AR-AB found guilty In federal conspiracy case, faces minimum 15 years
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Philly rap star AR-Ab is convicted of running drug ring implicated in murders, faces at least 15 years in prison
by Jeremy Roebuck, Updated: November 19, 2019 - 3:08 PM
COURTESY OF @DARKLO @POERILLA #OBHRECORDS
Federal prosecutors say North Philly rapper Abdul "AR-Ab" West and several members of the record label he cofounded, Original Block Hustlaz (OBH), ran a drug ring trafficking in crack, heroin, and meth and were implicated in several murders.
His hard-bitten lyrics and bruising diss tracks have earned gangsta rapper AR-Ab a dedicated following in his native Philadelphia and the respect of hip-hop heavyweights Drake, Birdman, and Swizz Beatz.
Drawn by his tales of street justice and of dominance in the drug world, viewers have flocked to his self-released YouTube music videos by the millions.
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The panel found the rapper — whose legal name is Abdul West — and three members of his entourage guilty of turning their record label, Original Block Hustlaz (OBH), into a large-scale North Philly drug trafficking operation implicated in several murders.
Although federal prosecutors did not charge them in connection with those deaths, they made no effort to hide the identity of the person they believe to be responsible.
West, 37, sat stoically next to his lawyer as the jury announced its verdicts on counts including conspiracy and distribution of crack cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. He now faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 15 years under recidivist provisions in federal drug laws.
Tuesday’s verdict came after a two-week trial that put West’s music under a microscope and raised questions about just how much a genre defined by violent, hypermasculine boasting of street-honed toughness can be taken at its word.
In West’s case, prosecutors argued, his rap lyrics and social media persona were more than just marketing: They amounted to a confession to crimes.
Jurors were shown several of West’s videos as FBI agents pinpointed direct links to crimes he or members of his crew had committed.
Prosecutors interpreted his lyrics in one of them to be an admission that he ordered the murder of Robert Johnson, a drug world rival who died in 2017 after being shot multiple times on the 4000 block of Benner Street in Wissinoming. A member of West’s entourage is serving prison time for the slaying.
“I’ll have da whole city scared,” the song says. “Stand near homie / I call Tez [a nickname for the shooter] and tell him / Bring dat n—’s head to me.”
Investigators discovered the lyrics for that track, written four days after the slaying, in a note in West’s phone while searching one of his stash houses in Penn’s Landing in 2018.
He maintained that it was a coincidence. Prosecutors balked.
“Either he’s the most unlucky musician that ever existed,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Everett R. Witherell told jurors during his closing arguments last week, “or he ordered that hit.”
FBI agents targeted another OBH stash house in Penn’s Landing last year, seizing more than 10 kg of cocaine and methamphetamine. West released a music video in the weeks that followed, bemoaning in lyrics that the feds “took 10 of ‘em,” a reference to his drugs.
“Quarter million loss, got a broke heart,” he rapped. “And they snatched my dog, that’s the worst part. / One rat destroy everything you work for. / I pray to god that he don’t tell them who he work for.”
Throughout the trial, West and his codefendants maintained that OBH was not just a front for their drug-trafficking efforts but a legitimate record label that had drawn interest from fans and music industry insiders alike.
“OBH is a legit entity,” said Luis A. Ortiz, a lawyer for West’s codefendant Jameel Hickson. “This is a monetized operation that has 1.7 million hits on just one of its videos.”
But dozens of witnesses, including several members of the OBH drug ring who pleaded guilty and testified against their former colleagues, described a substantial trafficking network — one that bought cocaine, heroin, and meth from a supplier in California, sold the drugs on the streets of the North Philadelphia, and stored them in high-end Center City apartments they turned into stash houses, many rented under fake names.
Tuesday’s convictions left the future of OBH and its artists in doubt. AR-Ab, by far the most popular rapper at the label he cofounded, now faces decades behind bars.
Its second-most renowned artist, Charles “Dark Lo” Salley, who was not indicted along with the others, appears to have been arrested during the trial for allegedly intimidating witnesses.
Although public court dockets do not indicate whether charges have been filed against him, he is listed as being held in federal custody. His Instagram was updated earlier this month with a statement revealing that he’d been arrested in connection with his contact with witnesses in West’s case.
West’s codefendants at trial all had links to OBH. They include: Jamaal “Khaz” Blanding, Jameel “Meliano” Hickson, and Hans “No Brakes Bras” Gadsen. Others pleaded guilty before trial.
This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.
Updated: November 19, 2019 - 3:08 PM
Jeremy Roebuck | @jeremyrroebuck |jroebuck@inquirer.com
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Unlimited Access
Philly rap star AR-Ab is convicted of running drug ring implicated in murders, faces at least 15 years in prison
by Jeremy Roebuck, Updated: November 19, 2019 - 3:08 PM
COURTESY OF @DARKLO @POERILLA #OBHRECORDS
Federal prosecutors say North Philly rapper Abdul "AR-Ab" West and several members of the record label he cofounded, Original Block Hustlaz (OBH), ran a drug ring trafficking in crack, heroin, and meth and were implicated in several murders.
