Law enforcement has made it clear throughout the years that the government does not like hip-hop. Developing a special task force titled the “Hip Hop Police,” the organization monitored specifically what was going on within the culture and community. This is a disdain that has been ongoing since the birth of the genre.
In 1989 the FBI send out a letter to Brian Turner, the president of Priority Records, in regards to N.W.A’s rebellious record “F**k Tha Police.” The letter stated that the song was a blatant disrespect to all officers risking their life in the line of duty. The bad-taste for rap grew even more when the FBI filed a report stating that the increase in gang activity was a result of hip-hop culture.
The most notorious files were those pinned against the Wu-Tang Clan. The FBI worked alongside the NYPD in an attempt to diminish the entire Clan, or the “WTC” as they had the group filed. A 95-page document shows the work done on the rap collective, although no charges were ever pressed, Vice News reports.
The FBI launched the probe after the NYPD suggested that the death of two drug dealers was ordered by RZA with the involvement of Raekwon. Wu-Tang Clan, who was labeled and classified as a “major criminal organization,” was being investigated for allegations of drug dealing, gang ties, and murder. The NYPD sought for assistance from the FBI to file a RICO prosecution, a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act designed by prosecutors to dismantle mafia families.
Despite FBI and NYPD efforts, the Wu still remains.