Alex Cooper (6:10)

Will you help me repair my gate?

Brett Cooper (6:13)

There they all are.

Alex Cooper (6:15)

Will you help me repair my door?

Brett Cooper (6:19)

Alright, now obviously, even though I would love to sit here and just vibe with you all for six minutes straight, I'm not going to do that. I can't do that for copyright reasons. So go watch the entire six minute music video if you would like to do that. But you get the gist of. But what I really think we need to hone in on here is that all the while while he's releasing this song, he is staying positive. Genuinely, as I was going through all this, I was like, oh my gosh, I think this man, all the weed aside, like he needs to be some evil's role models. Listen to what he had to say in the aftermath when he was talking about why he released the song. Just listen.

Alex Cooper (6:46)

I used it in such a way where my problems became my solution, you know what I'm saying? So I could have just let that be my reality and that just would have been that. But singing about it and having a good time with it turned it into my solution, you know what I'm saying? So here I am, I'm getting like two and three comments on Instagram. I'm doing all right, but you know, I'm bored. When they kicked the door in money kicked down the door material kicked down the door. I didn't have nothing to write about, you know, like, I'm okay, I'm rich, I can't be rapping about how I'm in the ghetto no more. And you know what I'm saying? But when they kicked down the door, they gave me relevant, interesting material.

Brett Cooper (7:33)

That's an amazing line. They gave me relevant, interesting material and it's so funny. But again, this is a great lesson because he's like, I could have sat there and wallowed. Whether it was 30 years ago when he was writing his first song or whether it was now. It's like, I could have had a pity party. I could have complained about the situation. But no, this is funny, this is interesting. I've got something to say. So I'm gonna turn this into something meaningful. And you might be like, Brett, a six minute song about the cops. It's not meaningful. But you're gonna see this literally. I mean, it's kind of like a king move. This man took a crap situation. He used it as inspiration. He felt like he didn't have any power, a powerless black man in America. And so he got creative and he gave himself power. And so if you ever feel stuck in a situation, this should be the big lesson of today's episode. If you ever feel stuck, just remember, Afroman, remember that we always have control over how we respond, how we react to problems in life. You can turn lemons into lemon pancakes. Sorry. We'll get there. Anyway, Afroman did not stop at that first song because apparently the inspiration was just overwhelming. It was just coursing through his veins. It kept flowing. And so next he decided to start dedicating individual songs to the various individual cops that he caught on his security cameras. One of them, which has gone socially viral, is called lemon pounding. And you might be going, bret, why do you keep saying this? What is this about? Well, it's because one of the fat bodied police officers, that's the correct, politically correct term to use. I learned that in a jubilee video last week. Fat bodied police officers was especially taken with the lemon pound cake that aphroman and his family had sitting out on the counter. And so while everybody else was doing the raid, this fat bodied police officer just kept coming, inching on back to take a peek at the pound cake, which then subsequently inspired this song.

Alex Cooper (9:04)

Just some lemon pound cake, Mama's lemon pound cake.

Brett Cooper (9:12)

