"Snitching" and the Busta Rhymes Shooting Incident

"snitching" could also put Busta's life in danger. He's dealing with a guy who's willing to shoot over a slight argument.

There are a dozen people involved in this case who are not talking. Let them talk to the police.

Let face it, doing the right thing is rarely easy. That's the point!! You gotta EARN self-respect and integrity. Standing up to immorality is what a meaningful life is all about.

Since when is doing the right supposed to be easy?!?! If you spent your whole life taking the easy route... your life doesn't amount to much.

"He's dealing with a guy who's willing to shoot over a slight argument."

See, to me that illustrates how not "snitching" could keep his life in danger. :)

Testifying what you saw is being a "snitch"? But when the police get no cooperation, people complain that the police are not doing their job. No wonder Tupac, Biggie and Jam Master Jay's killers aren't caught. This is why Lil Kim is locked up like a fool. She writing songs about her being gangsta and being able to do the time. But she wasn't looking like that crying in court, clutching that bible. We give memorials and wear shirts and stuff for slain artists, but we won't do what really needs to be done. Help them get some justice. I feel for the bodyguard's family. If your mother, sister or child (god forbid) got caught in something tragic, telling the police what happened would make you a "snitch"? I don't get it. I'm so tired of fake gangsta's and the people that fall for it. These men and women are artists. No different then Neil Diamond or Barry Manilow. Real gangsters don't do interviews, make videos and go to on MTV TRL.

the stop snitching campaign, in the way its being put out on the streets, is just bad for hip-hop in general.

Erika has a good point.

Also, about "the hip hop community seems to be split about 60-40 in favor of NOT snitching" - not sure what is meant by "the hip hop community" but the average sane human probably knows this is ridiculous.

SHEEIITT! Busta is what he is, a scrate BUSTA!!!!
Busta didnt bust know rounds in some niggaz head, he didnt do shit,he know he was with his boyz outside firing caps, except busta. Dis nigga is fuckin wack, I think he should of never shaved is dreds. Dumbfuck Busta is not real.

U know what, busta is a bitch ass hoe nigga, when u in da streetz STOP SNITCIN, when in the hood STOP SNITCIN, dat shit right therr can get cha ass shot and killed, in da streetz. Busta u r the opposite of lil kim she has bigger nuts din Busta, she dont Snitch. I dont care if u have a thousand fuckin cops interrogatin, yo ass STOP SNITCHIN, and dat nigga snich on his homeboys, Busta if SNITCH where im from nigga u find yo self with hollowtips going straight through u, and dat shit is real 2. STOP SNITCHIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if it was my borther father or son and i knew who pulled the trigger, the last place i'd be is at the police station, you fucking cointel. the police aren't your friends, ever.

If you can't differentiate between "the cops" and the legal system, you have no business commenting on this subject. "Going to the cops," in this case, means making a statement that can be used in court. Police are an extension of the legal system. I'm not saying the legal system is perfect. It's not. But I certainly prefer it to "street justice," whatever that might be in this case.

Nobody doubts that there are crooked cops. But if you would rather there be no legal system... I have one word for you: Somalia.

let's be clear on the real definition of a snitch. a snitch is somebody who feeds informtion to the authorities without the people that he's talkin about knowing wut he's saying behind their back. a snitch is a hypocrite period. cuz if u know something's wrong, u should have courage enuff to step to a nigga. if Busta decides to chat to 5-0 at this stage, I wouldnt consider him a snitch, cuz he's not chattin behind anybody's back. he's not been a coward. and i think the streets would have respect for him too. the knucklehead who shot ramariez has to pay one way or the other ... the dude should not have died over some dumb shit...

damn wtf these niggas is corney

anyone using the word 'snitch' to describe anyone legitimately trying to cooperate with police officials to solve a crime, out in the open, is lacking in IQ

Lil Kim is an idiot. Cam is an idiot. Get shot and not talk to police about it so they go scott free? how lame

I can't even believe this is an issue. Seriously. What sort of state of mental retardation does one have to be in to advocate "not snitching"? That's "real"? Reality is that Busta's friend and employee is dead because some asshat has poor impulse control. Said individual needs to be given a trial, and when convicted, removed from society. Anyone who uses "police corruption" (which does exist, yet is not ubiquitous) as an excuse to let the sociopathic asshat who killed Ramirez run free is an idiot. Sadly, being an idiot isn't an actionable offense, but, on the plus side, idiots get what idiots deserve in the long run.

