The Vallejo police war on rap music

The Vallejo Sun

When a Vice film crew came to Vallejo to interview native rap sensation Nef the Pharaoh and others in its legendary music scene, Vallejo police officers showed up and detained everyone, giving cameras direct evidence of how police violence continues to shape the local rap scene. Using previously unreleased body camera footage, this episode illustrates how Vallejo native turned police officer, Joshua Coleman, feels about the community he grew up in and then policed, as well as details other interactions when police responded to cameras in the streets.

In this episode, we’re going to look at how policing and protests have helped shape the rich music scene in Vallejo, and how video shoots, like the one for Vice, have been targets for police scrutiny and how officers target rap music. Still, some of those officers are avid fans of hip-hop or even rappers themselves.

Vallejo has a long line of famous musical acts calling it home at some point in their lives… from Sly and the Family Stone to H.E.R. to Mac Dre to E-40.