|
Listen to this article here
|
Sign-Up for a free subscription to The Black Wall Street Times‘ daily newsletter, Black Editors’ Edition (BEE) – our curated news selections & opinions by us for you.
A Florida judge has issued an arrest warrant for hip hop artist Kodak Black after reportedly failing a drug test while on bail for a drug charge.
The warrant was issued Thursday after Black, whose legal name is Bill Kapri, did not appear for a scheduled drug test in early February and then days later submitted a sample that tested positive for fentanyl, according to records.
In January 2020, then-President Donald Trump commuted Black’s three-year federal prison sentence for falsifying documents used to buy weapons. Black had served about half his sentence at that point.
Black is currently nominated for the iHeartRadio Music Awards’ hip-hop artist of the year and has sold more than 30 million singles to date, with massive hits such as “Super Gremlin,” which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 last year.
While fentanyl is a community killer for which he may need assistance to abstain, Black musicians are often a reflection of our society which seeks to punish and monitor Black drug users, whilst aiding and rehabbing White drug users.
Kodak Black has a legacy far greater than his music and legal battles
Though he may have another legal battle forthcoming, Black’s legacy is not defined purely by his vices, as he has proven himself to be a man with deep sensitivities toward others.
He once paid the college tuition for the children of two slain FBI agents, covered funeral costs for a police officer in South Carolina and donated $100,000 to the Nova Southeastern University law school in memory of a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting victim.
When speaking about his charitable donations, Black once told CBS 12, “It’s doing something for me too. Like, I did something good today. Forget the naysayers or whatever. I did something good today. I’m alright.”
Black and the Zachariah McQueen Foundation teamed up in Oct. 2022 to help more than two dozen families facing eviction at the Merry Place Apartments in West Palm Beach, Florida.
WPTV reports Black and the foundation paid the rent of 28 families living in the complex for the rest of the 2022 calendar year.
“When people get up and go to work daily, they should be able to come home and relax without worrying if they would have a roof over their head the next month. But unfortunately, we live in a society where people can barely get a raise at work, but can be told that their rent has increased by over $1,000 without any real warning. That’s just not right,” Black said in a written statement.
All Hip Hop reports in 2021, Black partnered with A Different Shade Of Love to give away 200 free air conditioning units in Pompano Beach, and Little Haiti.
TMZ reports Black has also donated a years’ worth of diapers, underwear and socks to the Jack & Jill Children’s Center and donating thousands of dollars so community groups could provide 1,000 turkeys to people in need.
He’s also paid $20k for toys and other items for Christmas presents.
For all of his love to the community June 11, 2021 was officially named ‘Kodak Black Day’ in Broward County, Florida.
Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness presented Kodak with the proclamation, stating June 11 will forever be known as a day honoring the benevolent Black.
Judge says Kodak Black violated pretrial conditions
ABC News reports Broward County Judge Barbara Duffy issued the arrest warrant and wrote that he had violated the conditions of his pretrial release for an oxycodone trafficking charge from July.
Black had pleaded not guilty to the trafficking charge. His attorney was not immediately available to comment on Sunday.
Although advice is much easier to state than heed, perhaps Black will soon reflect on the words he once told his young fans, saying, “Keep your head up, it gets greater later.”