THE DOSSIER CRIMINAL MINDED MEDIA

Where to begin, with the news of Homeland Security Investigations raiding the homes of Diddy in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami, it is very clear to me that something is afoot, combine that with rumors being reported that the Southern District is interviewing 3 what they are identifying as Jane Doe victims, and one John Doe, and Diddy has really hit a trifecta. 

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, and let's make some early analysis. 

Personally, I have some experience covering HSI or Homeland Security Investigations, and in my work I have also embedded with them on an operation that involved the DEA, the FBI, ICE, and a branch of Mexican Special Forces, they mainly do transnational crime cases, which means heavy heavy shit, not to mention HSI has a lot of toys, a lot money, and incredible investigators.

The case I was embedded on involved going after a cell of the Sinaloa Drug Cartel just over the border from Phoenix Arizona. THAT IS THE TYPE OF SHIT HSI DOES.

Secondly, for listeners of the Dossier podcast, you might be familiar with the Phrase The Southern District of New York, or as they sometimes are refered to as the Soverign District. 

So HSI, teamed up with the Southern District is really bad news for Diddy, and let me explain why for you very simply. 
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As my persistence to tell the story of the Hip-Hop Cops increased, my “fixers” —Steve Lobel and Pistol Pete, delivered on their promise to secure me interview subjects.

What sounded good in theory, was in reality far different, as their strategy was to merely accost artists and executives pretty much anywhere—at studios, at parties, concerts, on the street, back alleys—they even spotted Kanye West at an album release party and convinced him to do an interview in the back of the club’s kitchen.

In true Kanye fashion he gave me a great sound byte, even though I was only able to ask him one question. Here is his response to me asking him about the scrutiny that the police had on the industry. This was polo Kanye, College Dropout Kanye… but still it was Kanye in the back of a kitchen….

I was trying to tackle racial issues, but my execution was off—it was sloppy.

I just had to grab anything I could from the celebrities as it was rare to get an actual sit-down interview.

If you you're a fan of The Dossier, please visit our Patreon page for free and paid content featuring exclusive documents, unedited interviews, monthly online meet-ups with other Dossier fans and the show creator, Don Sikorski. Goto Patreon.com/dossier
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As I have started the introspective study of my life since the documentary I created 17 years ago, I don’t want to stray from my initial inspiration that catapulted me into my fascination with law enforcement and Hip-Hop, but more specifically, the nuances, perception, and uneven legal ground created by criminal prosecutors using lyrics, and their visuals, to pursue their criminal cases. 

Like the secret book I found, the use of song lyrics or the use of a music video to create a criminal narrative seemed as odd to me today as it did back in 2005. Art imitating life, or life imitating art, these questions I still struggle with as my understanding has deepened. 

Jaeah Lee who wrote the aforementioned New York Times article, opens the piece with the story of Tommy Munsdwell Canady, an aspiring rapper from Racine, Wisconsin, and when I say aspiring, I mean he uploaded a few songs to Soundcould, a feat my 10yr old niece can do.

Police in Racine were looking for suspects in three recent shootings, one of the victims, Semar Mcclain who was 19 at the time, was found dead with a bullet in his temple.

If you you're a fan of The Dossier, please visit our Patreon page for free and paid content featuring exclusive documents, unedited interviews, monthly online meet-ups with other Dossier fans and the show creator, Don Sikorski. Goto Patreon.com/dossier
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If you have been listening in, a New York Times article about rap lyrics that I read by a pool in the Spring of 2022, really brought me back 17 years when I decided to explore the origins of a secret Hip-Hop dossier, and why the NYPD and federal government wanted to surveil, track, arrest and indict Hip-Hop Superstars.  

The way I chose to tell my story was in the form of a documentary I called Rap Sheet, and where I left off was, I was now in business with Pistol Pete and Steve Lobel, and my best buddy Rick Phillips was my main source of financing.

I was in the hole $50K and I had never gone to film school so what did I really know, but there were some core themes that were important for me and remember I wanted to tell a story that resonated this connection between Hip-Hop and law enforcement.

In this episode we hear from Murder Inc's Irv Gotti about his case with the Feds and his relationship with none other than the mythical street legend, Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff. We also meet THE Hip Hop Cop himself, Derek Parker.

If you you're a fan of The Dossier, please visit our Patreon page for free and paid content featuring exclusive documents, unedited interviews, monthly online meet-ups with other Dossier fans and the show creator, Don Sikorski. Goto Patreon.com/dossier
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In Episode one, I talked about securing a weird dossier that was compiled by federal and state law enforcement to track Hip-Hop superstars, and their entourages, associates, and record labels. With the book in hand as a young journalist, I decided the best route to tell the story of the book was to actually make a documentary, but I had no experience, no money, and I didn’t know anyone inside the Hip-Hop industry, but fuck it I started anyway.


At that time in 2007 I was fascinated by what they called the Hip-Hop Police, and I was also fascinated with how much mystery was behind this unit. 


In revisiting the film almost 17 years later in hindsight my quest, my search or curiosity was one part bold, two parts naïve, and somewhat dangerous, at that time Hip-Hop was just hitting the mainstream, so violence, gangsters, and a certain allure was all a part of the story I wanted to tell, but I need some help, I needed people who knew the industry, could get me interviews, or people who could talk…. 


So, I traveled down to Miami, where the annual Source Awards was going on, to this day why I went, and who I met, changed everything.


If you you're a fan of The Dossier, please visit our Patreon page for free and paid content featuring exclusive documents, unedited interviews, monthly online meet-ups with other Dossier fans and the show creator, Don Sikorski. Goto Patreon.com/dossier
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My name is Don Sikorski.

I grew up in the confines of suburban Norwalk, Connecticut, a fan of the hip hop music of Public Enemy, KRS One and Rakim.

In 1994, at the age of 18, I left to pursue an interest in journalism and New York University. I was always fascinated by the rumors I heard surrounding hip hop culture, about murder, extortion, the laundering of drug money, the connection between criminal activity and the music.

Little did I know at the time, that fascination would eventually take me on a three-year journey into a very complex relationship between hip hop, violence and the likes of the NYPD, LAPD, DEA and FBI.

Hip Hop vs The Cops is the story of a clandestine joint task force of law enforcement, that have been surveilling hip hop stars. I would soon learn that even A-list artists who claimed to be targets of the so-called Hip-Hop cops, had no idea who these law enforcement officials really were or why they might exist.

Most officials questioned about the rumored secret unit refused to speak on or off camera may no comment are categorically denied knowledge of such a task force.

I would prove otherwise.

If you you're a fan of The Dossier, please visit our Patreon page for free and paid content featuring exclusive documents, unedited interviews, monthly online meet-ups with other Dossier fans and the show creator, Don Sikorski. Goto Patreon.com/dossier
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