Regardless of the answer, it is certainly tasteless and beyond the bounds of morally acceptable behavior.

Despite an apology, a syndicated hip-hop disc jockey was being investigated for a possible bias crime after making threatening racial and sexual remarks about a rival's wife and 4-year-old daughter, police said Thursday.

The New York Police Department's Hate Crime Task Force launched the probe after the chief of detectives reviewed a transcript of DJ Star's on-air comments about DJ Envy and his family, said police spokesman Paul Browne.

Star, whose real name is Troi Torain, apologized on Thursday through his attorney, Benjamin Brafman.

The lawyer called the remarks "unsuitable and inappropriate" and assured the rival's wife she had nothing to fear. But he also claimed his client was the victim of threats by her husband.

"The statements made by Star in response, while inappropriate, were, however, made under great duress and at a time when he was fearful for his safety and the safety of members of his staff," Brafman said in statement.

Torain worked for Clear Channel Radio's Power 105.1 FM before being fired Wednesday amid protests from elected officials. A city councilman, John Liu, said on Thursday that the disgraced DJ "now must be put behind bars for spewing these threats against a little 4-year-old girl."

I guess the question that I have is whether or not these actually constitute threats of a criminal nature. The sort of garbage spewed out of hip-hop culture is disgusting and appalling. Was this an actual threat, or was it a part of the shtick that is part of the entertainment milieu?

What was said, of course, is beyond the bounds of decency.

In the comments, made between May 3 and Monday, Torain — co-host of the "Star & Buc Wild Morning Show" — offered $500 to any listener who could provide information about the rival DJ's daughter's school and used racial slurs when talking about his wife, who is part Asian.

"I will come for your kids," Torain said, according to transcribed excerpts provided by Liu's office. "I finally got the information on his slant-eyed, whore wife."

Torain also called the couple's child a "little half a lo mein eater" and said he wanted to "do an R. Kelly on your seed, on your little baby girl. I would like to tinkle on her," according to the excerpts.

Sick, racist stuff – but is it criminal? And is it really all that unusual, in a sub-culture which calls R. Kelly a victim and labels his young victim the perpetrator? Should we be surprised when one DJ several years ago claimed that “rumor has it” that one teenage rapper was anally raped by his bodyguards and needed multiple stitches to repair his injuries? Threats of violence and threats of death – not to mention blatant glorification of sexual assault and degradation of women -- are mainstream fare in hip-hop and rap. Is it any wonder that this guy made such comments in a field where life is often nasty, brutish and short?

I donÂ’t know that criminal charges or monetary fines in this discrete instance are really the right answer. Maybe the end of this moral moronÂ’s career is a good start. Perhaps what needs to happen is for Clear Channel and other media companies to reconsider their support for the thug life that is hip-hop and rap.

And lest we let these folks get away with their outrage over the racism of it all, please remember that DJ Envy (Raashaun Casey), whose wife and child were the targets in all this, was part of another famous incident involving anti-Asian racism – but as the perpetrator.

Mr. Casey and Ms. Jones were among several employees suspended by Hot 97 in January 2005 after broadcasting a song that ridiculed victims of the previous month's tsunami in Asia.

That history makes me wonder if the notion of this being a hate crime is nothing more than a bit of PR puffery by a member of the thugocracy of hip-hop and rap.

UPDATE: As pointed out in a comment below, Torain has been arrested and charged in this case.

A syndicated hip-hop disc jockey was arrested Friday on charges of harassment and endangering the welfare of a child amid an uproar over his on-air racial and sexual rants about a radio rival's wife and 4-year-old daughter.

Police officials had launched a hate crime investigation of DJ Star on Thursday after reviewing a transcript of his recent remarks about DJ Envy and his family.

DJ Star, whose real name is Troi Torain, was contacted by police on Friday and ordered to surrender a 9mm handgun and target-practice permit at Police Headquarters. When he arrived, he was arrested and taken to the 1st Precinct stationhouse in lower Manhattan, said police spokesman Paul Browne.

Posted by: Greg at 11:54 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 821 words, total size 5 kb.