Rapper Afroman, who shot to fame with the stoner anthem “Because I Got High”, found himself in a very different kind of spotlight this week, an Ohio courtroom. The 51-year-old took the stand to defend his controversial use of security footage from a 2022 police raid on his home.
Known offstage as Joseph Foreman, Afroman didn’t hold back, telling the court, “all of this is their fault,” framing his actions as an exercise of his First Amendment rights, CNN reported.
The dispute centers on Adams County Sheriff’s deputies who executed the raid on August 21, 2022. They’re now suing Foreman, claiming he used their images in music videos and merchandise without consent. The deputies say the exposure brought them humiliation and even death threats, particularly from footage featured in tracks like “Lemon Pound Cake” and “Will You Help Me Repair My Door”, TMZ reported.
On the stand, Foreman painted the raid as the root of the controversy. “If they hadn’t wrongly raided my house, there would be no lawsuit,” he said, adding that $400 in cash allegedly went missing during the search, ABC7 Chicago reported.
The raid itself, which occurred while Foreman was out of town in Chicago, was executed under warrants for drug trafficking and kidnapping, but ultimately no charges were filed. A subsequent investigation in Clermont County concluded that the missing money had been miscounted, not stolen, ABC7 Chicago noted.
Foreman’s security cameras had captured a dramatic scene: officers breaking down his door, rifles drawn. He later incorporated that footage into a viral music video for “Lemon Pound Cake” and shared clips on Instagram, amplifying the story for fans and followers. He even went as far as releasing a police diss track "Batteram Hymn of The Police Whistle Blower".
“I had to do what I had to do to repair the damage they brought to my house,” Foreman told the court, defending the continued circulation of videos featuring the deputies, including clips posted as recently as the day before his testimony, TMZ reported.
Foreman took to social media to share how thankful he is for everyone supporting him throughout this legal battle.
Whether the case will ultimately side with the deputies or with Afroman’s right to artistic expression remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Afroman has no problem turning cops into content.
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