New York City Police Commissioner Calls Some Rappers “Thugs” Who Celebrate Violence After Irving Plaza Shooting

A T.I. show at Irving Plaza in New York City was cut short Wednesday night (May 25) when shots rang out from a third floor green room. One victim has passed as a result of the shooting, with an additional three injured, Troy Ave among them. Speaking with WCBS 880 Thursday morning about the incident, New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton referred to some rappers as "basically thugs."

In the interview, which is included below and starts at around the two minute mark, Bratton says, “The crazy world of these so-called rap artists who are basically thugs that basically celebrate violence they did all their lives, and unfortunately that violence often times manifests itself during their performances, and that’s exactly what happened last evening.”

He continued, saying, “The background of a lot of these young people, they are significant artists in that world…but unfortunately the lifestyles that they lived…often time follows them into the entertainment world and the success they have in it...It’s unfortunate. You’d like to think that with all the wealth that comes from the fame, that they’ll be able to turn their lives around but they continue hanging out with the same people they hung out with when they came out of that world of desperation, poverty, and crime.”

Bratton's comments are reminiscent of the Bone Thugs-n-Harmony song "Thuggish Ruggish Bone," which begins with a clip of a 1993 sermon given by Abyssinian pastor Calvin O. Butts. In it he says, "We're not against rap, we're not against rappers, but we're against those thugs."

Bratton makes less of a distinction between the two sets of groups, with concerns high following the fatal shoot out. Listen to the interview below courtesy of BuzzFeed News.