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Life Imitates Rap: Men Arrested For Crimes Committed In Music Video
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 23, 2013
Modified Mar 23, 2013
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 23, 2013
Modified Mar 23, 2013
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In an apparent attempt to one-up Tilda Swinton's new nap-taking art gig, five men who made a violent rap video showing themselves robbing someone at gunpoint have been arrested...for repeatedly robbing people at gunpoint.
The video, called "The Joy" and uploaded to YouTube in 2011, shows three men in a Mercedes who are about to commit a robbery; two men, wearing ski masks get out and rob another man at gunpoint in a building hallway, then getting back in the car and speed off. The video's based on Jay-Z and Kanye West's song of the same name, it's artistically shot and has racked up over 2,000 likes. But it looks like the stars took method-acting to the next leve—cops say all three stars and two other men involved in the video's making have committed a number of armed robberies in the Bronx and Westchester County. And they used the exact same Mercedes in the video as their getaway car, which probably cut down on those production costs.
Taijay Todd, who played one of the gunmen, pleaded guilty last month, and two more men involved, Dwayne Barrett and Jermaine Dore, were convicted on Tuesday. But they're still getting praise for their work: "As a lawyer I’m appalled,” Georgetown law professor Paul Butler told the Times. “As a student of art history, I’m moved." Take that, Tilda.
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Rebecca Fishbein
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