrases most of us use about the

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<v Speaker 1>recently departed. He also seemed totally at a loss to

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<v Speaker 1>explain why his brother was shot. He seemed to have

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<v Speaker 1>no idea. He couldn't explain anything about it except the

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<v Speaker 1>interesting proposition that he didn't think there would be any retaliation. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know how he could not know anything about

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<v Speaker 1>it and then predict there'd be no retaliation. I'm not

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<v Speaker 1>sure why he knows a little bit but not the rest.

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<v Speaker 1>It's intriguing, but it did remind me a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>of a scene with another group of people. Twenty five

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<v Speaker 1>years ago, a fellow called Carl Williams was shot in

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<v Speaker 1>the belly in a small park out in the Western Suburbs,

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<v Speaker 1>and he was shot in the belly by the late

0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:17.400
<v Speaker 1>Jason Moran, who became the late Jason Ran mainly because

0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:19.320
<v Speaker 1>he did shoot Carl Williams in the belly, because it

0:15:19.400 --> 0:15:25.120
<v Speaker 1>led to retaliations funnily enough, and Carl Williams was probably saved,

0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:27.880
<v Speaker 1>as we've observed here before, by the fact that his

0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:33.160
<v Speaker 1>diet consisted heavily of red rooster and other fried products,

0:15:33.480 --> 0:15:37.520
<v Speaker 1>which gave him a large padding around his stomach. When

0:15:37.600 --> 0:15:42.160
<v Speaker 1>Jason Ran produced a small twenty two pistol and shot

0:15:42.200 --> 0:15:46.720
<v Speaker 1>him in the belly. The small slug, which is capable

0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.040
<v Speaker 1>of killing you if it hits you in the right spot,

0:15:49.440 --> 0:15:55.000
<v Speaker 1>the small slug did not penetrate his belly sufficiently to

0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:57.840
<v Speaker 1>injure him in any vital organ. Didn't get his liver,

0:15:58.480 --> 0:16:01.560
<v Speaker 1>didn't get his heart or his life. It just lodged

0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:05.600
<v Speaker 1>in his guts. And so he was able to very

0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:08.800
<v Speaker 1>lucky man at that stage. It was his twenty ninth birthday.

0:16:09.080 --> 0:16:12.960
<v Speaker 1>He was able to walk off, walk home, bleeding from

0:16:13.040 --> 0:16:16.520
<v Speaker 1>the belly. And when he got to a hospital where

0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:21.040
<v Speaker 1>I think his mother drove him when she noticed the bleeding,

0:16:21.400 --> 0:16:24.440
<v Speaker 1>the doctors removed the twenty two bullet and then they

0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:29.040
<v Speaker 1>called the police and they interviewed Carl Williams. He got amnesia.

0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:31.640
<v Speaker 1>Now this is a very rare side effect of a

0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:36.160
<v Speaker 1>bullet wound. He got amnesia and he couldn't remember how

0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:38.520
<v Speaker 1>he been shot or who by. And he said, as

0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:40.600
<v Speaker 1>far as seeing you, he was walking down the street

0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:44.560
<v Speaker 1>when he felt a sharp pain and noticed some blood

0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:48.280
<v Speaker 1>on his T shirt and he said, sorry, doctor and

0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:53.360
<v Speaker 1>officer and detective, I just don't know what happened or

0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:58.880
<v Speaker 1>who shot me. And I didn't even realize I'd been shot. Now,

0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:03.160
<v Speaker 1>I don't believe Carl. I think Carl was telling absolute porkies.

0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:07.400
<v Speaker 1>And there's no doubt he covered his memory soon afterwards

0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:11.280
<v Speaker 1>because he engaged a very willing hit man to go

0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:15.639
<v Speaker 1>out and shoot the Morans. And in fact, the entire

0:17:15.720 --> 0:17:18.880
<v Speaker 1>Underworld War is our listeners will know because they've heard

0:17:18.920 --> 0:17:23.639
<v Speaker 1>it so often. The entire Underworld War was essentially begun

0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:28.360
<v Speaker 1>by Carl Williams's revenge attacks on the Moran family and

0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:32.560
<v Speaker 1>all their supporters and friends and hired guns and all

0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:35.439
<v Speaker 1>the rest of it. Why am I bringing that up.

