NEWS: Bobby Shmurda Talks Jail, Stabbing Rumors & Bail From Behind Bars

Bobby Shmurda Talks Jail, Stabbing Rumors & Bail From Behind Bars

Bobby Shmurda speaks to Billboard from behind bars, detailing his case and life inside jail.

The latest bit of news we got from the Bobby Shmurda/GS9 trial came earlier this week, when we learned that the young rapper has had his bail revoked. Although he's still behind bars and without a bail option, Shmurda spoke toBillboard about life in jail, rumors that he had been stabbed, and his hopes for getting out. Read the interview below.

How is it in there?

It's survival, survival. Survival of the fittest.

Has it been hard on you?

Not that hard. I get a lot of love in here.

People in there know who you are and know "Hot Boy"?

Yeah, everybody. Every time I walk the halls, I see people and they yell out "Ah Ah!" or something.

There are so many rumors, like, that you got stabbed.

It's nothing but rumors, man. I'm good. Everybody knows I'm good. I'm chilling. We over here -- we over here thugging it out, man. [Laughs.]

Your mother and your lawyer are working hard to get you out on bail. Are you hopeful about that?

Uhhh… We're trying, but right now I think the DA and the judge and everyone in the court is being biased. It's so crazy. The favoritism, yeah. They don't have no evidence, no nothing on me for the bill to be so high. I haven't been out for a year, I haven't been around for a year. So I didn't make two million dollars! [Laughs] They gave me a bill they know I can't pay. We can pay the 10 percent. And we tried to pay the 10 percent and they told us collateral. And every time we go for bail, it's something new.

Your last hearing was Jan. 29. What were you thinking in court?

When I see the judge and the DA, I just see a bunch of people [who are] trying to take my life away for being blessed. That's what I look at when I look at them. It looks like a bunch of haters.

How do you feel about the other people who are your co-defendants? Have you been in touch with them at all?

Some of them I don't know. Some of them I do know. They just started picking anybody out of the neighborhood. They got me locked up with -- I've seen, I don't know, probably like six people here. I don't even know everybody. It's crazy.

Besides your mother, who have you been in touch with?

I talked to Meek [Mill]. I talked to French [Montana]. I talked to Migos. I stay in contact with people.

What are you planning to do when you get out?

Write some platinum songs. [Laughs.] Finish up this deal I got with Epic.

Do you have a message for your fans?

Yeah. Keep your head up. Everybody goes through tough times and good times. You know what, tough times don't last forever. I say, God makes his toughest battles for his strongest soldiers.

[via]

NEWS: Bobby Shmurda Gets A Gun Charge Dismissed

Bobby Shmurda Gets A Gun Charge Dismissed

Bobby Shmurda has one of the five charges against him dropped.

Finally, some good news for Bobby Shmurda. After the Brooklyn native and 12 other members of his crew were arrested and indicted in a high-profile incident last December, Shmurda's attorney is now saying that one of the five charges against Shmurda will be dropped. In an interview with Revolt, Howard Greenberg said that the “Brooklyn D.A. office announced that the gun case in Brooklyn will be dismissed in about two weeks."

The case in question stems from an incident in which Shmurda fired a gun into a crowd outside of a barbershop, and led to a "Reckless Endangerment" charge. With this out of the way, Shmurda still has to deal with charges of Criminal Possession of a Weapon and Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia, both of which occurred after police aided his Brooklyn residence last year, as well as two counts of conspiracy.

Stay tuned for more updates.

[via]

NEWS: Bobby Shmurda Gets A Gun Charge Dismissed

 Bobby Shmurda Gets A Gun Charge Dismissed

Bobby Shmurda has one of the five charges against him dropped.

Finally, some good news for Bobby Shmurda. After the Brooklyn native and 12 other members of his crew were arrested and indicted in a high-profile incident last December, Shmurda's attorney is now saying that one of the five charges against Shmurda will be dropped. In an interview with Revolt, Howard Greenberg said that the “Brooklyn D.A. office announced that the gun case in Brooklyn will be dismissed in about two weeks."

