Papoose Records Tribute To Fallen Groom

[Damien J.]

Brooklyn-N.Y. based rapper Papoose has recorded a song called “50 Shots,” inspired by the recent police shooting that left a 23-year-old man dead on his wedding day. The title refers to the number of shots fired at Sean Bell and his friends as they left a Queens, N.Y. strip club last month. The song, which began making the rounds on radio last week, samples Sam Cooke’s classic song, “A Change is Gonna Come.”

“If your reason was you thought he carried a gun/that means you killed him for nothing because he ain’t had one,” Papoose raps. The song then ends with the sound of 50 gunshots echoing in the background. Papoose also references the police shootings of African immigrant Amadou Diallo in the Bronx and the recent shooting of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnson in her Atlanta home. Papoose premiered the song on New York’s Hot 97 radio station during DJ Kay Slay’s “The Drama Hour.” Five NYPD police officers were placed on administrative leave immediately following the incident that left Bell dead and two of his friends, 31-year-old Joseph Guzman and 23-year-old Trent Benefield, hospitalized. An investigation continues.

Papoose will premiere his video "Alphabetical Slaughter" right here on BET.com this Friday. Check back for more.

This report is provided by BET.com