0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:39.440
<v Speaker 1>I'm bringing it up because my feeling about the shooting

0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:45.600
<v Speaker 1>of our rapper mate is that possibly someone somewhere and

0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:51.040
<v Speaker 1>knows exactly why that has happened, and knows probably who's

0:17:51.040 --> 0:17:54.399
<v Speaker 1>done it or who's ordered it, and that indeed it

0:17:54.480 --> 0:18:02.919
<v Speaker 1>will lead to retaliations, probably retaliations gunplay, unless certain people

0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:08.840
<v Speaker 1>are detained, arrested and locked up before all the bad

0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:12.480
<v Speaker 1>things can happen. That is our prediction here at Life

0:18:12.560 --> 0:18:17.800
<v Speaker 1>and Crimes. Interesting stuff about the connection between rappers and gangsters.

0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:23.439
<v Speaker 1>We know that the rap culture is inextricably entwined with

0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:30.000
<v Speaker 1>gangster culture. In the gang culture in America, not just

0:18:30.080 --> 0:18:33.399
<v Speaker 1>the West Coast, but also the East Coast, where gangs

0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:36.560
<v Speaker 1>are very big deal gang members in the cryps and

0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:40.760
<v Speaker 1>these other big gangs, these hundreds and hundreds and hundreds

0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:43.919
<v Speaker 1>of them, thousands of them, probably not only on the

0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:46.960
<v Speaker 1>streets and in the tenements and in the bars and

0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:50.280
<v Speaker 1>all the rest of it, but in jail where the

0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:55.840
<v Speaker 1>big gangs dominate the American jails. And they divided fairly

0:18:55.880 --> 0:19:00.080
<v Speaker 1>well along ethnic lines in many ways, and they they

0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:03.680
<v Speaker 1>all are very fond of harming each other and often

0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:08.080
<v Speaker 1>killing each other. And the rapper culture is tied into

0:19:08.119 --> 0:19:11.919
<v Speaker 1>that in such an extraordinary way that two of the

0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:16.720
<v Speaker 1>biggest rappers in America, two of the sort of pioneers

0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:21.800
<v Speaker 1>of rap, who sold extraordinary numbers of what we say records,

0:19:21.800 --> 0:19:25.840
<v Speaker 1>but you know, extraordinary numbers of their songs, were a

0:19:25.880 --> 0:19:30.880
<v Speaker 1>guy called the Notorious Big, Notorious Big Biggie Smalls, I think,

0:19:30.960 --> 0:19:35.440
<v Speaker 1>real name Christopher Wallace. He was a big, fat guy

0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:38.679
<v Speaker 1>who was very good at English when he was at

0:19:38.720 --> 0:19:42.320
<v Speaker 1>a private Catholic school in Brooklyn, and he was able

0:19:42.359 --> 0:19:47.280
<v Speaker 1>to write rap songs and make them up on the spot.

0:19:47.320 --> 0:19:50.040
<v Speaker 1>And I'm a very fluent and very good. He had

0:19:50.400 --> 0:19:54.520
<v Speaker 1>a good voice and a good brain, but sadly he

0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:57.040
<v Speaker 1>also did a lot of drug dealing and that got

0:19:57.119 --> 0:20:00.280
<v Speaker 1>him involved in that whole sort of scene, and he

0:20:00.400 --> 0:20:04.359
<v Speaker 1>ends up being a bitter enemy of another rapper from

0:20:04.359 --> 0:20:05.400
<v Speaker 1>the West Coast.

0:20:05.160 --> 0:20:09.159
<v Speaker 2>Called Tupac Tupac Shakur.

0:20:09.640 --> 0:20:15.480
<v Speaker 1>And Tupac ended up getting shot, not fatally first time round.

0:20:16.200 --> 0:20:20.159
<v Speaker 1>He gets shot, and it's often thought that it was

0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:25.200
<v Speaker 1>his former friend and bitter enemy, Biggie Smalls, the Notorious

0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:29.760
<v Speaker 1>Big who sent the guy to shoot Tupac, and ultimately

0:20:29.960 --> 0:20:33.480
<v Speaker 1>Tupac was shot dead, and a second attack sometime later,

0:20:34.080 --> 0:20:37.480
<v Speaker 1>and then Biggie Smalls.