I mean, it's so good. It is so incredible. But guys, the thing is, we're still not done because he did not stop there. He actually turned this whole saga into a 14 song album with songs like the Police Raid, why you disconnecting my video Camera? And Some days Life is Hard. But again, remember, he turned lemons into lemon pound cake. He even sold merch promoting the album, promoting the lemon pound cake, as you can see here, like, it is crazy. And guys, again, all of this was happening somehow unbeknownst to me. I have definitely not been on the Afroman side of the Internet, unfortunately, because I would have loved to be invested in this for the last four years. But I mean, like we have been missing out on trolling that rivals the levels of 50 cent. Like that's just upsetting anyway, so you might be thinking like, okay, Brett, this is all fine and good, whatever, but what does this have to do with our country? What does this have to do with free speech? Well, we're about to get to that. So after this album came out, the police department got a little angry. They didn't like that Afroman was starting to get hundreds of thousands of views on these diss tracks. And so the cops, they banded together and they decided to Sue Afroman for $3.9 million in damages. They sued him for defamation. They said that he defamed them, that he caused them emotional distress, and that he invaded their privacy by talking about them in his songs. Yeah, right. Okay, like the actual crime here is the left's attack on our second amendment rights. And that is why I'm so proud to work with Silencer Shop. And shooting with suppressor is the best. But the problem is, for a long time, getting a suppressor or any kind of silencer felt expensive. It was confusing and it was buried in mountains of government paperwork. But that is where Silencer Shop came in to change the game. They have made the entire process so simple. And right now it is actually easier and more affordable than it has ever been before. There is no longer a $200 tax stamp cost, which is one less government tax on your rights. And Silencer Shop will walk you through everything. You literally just go online, you choose your suppressor, you create a profile, and then you sign a couple forms and they handle all of the other heavy lifting. It's no confusion, just better shooting as soon as possible. And Silencer Shop already helped hundreds of thousands of Americans get theirs fast and easy. And one thing I love about them is that they don't just stop there. Because Silencer Shop is actively suing the federal government to make it easier to own suppressors, short barreled rifles and other regulated items. Because exercising your rights should not come with government overreach. Exercising your rights of trolling like Afroman should not come with government overreach. And that is what Silencer Shop is fighting for. Now. Alex and I personally bought a bunch of guns and suppressors through Silencer Shop. Over the years it has been such an easy process. They're great to work with. And shooting suppress is a noticeably different experience. We have better control, less recoil. It is just a more enjoyable shooting experience overall. So if you are ready to finally upgrade your shooting experience, head on over to silencershop.com cooper to get started again. That is silencershop.com because shooting suppressed just makes you better. And also this new documentary from Angel Studios will also make you better. It is called Death of Recess and it breaks down how the modern education system didn't just fail, but it was intentionally built this way. It was centralized, standardized and protected by powerful institutions. And once you see through this documentary who shaped it and who benefits from keeping it broken, Everything clicks. We are talking about collapsing test scores and billions of dollars flowing through education organizations, zero accountability. And yet somehow the answer is always give us more money and give us more control. Which is just so classic for the government. Meanwhile, things like recess disappear, parents get pushed out of the school system, and ideology keeps creeping further into classrooms. This is not just about play. It is not about recess. It is about something so much bigger. It is about control. It is about a system that protects itself, not your kids. And the fact that this documentary even exists is because Angel Studios is willing to put out the films that mainstream platforms will not touch. And that's how you know that this is a good one. So go to angel.com cooper and watch deathof recess on angel right now. You are a parent. If you care about the future of kids, kids and our country, this film will change how you see the education system as a whole. Again. That is angel.com cooper to watch death of Recess today. All right, now back to the story.

Sponsor Voice (12:49)

This episode is brought to you by White Claw. Search. Great podcast pick, friend. No surprises there. After all, you're all about finding the tastiest flavors out there, just like White Claw Surge. And with big, bold flavors to enjoy, like blood orange, BlackBerry, cranberry, and more, it's time to go all in on taste.

Brett Cooper (13:05)

Taste.

Sponsor Voice (13:05)

Unleash the flavor. Unleash White Claw Surge. Please drink responsibly. Hard seltzer with flavors. 8% alcohol by volume. White Claw Seltzer works Chicago, Illinois.

Brett Cooper (13:15)

Needless to say, this was a very bad idea because they had already cost Afroman $20,000. He was already pissed. Just about $20,000. He was not about to give them $4 million without a fight. And so all of that brings us to this week when this trial finally took place. And like I said, this is the ultimate Streisand effect. Because in the grand scheme of things, most people on the Internet did not know about this. They didn. About the raid, about the albums, about the freaking lemon pound cake. But thanks to social media and the courtroom cameras, oh, my God, the entire Internet knows about it now. And life just got a lot worse for these cops. Like, if they thought that they were emotionally stressed before because of what Afroman did, they are now going to be extremely distressed because of what they just walked into. Like, the clips that came out of this trial, guys, are just incredible. But here's the thing. Before they even got to trial, before they even stepped foot in court this week, Afromann dropped yet another song to really get everyone into the spirit. This was seven days before the trial started.

Alex Cooper (14:09)

You better stop, you crooked cop, before I put you in a song.

Brett Cooper (14:13)

And so in this video, he has clips from all of the defamations, from all of the press about him. He's been on local tv. Everybody's been reporting on this story. Again, unbeknownst to me. So he includes all of this in this song. That just. I mean, that really sends them over the edge. Somebody commented and said, I've never felt more patriotic in my life, honestly. But, guys, one of the best parts of that whole thing is that aphroman actually showed up to court wearing that same American flag suit. The cops had no idea what kind of Pandora's box they had just opened up. Somebody also posted this on TikTok and said, Judge, realizing this is about to be in a music video later, like, everything you say can and will be used against you in an Afroman music video is essentially what was going on in this courtroom. So now we can get into some of these clips from the courtroom. Like, you just need to watch the Lemon Pound Cake song being played in front of the officer who inspired it. Just watch.