I think Busta should talk to police about the shooting. I'm livin' in Japan, and being not familiar with 'street hustlin', so it looks very strange that talking about the crime killed a friend is SNITCHIN'.

I have to say I'm not a gangster, but I'm a long time fan of HIPHOP music. I think music must not kill someone.

There's so many things to make us cry around the world, it's too much...

Unless Buss-a-Buss is gonna handle it OG day of the Jackal style he should come cleaner than Jeru.

Damn - seems like there are still rational people in the world.

We aren't kids anymore. Snitching/telling/taddling, whatever. A man is dead; shot in the back, no less. What good is the respect of fools over avoiding the judgement of God? Grow up.

Busta should keep his mouth shut and greenlight the shooter.

MAN F**K THAT!! I THINK BUSTAS A BITCH..IF HE SAW A DAMN CRIME HAPPEN.. WAIT HOLD UP! WTF!! HE SAW HIS GOOD FRIEND GET SHOT AND DIE AND HIS ASS IS GONNA LET THAT SLIDE BECAUSE HE DONT WANNA BE A SNITCH?? NIGGUH THAT MAN RISKED HIS LIFE FOR YOU FOR HOW MANY YEARS?? PROTECTED YOUR ASS?? IF YOU ASK ME? HE'S A BITCH EITHER WAY BUT I'LD RATHER BE A BITCH KNOWING I GOT THE ASSHOLE THAT SHOT MY HOMIE...WE'RE GROWN ASS PEOPLE!! IF YOU SHOOT SOMEONE AND YOU WILLING TO TAKE THAT RISK THAN THAT PERSON NEEDS TO EITHER GET HIS ASS SHOT OR THROWN IN JAIL!! THERE'S NO POINT OF LEAVING THAT ASSHOLE IN THE REAL WORLD SO HE CAN TAKE ANOTHER LIFE!!!! AND IF THESE FOOLS ARE SUCH REAL GANGSTAS THEN THEY CAN HOLD THEIR OWN IN JAIL OR WHEN THEY FACE GOD!!!!!!

P.S. KEEP OUR CULTURE AWAY FROM THESE INDUSTRY FUCKS!! THEY GOT A LOT TO DO WITH ALL THIS BEEF SHIT TOO!!!!

Nobody has all the answers.
God help us all.

FYA(F*%K YOUR ASS)!!!!!!!!!! Snitching or justice? A man puts his life on the line for you, the least you can do is bring his family justice! I HAVE LOST ALL RESPECT FOR BUSTA. FAKE ASS N*GGA!

"snitching" is when you and your boy commit a crime, you get caught and rat out the other dude.

"dropping a dime on someone" is when you tell a third party (i.e. police) about the actions of another party. The term comes from when pay phones used to be ten cents.

I got some more terminology. Busta has been "subpoenaed." He will either "plead the 5th" or "tell the truth".

whenever I have seen busta on TV recently, especially when asked about cutting his dreads, he says "new money, new cribs, new whips, etc..." which says to me "the most important thing that happened to me recently is that I got down with 50/G-unit/Interscope and am making a lot more money now."

and he had to know that guys he was getting in bed with were a lot more violent than his previous label/reps/etc. so, I dont have much sympathy when its clear he made the decision based on the primary motivating factor of money, and is now in a bind.

if i witnessed a murder i am going to come forth with information that hopefully leads to the conviction of those responsible. this hip hop mentality about not snitching has a lot to do with how blacks are perceived in this country

the important issue here should be your friends revenge...and obtaining that revenge "BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!" whether it is the eye for an eye theory (which i am in favor of) or going to the police. the deceased was obviously more of an employee than a friend.

why isn't yayo being questioned ?

Sometimes you gotta put up with some pretty wack shit in your life. but you shouldn't let it get you down because you won't like what comes with you. I have learned a lot of stuff from life and one of them is to stand up for what you
think is right.

Yo, Busta needs to man up and stop worrying about what some people are going to think about him. I think this whole snitch thing is being blown out of proportion. The large majority of hip-hop fans don't buy into that bullshit. This would be no where near career suicide if Busta did the right thing so the police can get them stupid ass niggas off of the streets.