0:20:37.040 --> 0:20:37.800
<v Speaker 2>Was shot dead.

0:20:38.000 --> 0:20:40.320
<v Speaker 1>I think he was only twenty five or something when

0:20:40.320 --> 0:20:42.600
<v Speaker 1>he was shot. I think he was born in nineteen

0:20:42.640 --> 0:20:47.800
<v Speaker 1>seventy two. Died in nineteen ninety seven, shot dead. Point

0:20:47.800 --> 0:20:50.840
<v Speaker 1>of all that is, the rapper culture is choc, a

0:20:50.920 --> 0:21:00.360
<v Speaker 1>bloc with images of violence. Guns, sex, bashings, prison are

0:21:00.400 --> 0:21:05.159
<v Speaker 1>the subjects that rap songs are about and that the

0:21:05.280 --> 0:21:09.000
<v Speaker 1>rap culture is all about. And so it would seem

0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:12.840
<v Speaker 1>that even out here in the outposts of rap culture,

0:21:13.640 --> 0:21:18.639
<v Speaker 1>that guns and violence are entwined with the rap culture.

0:21:18.640 --> 0:21:21.640
<v Speaker 1>And we've seen that in our very own North Melbourne

0:21:22.400 --> 0:21:26.760
<v Speaker 1>in recent times. Interesting point here there is another Sudanese

0:21:26.840 --> 0:21:30.640
<v Speaker 1>rapper in Melbourne, a guy who rejoices in the rap

0:21:30.720 --> 0:21:36.560
<v Speaker 1>moniker of BBG Smoky. Now BBG Smoky has another name,

0:21:36.840 --> 0:21:39.879
<v Speaker 1>surprisingly the one on his passport or his driver's license

0:21:40.000 --> 0:21:44.080
<v Speaker 1>or whatever. And his other name is Sean Deng, and

0:21:44.160 --> 0:21:47.639
<v Speaker 1>Sean Deng is a tall, skinny fellow who's a pretty

0:21:47.640 --> 0:21:50.880
<v Speaker 1>good at spitting out the rap lyrics. If anybody wants

0:21:50.960 --> 0:21:57.760
<v Speaker 1>to look up Sewan Deng's that is BBG Smokey's main video,

0:21:58.520 --> 0:22:00.840
<v Speaker 1>you will find that there is. It's very sort of

0:22:01.080 --> 0:22:06.200
<v Speaker 1>la You actually think you're looking at something shot in

0:22:06.240 --> 0:22:09.600
<v Speaker 1>a luxury suburb of Los Angeles. That's what it looks like,

0:22:09.880 --> 0:22:13.719
<v Speaker 1>the sort of big white Spanish style luxury home, and

0:22:13.840 --> 0:22:17.800
<v Speaker 1>parked out in front of it all these very ostentatiously

0:22:18.440 --> 0:22:24.080
<v Speaker 1>gangsterish cars. There's a I think a Lamborghini. There's various

0:22:24.200 --> 0:22:27.840
<v Speaker 1>luxury Jeeps or decked out. There is a gold platedd

0:22:28.080 --> 0:22:32.320
<v Speaker 1>Harley Davidson, and many Mercedes and all these things. And

0:22:32.440 --> 0:22:34.600
<v Speaker 1>some of these cars. Now, this was actually shot in

0:22:34.640 --> 0:22:38.199
<v Speaker 1>Melbourne because this guy's I think he records in Collingwood

0:22:38.880 --> 0:22:43.119
<v Speaker 1>so he's in a suburban boy and the cars he

0:22:43.280 --> 0:22:49.760
<v Speaker 1>used to do that promotional song video were supplied by

0:22:50.560 --> 0:22:54.600
<v Speaker 1>members of or associates of what we call the Notorious

0:22:55.280 --> 0:23:01.600
<v Speaker 1>Crime Family in cf. The Notorious Crime Family is a

0:23:01.720 --> 0:23:06.280
<v Speaker 1>Middle Eastern crime group headed by let's say, a guy

0:23:06.320 --> 0:23:11.280
<v Speaker 1>called George Morogi. George Morogi is in jail and has