His hard-bitten lyrics and bruising diss tracks have earned gangsta rapper AR-Ab a dedicated following in his native Philadelphia and the respect of hip-hop heavyweights Drake, Birdman, and Swizz Beatz.
Drawn by his tales of street justice and of dominance in the drug world, viewers have flocked to his self-released YouTube music videos by the millions.
RELATED STORIES
- North Philly rapper charged with heading a drug ring
- Meek Mill pleads guilty to a gun charge; all other charges dropped
- ‘Free Meek’: Amazon’s new docuseries follows Meek Mill from the streets of Philly through his 12-year legal saga
The panel found the rapper — whose legal name is Abdul West — and three members of his entourage guilty of turning their record label, Original Block Hustlaz (OBH), into a large-scale North Philly drug trafficking operation implicated in several murders.
Although federal prosecutors did not charge them in connection with those deaths, they made no effort to hide the identity of the person they believe to be responsible.
West, 37, sat stoically next to his lawyer as the jury announced its verdicts on counts including conspiracy and distribution of crack cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. He now faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 15 years under recidivist provisions in federal drug laws.
Tuesday’s verdict came after a two-week trial that put West’s music under a microscope and raised questions about just how much a genre defined by violent, hypermasculine boasting of street-honed toughness can be taken at its word.
In West’s case, prosecutors argued, his rap lyrics and social media persona were more than just marketing: They amounted to a confession to crimes.
Jurors were shown several of West’s videos as FBI agents pinpointed direct links to crimes he or members of his crew had committed.
Prosecutors interpreted his lyrics in one of them to be an admission that he ordered the murder of Robert Johnson, a drug world rival who died in 2017 after being shot multiple times on the 4000 block of Benner Street in Wissinoming. A member of West’s entourage is serving prison time for the slaying.
“I’ll have da whole city scared,” the song says. “Stand near homie / I call Tez [a nickname for the shooter] and tell him / Bring dat n—’s head to me.”
Investigators discovered the lyrics for that track, written four days after the slaying, in a note in West’s phone while searching one of his stash houses in Penn’s Landing in 2018.
He maintained that it was a coincidence. Prosecutors balked.
“Either he’s the most unlucky musician that ever existed,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Everett R. Witherell told jurors during his closing arguments last week, “or he ordered that hit.”
FBI agents targeted another OBH stash house in Penn’s Landing last year, seizing more than 10 kg of cocaine and methamphetamine. West released a music video in the weeks that followed, bemoaning in lyrics that the feds “took 10 of ‘em,” a reference to his drugs.
“Quarter million loss, got a broke heart,” he rapped. “And they snatched my dog, that’s the worst part. / One rat destroy everything you work for. / I pray to god that he don’t tell them who he work for.”
Throughout the trial, West and his codefendants maintained that OBH was not just a front for their drug-trafficking efforts but a legitimate record label that had drawn interest from fans and music industry insiders alike.
“OBH is a legit entity,” said Luis A. Ortiz, a lawyer for West’s codefendant Jameel Hickson. “This is a monetized operation that has 1.7 million hits on just one of its videos.”
But dozens of witnesses, including several members of the OBH drug ring who pleaded guilty and testified against their former colleagues, described a substantial trafficking network — one that bought cocaine, heroin, and meth from a supplier in California, sold the drugs on the streets of the North Philadelphia, and stored them in high-end Center City apartments they turned into stash houses, many rented under fake names.
Tuesday’s convictions left the future of OBH and its artists in doubt. AR-Ab, by far the most popular rapper at the label he cofounded, now faces decades behind bars.
Its second-most renowned artist, Charles “Dark Lo” Salley, who was not indicted along with the others, appears to have been arrested during the trial for allegedly intimidating witnesses.
Although public court dockets do not indicate whether charges have been filed against him, he is listed as being held in federal custody. His Instagram was updated earlier this month with a statement revealing that he’d been arrested in connection with his contact with witnesses in West’s case.
West’s codefendants at trial all had links to OBH. They include: Jamaal “Khaz” Blanding, Jameel “Meliano” Hickson, and Hans “No Brakes Bras” Gadsen. Others pleaded guilty before trial.
This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.
Updated: November 19, 2019 - 3:08 PM
Jeremy Roebuck | @jeremyrroebuck |jroebuck@inquirer.com
Never Miss a Story
Subscribe
TWITTER FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM
© 2019 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC Terms of Use/Privacy Policy
Take It In Blood
Banned
Trajan
Veteran
TGOP
the game aint about talent.
theyve been droppin arguably the best music for the better part of a decade now, and nothing to show for it but AR-Ab having a boney ass cash money deal.
Welp
So Ar-Ab is a bytch ass nikka? How? He's a dumb ignorant ass dude..but how is he a bytch? Just say anything brehs. I guarantee he does these 12-13 years standing tall and he won't give up anybody.MoveForward
Veteran
Damn... Inshallah, the judge only gives him15 and if he completes a drug program, he can touch back down in 12. I know he brought nothing but destruction to the black community but this always breaks my heart. I hate seeing black men throw their lives away over nothing.
Take It In Blood
Banned
that nikka mad cause Ar put his cuz in a body bag
that rhymed
free da guise