Ok...his man got shot and i feel for him. Bustash in a tight situation. Y everyones hatin on him i dun really kno but it needs to stop. He hasnt said a word and personally i dont think he should. This isnt another biggie or pac shooting. This has multiple rappers and artists involved and although the cops said they dont want this to be "another rapper murder mystery" thats not the case. He was a bodyguard and the cops are using this to put away w/e artists they can. the government hates rap and hip hop we all kno it kno matter how much they deny that shit. Straight up i hope busta can keep his kewl and fight this one cuz he didnt pull the trigger. any you ppl stop actin hard and read a boook

The government also doesn't like brussel sprouts.

am from Uganda,Africa.i respect all hip hop niggaz but i only bow down for busta.all those niggaz prating lots of bollocks in the name of "snitch" against rhymes should get their fat lips glued, look, everything thing is got a reason why it's done, if busta has decided to shut his gob for whatever reason "esp: his life", he's right.i beg to remind all those ignoramaces blowing junks of tosh against busta that every professional ploice esp: in the US has all the potential to find that halfwit who shot ramirez irrespective of whether busta has said a word or not, cos look, what if busta was shot too,would that mean end of the case...? let the police do it's job cos we love blacks, we love hip hop & hip hop without busta is like life without sex.if saddam was got then why the deuce can't that saddist be trapped? ...may peace flow on da streets...

Listen., I feel like this......Had I been in Busta's situation I would have come forward with the information authorities seek if I may have witnessed a crime before me.

I dont care about the code of the streets or what people may think of me! At least by doing so, others would recognize that I have in fact been part of a good deed by bringing the person or persons to justice which has taken this mans life senselessly which may have had a family of his own.

I'm getting tired of all this non-sense in the hip-hop community. If we as african americans had more positive role models, amoung other things like common sense, we wouldnt have to resort to such senseless acts.

The bottom line here fella's and ladies is this: 1st of all, a life has been taken
2nd there's no coming back
3rd this person had a family just like you
4th and lastly, if you were involved in a situation in which you had just witnessed someone murder someone close to you, how would you feel if people fail to cooperate! You'd be devistated.

So with that being said folks, I leave you with a saying from spike lee's movie: DO THE RIGHT THING.

Why should you uphold the code of the streets by not snitching! WAS THE STREETS THERE FOR YOU DURING YOUR TIME OF NEED. LET ME REPHRASE THAT., THROUGHOUT ALL LIFES TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS, WHAT HAS THE STREETS DONE FOR YOU!

P.S. CAN WE PLEASE STOP CALLING EACH OTHER NIGGA'S! THAT SHIT IS REALLY NOT COOL AND PLAYED OUT! WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO ACKNOWLEDGING ONE ANOTHER AS BROTHA'S AND SISTA'S! MAN, EVER SINCE SOUTHERN WHITE FOLK CONJURED THAT WORD UP, TO ME IT REPRESENTS HATRED. SO IF YOU HAVE LOVE FOR ALL MY BROTHA'S AND SISTA'S IN THIS WORLD ESPECIALLY DURING THIS TIME OF TURMOIL WITH BUSH IN THE DRIVERS SEAT, THEN PLEASE, STOP USING THAT WORD.

all yall dats sayin dat he needs 2 4get about snitchin and go 2 da cops r fuckin retards...wat he needs 2 do is keep his mouth shut and make sure dat nigga gets his...if not then he IS a bitch ass nigga

some ppl sound stupid as hell... if your mother was killed, would u not say a word? wat about your friend? you'd be 2 affrais of not bn "true 2 the streets"? thats bullshit. that man is dead, that family is left without him, and u call busta a bitch? cmon now.. lets be real. its times like this... this is a classic "nigga moment". this shit is seriously embarrassing. when is all this shit gonna stop? um bout 2 go 2 africa wit chappelle.

alright........first of all, this telling the police stuff needs to STOP.
I hate that shit..... For all yall saying that busta should tell because its morally right....
His bodyguard,the body gaurds family , and busta all know the risks and the consequences that may come with being a bodygaurd. Who made the bodygaurd go outside???
how is he protectin busta that's inside when he's outside arguing.
its a very sad situation BUT.....
that doesn't mean busta should do the police's work for them....
we are all grown men and if the shooter is supposed face responibilty for his action.....
GOD will make sure that happens either in this life or the next..
tellin the police about ANYTHING that you yourself is involved in
(including arguments) is snitchin....
if the bodygaurd DIDNT want to put his life in jepordy, he shouldn't have been arguing at all...
Arguments and disputes are the LEADING cause of death concerning firearms......
If you don't want trouble.......
don't participate in it...
Busta shouldn't ruin his own and the shooters life by snitchin like a punk a** girly mouth...
Damn, that's the forsure end of two more lives..........

