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Police shooting spurs rapper's response

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

December 2, 2006

One New Yorker incensed about last weekend's fatal police shooting of an unarmed man has fired back _ in rhyme.

An up-and-coming Brooklyn rapper, Papoose, vents his anger about the shooting in a song called "50 Shots." The title refers to the number of bullets police fired at 23-year-old Sean Bell and two of his friends last weekend in Queens.

The track has been making the rounds online, and the influential New York hip-hop station Hot 97 aired it this week.

Between gunshot sounds and samples from soul singer Sam Cooke's civil-rights-era classic "A Change Is Gonna Come," Papoose takes aim at the police.

"If your reason was you thought he carried a gun / That means you killed him for nothing because he ain't had one," he raps.

But Papoose has some temperate praise for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, at least in comparison to his predecessor, Rudy Giuliani: "He got some better manners / But let's see if we get some better policy."

Papoose became known for his mix tapes, a type of underground recording. He has since attracted attention in music's major leagues. The music magazine Rolling Stone named him one of its "10 Artists to Watch" this year.

Bell, 23, and two of his friends were shot hours before he was to get married. They were leaving his bachelor party at a Queens strip club where undercover police were investigating complaints about prostitution and drug dealing.

It is unclear what prompted officers to open fire on Bell's vehicle, but police apparently feared one man in the group was about to get a gun.

Five officers have been placed on paid administrative leave until the outcome of a grand jury investigation that could result in criminal charges.