Rhymefest, the rapper and songwriter who has worked with various artists including Kanye West, Common and John Legend, recently revealed that he got robbed at gunpoint in Chicago. He tried to report the incident to the city's police department but got a disappointing response.
During the weekend, the rapper fired off a series of tweets addressed to the person who robbed him. According to the rapper, he was in Chicago's South Side at around 7:30 a.m. on Saturday when a male individual younger than him pointed a gun at his head and took his wallet.
To the young brother that put the gun to my head this morning & took my wallet. You don't know how you just damaged your community.
— Rhymefest (@RHYMEFEST) August 27, 2016
@RHYMEFEST @TAXSTONE Imagine how condescending it would sound if a white person tweeted this. — Bruce Martin (@FiftyShots) August 27, 2016
Rhymefest noted that he was deeply disappointed by the actions of the suspect because of its effects on the community. In response, the rapper gave the unnamed individual a chance to apologize.
When you look in my Wallet & see the name Che Smith on the ID. DM me, yes contact me apologize and talk to me like a brother.
— Rhymefest (@RHYMEFEST) August 27, 2016
You were gonna shoot me in the face for a wallet, I had the power to give you a job! — Rhymefest (@RHYMEFEST) August 27, 2016
Following the incident, Rhymefest went to a police precinct in the city to try to report what had happened to him. In a video shared by the rapper on his Twitter account, he can be seen arguing with two police officers.
You wonder we don't report crimes? The police treated me disgustingly pic.twitter.com/fY9VQrqDpz
— Rhymefest (@RHYMEFEST) August 27, 2016
At first, he was told by a female officer to stop filming while inside the precinct. She and another male officer then asked Rhymefest to leave the precinct. Both of them refused to assist the rapper in filing a report of the incident.
Shortly after he released the video of his encounter with the officers, the Chicago police department reached out to Rhymefest, whose real name is Che Smith, to apologize for what had happened inside the precinct, according to Chicago Tribune.
"We are disappointed with what we've seen and how Mr. Smith was treated, and the chief of patrol called him personally to apologize on behalf of the department," police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.
"Superintendent Johnson has directed the chief of patrol to ensure this matter is addressed today with the district," the representative added.