NOW that's the truth

Busta is in a bind and that nigga needs to fly far away and just chill and think. He aint really a thug but he aint really a bitch neither.God will fuck him up if he does nothing and the street will fuck him up if he does.The best thing fo busta is to fly far away and hope the po can do they own job.This nigga that shot his boy might want busta dead at this point anyway. Fucked up either way. Shoot the dudes family some cash and bounce for a while.Shit Busta's got the money. Just Bounce !!

Yeah bird right on. You right . He's made the money. shoot the fam some cash and just bouce somewhere hot with some girls. Just retire busta !!!!!!!!!!! (416) 895 2111. For advice call Dr. Stucco.

A real man never lets a friend die in vain, people should come before careers. I wonder how Busta sleeps at night!

Most of you cats talking that snitching shit are straight bitch...lil wannabe thugs that got caught with an ounce of weed once and think they have the right to dictate "Street Code"...it's getting ridiculous now. Stop trying to be hard, cuz if you talkin' it you ain't walkin' it....and THAT'S real.

Like dude said, snitchin' is when you get busted and rat out your partner, dumbasses. Telling the cops who shot your boy is the best way to get him caught, arrested, and locked the fuck up...once he's inside, small thing to get him "handled"...but you baby-face "killers" can't think that far ahead, straight mark ass, milk-fed lil faggots...if any of yall were in the same situation you idiots would have either been in the back crying or trying to run out there and risk your life and family's future on some low-life all in the name of being "real"...anyone who's REALLY put in any kind of real work in the streets know that the streets is a whore and don't give a fuck about you and that the only way to be "real" is by making your family and friends a priority, not some dickhead that talks all that "street code" shit but don't show his face on visiting day or hit your commisary up when you catch a bid...as for calling Busta a bitch or whatever else, none of ya'll would pop any of this shit to the man's face...new slogan, Stop BITCHIN'...

Dear NO one but Busta and Johnson's family, what you are going through may be the hardest moments of your lives, but keep yo heads up and if justice or snithin wins know that god is watching and he will decide the victor "no one else" and know he loves you even the fallen, even the damned, know that san francisco folks love you and busta Please do whatever you feel is right listen to no one but youself, GOD, and LOVE.. sincerely, yo boy katsup

sorry got the name johnson wrong, just read about t.i's boy who got popped, so all kill only the negativity in rap and hip hop and maybe just maybe the dying will stop, it starts with young and old black america if you want to effect change you have to make posative moves,
analogy, if you hit your kid, your kid will grow up angry if you coddle and encourage your kid he will grow up with perspective and not anger
lastly if you walk around calling each other ingnorant folks ya might just be one yourself

sit on that I love life my family and my posative rap, after all this i am done with the negativity, Common sense, John Legend and barry white here i come oh yeah and get the new santana(carlos not juelz)

sincerley some one who cares

Its funny to see how low's the vocabulary of those who think bustas shouldn't snitch and the high language quality of those who think he should. The very difference between them's that those low budget bastards have no respect for anybady but their own ass and ways of thinking. Don't like busta rhymes? aight, but stay out of this. Why the fuck do you care what he decide if you don't even like him? It's easy to have an opinion on situations. When it happens to you its a whole different story. And if you love him that much, respect his decision. I think it's allready hard enough of a situation to pass trough for getting pressure from unknow bastards. Most of all, stop acting moralist cuz God knows that its none of our business; making morals or taking position in this case, I'm sure y'all have better things to do, you just haven't tought about it. one thing's for sure, sending people to their grave won't lead your anywhere but to your own. If not, don't you worry that holy guy up there's takin'care of it.

Okay i am a fan of Busta since LONS, I think he made a mistake signing with Aftermath, he was better rapper when he was in New york than now, and thats the reason why Ramirez died, Busta went to LA (then he got problems) lol, Life is for the ppl who is astute, if he knows who shotted Ramirez he should keep his mouth closed thats life no matter if his firend died, in this life u need to keep for urself not for the rest of the ppl, thats life a bit cruel but thats life lmao

Just shut the fuck up all of you niggers