Third So Solid Man Charged With Gun Crimes

So Solid rapper Shane Neil (aka Keesha) was charged with possessing a loaded gun and crack dealing this week, following an incident a month ago when fellow Crew member Jason 'G Man' Phillips was initially seized for gun offences. Neil is the third So Solid member arrested for serious firearm offences, following the case of Ashley Walters (who was sentenced to 18 months for carrying a loaded pistol this March.)

The latest arrest comes just a month after a top London cop blamed gangsta' rap for encouraging England's escalating gang culture at a conference on guns and black on black crime.

"There are certain elements of the black community which see guns as having a Wild West-ghetto glamour," said Chief Inspector Leroy Logan from the Metropolitan Police.

"They are being influenced by what they see on TV and the lyrics in songs. What is happening now is that they are playing it for real on the streets. I am sure that when they carry out some ritualistic killings- where people are shot dead at point blank range on the street- these people have a soundtrack playing in their heads. This is a growing problem." (Standard).

Despite the Inspector's comments, gun crime in London remains dramatically lower than America, the source of most gangsta rap. 179 black men have been shot, 18 fatally, up until November this year, compared to death rates of 536 in New York, 580 in Chicago 580 and 617 in Los Angeles 617 up to 1st December. According to the New York Times, most of America's urban homicides are linked to the country's infamous street gangs.

"What's going on now is the job market is much tighter, so there's less opportunity for people who are coming out of their teenage years to move into jobs," violence expert Professor Blumstein from Carnegie Mellon University told the paper.

"And there's a greater anxiety, partly because of the economy, partly because of terrorism and there may be a resurgence in drug markets that may be fueling violence," he suggested.
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