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Report: NYPD ‘Rap Unit’ Surveils Hip-Hop Concerts and Keeps Tabs on Artists

The unit reportedly compiles a list of weekly entertainment reports about upcoming shows to determine if any pose a risk for violence.

An undercover NYPD officer and two dozen other uniformed cops kept tabs at rapper Remy Ma’s March 2018 concert in Manhattan, according to the New York Post. The move was reportedly part of a series of on-the-ground operations conducted by the department’s Enterprise Operations Unit—also known as the “Rap Unit.” The unit, which compiles a list of weekly entertainment reports about upcoming hip-hop shows to determine if any pose a risk for violence or drug dealing, had been secretly eyeballing Ma and a member of her entourage, Jahmeek “Jah” Elliot, internal police records reportedly reveal. The department is said to have taken a special interest in Ma, who is on parole after having served six years in prison for a 2007 shooting, and Elliot, who is described as a “person of interest” because of his suspected gang ties and 26 prior arrests, the Post reports. The undercover officer was reportedly planted in the 2018 Irving Plaza concert to gather intelligence. Ma was arrested last month for allegedly assaulting her Love & Hip Hop New York co-star Brittney Taylor at an Irving Plaza benefit concert in April. She recently pleaded not guilty.