0:23:11.320 --> 0:23:14.239
<v Speaker 1>been for a while, for a very long time, for

0:23:14.600 --> 0:23:18.560
<v Speaker 1>thirty years whatever, because he hunted down and shot a

0:23:18.680 --> 0:23:23.280
<v Speaker 1>rival drug dealer a while back, and he was caught, convicted,

0:23:23.640 --> 0:23:26.840
<v Speaker 1>locked away. But it is said that he conducts from

0:23:26.920 --> 0:23:34.119
<v Speaker 1>inside jail a massive international drug dealing network which involves friends, associates,

0:23:34.160 --> 0:23:35.240
<v Speaker 1>relatives and so on.

0:23:36.359 --> 0:23:41.960
<v Speaker 2>And it was George Murogi whose gang has been dubbed.

0:23:42.400 --> 0:23:47.600
<v Speaker 1>He dubbed it, I think notorious crime family that shares

0:23:47.720 --> 0:23:52.080
<v Speaker 1>that name like Notorious Big. It's that sort of wrap connection.

0:23:52.440 --> 0:23:54.560
<v Speaker 2>He supplied all these cars to our.

0:23:54.840 --> 0:24:02.120
<v Speaker 1>Good friend BBG Smoky to do his video and not

0:24:02.240 --> 0:24:05.800
<v Speaker 1>just cast but the gold platted Harley of course. And

0:24:05.880 --> 0:24:11.480
<v Speaker 1>this tells you something about the connection in Melbourne between

0:24:12.720 --> 0:24:22.800
<v Speaker 1>genuinely notorious, genuinely bad, genuinely murderous drug dealing criminals and rap.

0:24:23.280 --> 0:24:27.520
<v Speaker 1>There is also a PostScript. BG Smoky is still rapping.

0:24:28.119 --> 0:24:30.359
<v Speaker 1>Where he stands on the death of his fellow artist

0:24:30.480 --> 0:24:34.080
<v Speaker 1>p Z Bedong is a matter for him. Maybe he

0:24:34.160 --> 0:24:41.000
<v Speaker 1>should study the acknowledged godfather of the form, the late Coolio,

0:24:41.119 --> 0:24:47.080
<v Speaker 1>whose rap classic Gangster's Paradise includes one warning line that

0:24:47.240 --> 0:24:52.119
<v Speaker 1>can be repeated in a family newspaper, whereas most rap

0:24:52.440 --> 0:24:56.800
<v Speaker 1>lyrics cannot be because they are very very violent, and

0:24:56.920 --> 0:25:00.960
<v Speaker 1>very sexist and very misogynist. And in fact, most rap

0:25:01.040 --> 0:25:08.760
<v Speaker 1>lyrics make the Taliban look like methodist feminist missionaries. Here's

0:25:08.800 --> 0:25:13.720
<v Speaker 1>the line, the warning line from Coolio. You better watch

0:25:13.720 --> 0:25:17.080
<v Speaker 1>how you're talken and where you're walkin, or you and

0:25:17.160 --> 0:25:20.000
<v Speaker 1>your homies might be lined in chalk.

0:25:22.119 --> 0:25:25.320
<v Speaker 2>And that I have to say is a rapper.

0:25:28.160 --> 0:25:31.160
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening. Life and Crimes is a Sunday Herald

0:25:31.240 --> 0:25:36.159
<v Speaker 1>Sun production for true crime Australia. Our producer is Johnty Burton.

0:25:37.040 --> 0:25:40.879
<v Speaker 1>For my columns, features and more, go to Heroldsun dot

0:25:40.920 --> 0:25:46.440
<v Speaker 1>com dot Au forward slash Andrew rule one word. For

0:25:46.640 --> 0:25:51.720
<v Speaker 1>advertising inquiries, go to news podcasts sold at.

0:25:51.600 --> 0:25:55.280
<v Speaker 2>News dot com dot au. That is all one word

0:25:55.480 --> 0:25:58.879
<v Speaker 2>news podcast's soul and if.

0:25:58.760 --> 0:26:03.199
<v Speaker 1>You want further information about this episode. Links are in

0:26:03.480 --> 0:26:04.160
<v Speaker 1>the description