The case in question stems from an incident in which Shmurda fired a gun into a crowd outside of a barbershop, and led to a "Reckless Endangerment" charge. With this out of the way, Shmurda still has to deal with charges of Criminal Possession of a Weapon and Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia, both of which occurred after police aided his Brooklyn residence last year, as well as two counts of conspiracy.

Stay tuned for more updates.

[via]

NEWS: GS9′s Rowdy Rebel Issues Statement From Jail

GS9′s Rowdy Rebel Issues Statement From Jail

(Phone Home)

Since he, Bobby Shmurda, and the rest of the GS9 crew were indicted on a series of charges in New York earlier this month, Rowdy Rebel has been biding his time. Now, we have the first bit of communication from the other side of the partition. The Brooklyn rapper placed a phone call to his girlfriend in which he favors shoutouts over assertions of innocence or substantive reports of any sort.

Among the litany of violent incidents to which the rappers are tied is a July shooting, after which Rowdy allegedly played the Barclay Center only hours later—allegedly in the same clothes. The charges against the group as a whole can be read here. Their next court date is Jan 29, 2015.

[In Flex We Trust]

NEWS: Bobby Shmurda’s “Hot Boy” Lyrics Will Not Be Used As Evidence In Court

Bobby Shmurda’s “Hot Boy” Lyrics Will Not Be Used As Evidence In Court

Bobby Shmurda and his GS9 crew look to be in a dire situation after being arrested and hit with a huge indictment that alleges they took part in drugs, guns and murders. The rapper is still being held in Riker’s Island on a $2 million bail. One development in the case looks like it will fall in the Brooklyn MC’s favor. According to Jakub Brodowski, a rep for the office of the special narcotics prosecutor, lyrics from Bobby’s hit “Hot Boy,” which seem damning considering the situation, will not be entered as evidence during trial, reports FADER. That means lines like “I been selling crack since the 5th grade” and “Mitch caught a body ’bout a week ago” can not be used against Shmurda, born, Ackquille Pollard.

The rapper is facing five charges on eight counts including conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree assault. He faces up to 25 years in prison if found guilty.

via Fader

NEWS: Bobby Shmurda's Attorney Speaks On Case, Says Bobby's On Rikers Island

Bobby Shmurda's Attorney Speaks On Case, Says Bobby's On Rikers Island

Bobby Shmurda's attorney, Howard Greenberg, speaks on the case against Bobby, revealing that he spent Christmas in prison on Rikers Island.

Since Bobby Shmurda and members of GS9's indictment last week, we haven't gotten much new information about their case, as no news about bail has surfaced. Yesterday, Shmurda's attorney, Howard Greenberg, spoke to The FADER about his client's whereabouts, potential release on bail and the (in his opinion) "bullshit" nature of the charges. Read his interview below.

So where is your client now?

He is on Rikers Island. I'm on my way up there as we're speaking. He was visiting with family today for Christmas Eve. [Note: in a follow up call, Greenberg said he wasn't able to see Pollard on Wednesday because he was busy with another visitor.]

After Pollard was arrested, you said that Epic was working on putting up his $2 million bail. Is there any news on that front?

There is no news. We're just trying to put something else together now.

Can you tell me why you think the NYPD has gone after Bobby?

The government hates rap and the government hates rappers. They construct a narrative and add rationalizations to make it seem true. They recruit guiltless and loveless people to whom truth is meaningless and convince them to say what they want to say. These people are jealous of a brother on the way up.

Do you think the prosecution would try to use any of his lyrics or videos as evidence at trial?

I don't put anything past these guys.

Do you have any thoughts on the text of the indictment? 

I've analyzed the indictment down to the bone. It's just talking. Bobby shouldn't be charged with anything. I have told your colleagues in the media, the indictment is a bunch of bullshit. First 41 pages are just kids talking, in not even english. Bobby isn't charged with anything except talk in the indictment.

The prosecutors have listed two social media posts in the indictment. Recently, police have leaned on social media heavily to prove young New Yorkers guilty of gang activity. Do you think they'll use social media posts at trial? 

