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Black Protesters In NYC Charged With Felonies More Than White Protestors, Data Shows

Between May 28th and June 7th – the height of recent Black Lives Matter Protests in New York City, the NYPD arrested over 2,000 protestors. Of these arrests, white people made up about 44%, while black people made up about 39%. Despite these similar numbers, data released by New York State’s Office of the Attorney General reveals that 16% of the black arrestees were charged with a felony, compared to just 3% of white people. 

Latinx people made up about 13% of the arrests with approximately 8% being hit with felonies. 

One public defender’s organization in Manhattan also found that, between May 29 and June 6, only 5% of the 72 people arraigned in “protest-related cases” were white. Almost 70% of those 72 arraignments involved third-degree burglary charges, a nonviolent felony with a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.

“The only folks who were being held were the kids of color, who were being charged with these ridiculous, trumped-up felony cases. And that was just really, really enraging,” said Jessica Heyman, an attorney for the New York County Defender Services. 

Furthermore, the Manhattan DA’s office released data confirming that most of its protest arraignments were of non-white people. Among the 484 people arraigned between May 28 and June 4 for “protest and ‘looting’ related cases,” only 30 (6%) were white. 

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Black people made up about 71% of those arraignments while Hispanic people made up another 20%. About 430 of those arraignments involved felonies, most frequently third-degree burglary. 

As black protestors are being arrested and hit with these trumped-up charges, the NYPD is continuing to be hit with several allegations of excessive force, mistreatment of essential workers and detentions of neutral legal observers, fueling calls to defund or entirely abolish the force. 

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Meek Mill Draws Mixed Reactions With Drill Take on Nico & Vinz’s “Am I Wrong”

Meek Mill has released a couple of songs that leaked online recently, giving fans a proper way to hear the tracks after they popped up over the weekend. “Philly Heathens” has been praised for its attention to street culture and youth affected by violence, but his other new album, “Am I Wrong,” has received a much more divided response.

“Philly Heathens” has been praised for its lyrics about street culture and the young people who get caught up in violence. “Am I Wrong,” however, takes a vastly different approach, remixing the song of the same name by Nico & Vinz as a drill centric interpolation.

“Am I Wrong” is now 12 years old, and its connection to the EDM sound of the time makes it especially recognizable to those who grew up with it. So Meek’s take is built on a familiar musical reference, but the response has been far from universally complimentary. A lot of the criticism has been directed at the hook. The production has also been called dated, but the track was leaked, which may explain its sound. But the strongest reactions have focused on Meek’s chorus vocals.

Read More: Drake Joins Karol G in Houston for First Live Performance of “Ahi”

Some of the responses have been good, though. Some listeners felt the track was a throwback to the blog era, while others thought the criticism targeted almost entirely the hook, not the song as a whole. One Reddit commenter wrote that the track was good, but the chorus was bad, suggesting that Meek’s performance on the rest of the song was better than the reception to the hook may suggest.

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The different reactions demonstrate the contrast between Meek’s two new leaks. “Philly Heathens” has resonated with audiences for its subject matter, while “Am I Wrong” has sparked discussion due to its interpolation and vocal approach.

Both songs are now officially available on YouTube so that fans can decide for themselves. The response to “Am I Wrong” shows how difficult it is to reinterpret a well known song, especially when a recognizable hook becomes the centerpiece of the new version

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Drake Joins Karol G in Houston for First Live Performance of “Ahi”

Drake made a surprise appearance in Houston this weekend, joining Karol G on stage for the first-ever live performance of their collaboration, “Ahi.”
The surprise appearance took place during Karol G’s show in Houston, where Drake jumped out from the bottom of the stage to perform the song with her. “Ahi” is the latest from Karol G’s project No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto, and the Houston show marked the first time the pair had performed the collaboration together on stage.

Drake made his entrance to a loud reception from the crowd. The rapper popped out from under the stage, bowed to Karol G, hugged her, and launched into their collaboration. With “Ahi,” the performance was not over. Drake stayed on stage and carried on with the set, performing “Janice STFU” and “One Dance” and giving the Houston crowd a long set from the Canadian rapper.

The collaboration also sparked speculation about Drake’s upcoming music. A rumor started that Karol G was one of the collaborators on the project, along with Molly Santana and Future, days before ICEMAN is expected to drop. Future and Molly Santana were among the names on the rumored list, and Future ended up on “Run To Atlanta.”

Read More: Cardi B and Kehlani’s “Safe” Takes Best HipHop at the VMAs

Drake’s Houston appearance comes as he continues to promote music outside the traditional album release cycle. He released FOMO, a visual YouTube project featuring visuals for several songs from Habibti and Maid Of Honor nearly two weeks ago. The project also featured a couple of unreleased songs, including new material with Yeat and new unreleased music with Don Toliver.

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Drake and Don Toliver have also dropped a remix of Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas.” The remix has recently sparked speculation about the artists after re uploaded visuals allegedly erased all footage of Langley.

But the Houston show shifted the focus back to Drake and Karol G. The surprise appearance turned the stop into the first live showcase of “Ahi” for the audience, while Drake’s renditions of “Janice STFU” and “One Dance” extended his surprise time onstage. It also gave fans their first chance to see the two artists perform their collaboration together, adding a live chapter to the release of “Ahi. “

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