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For those of you who missed the VMAs, rapper turned actor turned activist Mos Def was arrested outside of the show. While the award ceremony was going on inside, Mos rolled up outside of Radio City Music Hall in a flatbed truck and began performing "Katrina Klap," (his Magnolia Clap-inspired response to Hurricane Katrina) to protest the current state of reconstruction efforts in New Orleans. NY's hip hop police, as they are wont to do when spontaneous rap concerts break out in the middle of Manhattan, arrested Mos Def and several members of his crew after they allegedly refused to comply with the request to shut things down.
Mos Def's publicist claims that he was complying with the orders of the police and that the arrests were an overreaction. Apparently a videotape was made of the incident, and Mos Def's publicist says this tape will be released onto the internet to show their side of the story. If the video is anything like the Lil Scrappy vs. Orlando police tape, Mos Def can look forward to earning more from a lawsuit against the NYPD than any of his recent album releases. From most accounts, though, it looks like Mos Def will end up paying a small fine and that will be the end of it.
Here is the song that he was performing at the time of the arrest:
Katrina Klap
For more on the actual VMA show itself, read ballerstatus' review.
9/1/2006 2:06:49 PM posted by Fresh