Of course. It's just because they don't know how to respect a person.

Any other thoughts?

My guy's rich, he's busy. He's always on tour. He's supposedly leader of this crew, but he's not charged with any violence. Use your head, it doesn't make any sense. I'm not going to let them crucify Bobby Shmurda.

NEWS: Bobby Shmurda’s Attorney Howard Greenberg: “The Government Hates Rap”

 Bobby Shmurda’s Attorney Howard Greenberg: “The Government Hates Rap”

Bobby Shmurda and 14 other members of GS9 were arrested Wednesday (Dec. 17) Outside at Quad Studios in New York City, while 21 weapons were found and seized. The arrests were part of a long-term investigation by the agency and the New York Police Department’s newly created Brooklyn South Violence Reduction Task Force that dates back at least to July, if not longer. Kati Cornell, director of public information for New York’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor stated that “a number of violent incidents as well as narcotics trafficking” were taken into account.

The details from the intensive investigation were detailed in a press release sent out by the office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the city of New York. The 15 individuals were indicted on 69 charges in total, including murder, attempted murder, assault, attempted assault, weapons possession, criminal use of a firearm, reckless endangerment, narcotics sales and criminally using drug paraphernalia. Shmurda himself was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminally using drug paraphernalia, reckless endangerment and conspiracy in the 2nd and 4th degree. But Howard Greenberg, Bobby Shmurda’s Attorney, thinks his client is being targeted because he’s a young, successful African American rapper.

“Let me give you some context,” Greenberg told XXL over the phone. “The government hates rap and the government hates rappers. They target these guys and construct a narrative around them and then they rationalize the narrative in order to get an indictment. I had said previously, it’s a bunch of bullshit. What they do is they recruit guiltless, loveless people who are truthless that are jealous of brothers on the way up and they get them to implicate them.”

Greenberg argues that the charges are fabricated and the conspiracy charges on Shmurda are baseless.

“I gave the indictment a close read and the first 41 pages [are] just talk,” Greenberg said “It’s street lingo that isn’t even English, which is susceptible to interpretation that’s so broad, it’s unduly vague. In the argument yesterday they said that there were guns in his car; what they didn’t say is that two guns were in a closed container in the possession of somebody else, not Bobby. They misspoke about that to the Supreme Court. In the defense bar we style conspiracy charges as one of the darlings of the prosecutor’s nursery. People of color should be very afraid of these kind of prosecutions. They are selective. They start by aiming at a guy’s lyrics to begin.”

Greenberg continues on to state that the government hates rappers and will even go so far as to break the First Amendment to get an indictment. He adds that the conspiracy charges to his clients—both the Brooklyn MC and Shmurda’s brother Javase Pollard—are “insidious.” Mr. Greenberg expounded that he’s not sure if the “Hot Nigga” rapper is in jail or not but that Epic Records should “stand behind their artist. But then again it is a subdivision of Sony, so you tell me if the have the balls to stand up for their people.”

“My guy is rich, he’s busy, he’s always on tour,” Greenberg added. “He doesn’t have time for this bullshit; it makes no sense. He’s making more money legit than it’s possible to make, it’s crazy. My guys are legit, end of story. Give me a fuckin’ break. But he’s a target.”

Justice James Burke set bail at $2 million for Shmurda and as of Thursday night he hasn’t posted bail. Other defendants named in the indictment were arraigned and sent to Rikers Island, according to The New York Times. All of the defendants pleaded not guilty.

An infographic detailing the need-to-know information on Bobby Shmurda's recent arrest, along with GS9 crew members.

Bobby Shmurda and various GS9 crew members were picked up by police on Wednesday, December 17th, while recording at Quad studios in NYC. At the time, it was unclear just how serious (and how many) charges the were against the burgeoning rapper and his affiliates. Shmurda had been arrested earlier this year, but that was extremely minor in comparison.

Yesterday, after their arraignment, the full list of charges was released, and it did not look good for the phenom rapper. Apparently the charges were accumulated after "a long-term investigation," which is never a good sign. While these things can get a bit complicated, we've broken down the most important bits in a graphic below.

