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Rhymefest Says People Glad He Was Robbed, Writes Song About Police Ordeal

By Sam Cholke | August 29, 2016 4:20pm
 Che
Che "Rhymefest" Smith said people have told him they are happy he got robbed and is calling out apathy by police.
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DNAinfo/Wendell Hutson

HYDE PARK — Che “Rhymefest” Smith said he was surprised how many people told him they were glad he got robbed after he posted online about his experience trying to file a robbery report on Saturday.

The Grammy-Award winner said Monday that his neighbors have reached out to him since the robbery to say how glad they are that he's drawing attention to apathy by police towards victims after the police at the Grand Crossing District wouldn’t let him file a report about an armed robbery.

Smith was robbed at gunpoint Saturday morning when a man in a ski mask jumped in his car at 43rd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue and demanded money. His posts on Twitter about his difficulty filing a police report  — because officers were playing “Candy Crush” and eating — garnered broad attention online.

It led to a public apology from the police department — and discipline for an officer.

RELATED: Officer In Rhymefest Robbery Run-In Will Be Disciplined, Rahm Emanuel Says

Smith went into the studio on Sunday and recorded “Cops ‘N’ Robbers” about his experience and the reaction.

He said he’s been getting emails and messages from people around the city since saying they are glad he’s using his platform to call attention to the hurdles victims are often forced to jump through with police.

“I’m getting messages like, ‘I’m glad he got robbed so now he knows how we feel,’” Smith said.

He said he plans to go back into the studio Tuesday to now work on more songs about police in Chicago

RELATED: Rhymefest Gets Apology From Cops Over 'Disgusting' Response To Robbery

Not only did police publicly apologize to Smith, and he said he’s also gotten several calls from officers to apologize and offer an explanation.

“One of the officers told me they’re desensitized to this stuff,” Smith said. “Are they getting the psychological help they need?”

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday promised the officers who prevented Smith from filing a report would be disciplined.

"The issue should be that he was held up at gunpoint," Emanuel said. "It shouldn't be how a guy came in to do a citizen's report on what happened to him and [have] it become the event.

"Had that officer acted appropriately, we'd be dealing right now with who did the mugging, which is where we should be," Emanuel said.

Smith said he wants the issue to remain on the problems with the culture of Chicago’s police force and not on his own situation.

“What I don’t want is some Trumpian reaction where Rahm Emanuel talks to the media about me rather than to me,” Smith said.

He said he wants Emanuel to come to the South Side to meet with him and the community to talk about the community’s expectations of police and what resources they need to meet those expectations.

Smith said the community needs to raise its expectations too of both the police and other institutions in their neighborhoods.

“The city has to stop hiring black faces just because they have black faces and no connection to the community,” Smith said.

He said he thinks agencies like the police need to hire more people with an invested interest in improving the communities they serve.

Smith put out a call on Twitter to the man who robbed him to come and talk to him. He said, so far, that call has gone unanswered.

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