Bobby Shmurda's lawyer has maintained his innocence (as did the rest of the crew), saying, "Does it make sense that he would resort to committing crimes when he has the world in the palm of his hand? It's ridiculous." Nonetheless, how this will affect him or his rap career remains unknown. 

UPDATES:

NEWS: Bobby Shmurda & GS9 Arrest By The Numbers

Bobby Shmurda & GS9 Arrest By The Numbers

An infographic detailing the need-to-know information on Bobby Shmurda's recent arrest, along with GS9 crew members.

Bobby Shmurda and various GS9 crew members were picked up by police on Wednesday, December 17th, while recording at Quad studios in NYC. At the time, it was unclear just how serious (and how many) charges the were against the burgeoning rapper and his affiliates. Shmurda had been arrested earlier this year, but that was extremely minor in comparison.

Yesterday, after their arraignment, the full list of charges was released, and it did not look good for the phenom rapper. Apparently the charges were accumulated after "a long-term investigation," which is never a good sign. While these things can get a bit complicated, we've broken down the most important bits in a graphic below.

Bobby Shmurda's lawyer has maintained his innocence (as did the rest of the crew), saying, "Does it make sense that he would resort to committing crimes when he has the world in the palm of his hand? It's ridiculous." Nonetheless, how this will affect him or his rap career remains unknown. 

NEWS: Bobby Shmurda & Members Of GS9 Reportedly Arrested At Quad Studios

 Bobby Shmurda & Members Of GS9 Reportedly Arrested At Quad Studios

Bobby Shmurda, Sha Money XL and members of GS9 were apparently arrested at Quad Studios last night.

Add another gun-related news story to Quad Studios' already-infamous history. The NYC-based recording spot, famous for being the site of the first (non-fatal) 2Pac shooting in 1994, just played host to the police again last night, as Bobby Shmurda and undisclosed members of his GS9 crew were reportedly arrested there.

Karen Civil reports that police confiscated "numerous weapons" from the studio, but it's unclear what exact charges Shmurda and Co. are being brought in on. Sha Money XL, the EVP of Urban A&R at Epic Records who signed Shmurda earlier this year, was also reportedly arrested.

Remember, Shmurda was previously arrested for gun possession in June, so if that's what the charge is again, he could be facing a hefty punishment.

[Update: Video From Arrest Surfaces]

Later in the day, we've got a few updates on the arrests. First off, Wondering Sound got a quote from the "director of public information in the office of the city’s special narcotics prosecutor" on the incident. Although she didn't get into the specifics of the charges, she said "These arrests were the result of a long-term investigation. My office has a sealed indictment against a number of individuals. The investigation did involve a number of violent incidents as well as narcotics trafficking."

Secondly, video of Rowdy Rebel being led away in handcuffs outside of the studio has surfaced. Watch the clip below.

NEWS: Migos And Bobby Shmurda Announce ‘Shmigo Gang’ Mixtape

Migos And Bobby Shmurda Announce ‘Shmigo Gang’ Mixtape

Migos and Bobby Shmurda have both had a memorable 2014, Shmurda for his meteoric rise to hip-hop stardom as a result of his summer smash single, “Hot N****a.” The latter for their dope music, antics, and beefs (which have since been now squashed). Now, the artists will join forces on a mixtape entitled Shmigo Gang. A tweet from Migos’s Twitter page confirmed that the mixtape is “coming soon,” and the mixtape will feature Shmurda’s GS9 brethren Rowdy Rebel, along with Rich The Kid and Domingo.

#ShmigoGang coming soon... @BobbyShmurdaGS9 @IAmRichTheKid @RowdyRebelGS9 @DomKicknShit pic.twitter.com/kmsmLIPdgX

— MIGOS™ (@MigosATL) December 16, 2014

 No word on when exactly the mixtape drops, but in  the meantime, check out our review of Shmurda’s most recent project Shmurda She Wrote here, and check out Migos’s Rich N****a Timeline here.