Attorney (14:58)

We're called Officer pound cake by Mr. Foreman multiple times. You saved hundreds of pound cakes at work from different people.

Brett Cooper (15:08)

I lie. That's a problem. I freaking love pound cakes. I wish I was getting hundreds of pound cakes.

Attorney (15:13)

And the context of that name comes from a music video that Mr. Foreman created, correct. I don't know where he got it at. But you would admit that you with the glasses, walking by the lemon pound cake on the counter? Yes. And that is security footage from the search of Mr. Foreman's residence, I assume? Yes.

Brett Cooper (15:32)

Now, what makes this even better, because honestly, that clip was mild in the grand scheme of things, is that Mr. Officer Lemon Pound Cake in the lawsuit claimed that Afroman songs and the Internet mockery led to his divorce. Like that was a big part of the case. Was like, this was so awful for my life and my marriage. Like, my family was broken apart because of the songs that Afroman was posting online. But, guys, you really just can't make this up because guess what? His own ex wife took the stand as Afroman's only witness. Just watch.

Attorney (15:57)

So Ms. Grooms has Mr. Foreman's posts about Sean or any of the general posts about the Adams County Sheriff's Department as a whole affected your life any at all?

Brett Cooper (16:08)

No.

Attorney (16:10)

Would you believe it would have affected your life while you were married to Sean?

Brett Cooper (16:15)

If it had any effect, I guess that would be the time it would have an effect.

Attorney (16:19)

But as his spouse, you would have expected it.

Brett Cooper (16:22)

Yes.

Attorney (16:23)

Okay. And I don't want you to go into too many detail. But is it fair to say that Mr. Foreman, the Post about the police department, everything, had not a damn thing to do with your relationship between you and Shawn and why it came to an end?

Brett Cooper (16:38)

No, it did not. She looks so exhausted. She's like, I literally just divorced this man. I went through my entire legal proceedings, and now I am sitting here again because he is suing a rapper over being called Officer Lemon Pound Cake. Like, her and all of her life choices are just, like, running through her brain at this moment. She looks exhausted. Now, needless to say, the Internet loves this woman. Like, everybody is hoping that her casseroles are always warm, that her hair is always perfectly permed. They love her. She also said in this testimony that at the time when she was actually married to this man, that the officers were laughing about the music. They were not taking it seriously, which in the case was one of the nails in the coffin. And like I said, obviously, the comments have been hysterical. Somebody said, I have never been more jealous of people getting jury duty. Another person said, I am not mature enough to be in this courtroom. I would be held in contempt for laughing hysterically. Somebody else, that I would literally use my PTO to be on the story. Literally, I would, too. I'm missing out. I'm watching from the sidelines. I need to figure out how to get into these courtrooms without being sued myself. But anyway, guys, back to the story. Now, you might have assumed, you know, that once Afroman got sued, once he finished that first album, that he would just focus on the trial. He would get back to doing his Afroman thing, whatever that is, living in Ohio, back to business as usual. But no, because in that week leading up to the trial, he didn't just release that one song. No, he decided to go even further and release even more songs about different cops that he had not spoken about previously. Essentially saying, if you want emotional distress, if you want me to invade your privacy and use your likeness in my music videos, I will give you emotional distress. One of these songs in particular was called Lick Em Lo Lisa, which was about the female cop involved in the raid. And I will just play you a brief clip because this music video, the song in its entirety, I don't think is something that is appropriate for this program. But just watch Lisa.

Alex Cooper (18:16)

Lick Em Lo Lisa.

Brett Cooper (18:18)

He went full out on this one. Like in the other music videos, it was him walking around his property in his house, singing with his bong. Whatever he's doing. He was using the clip of the raid no, this one, he hired an actor. That woman that was running in the music video, that was somebody he hired to play Lick Em Low Lisa. I mean, it was like insane. They had women that this like, cop was chasing. It was a whole thing. Like, this man staged an entire production to go after Lisa. And so obviously they brought Lisa onto the stand. And this poor lawyer, you have to hear what he has to ask her.

Attorney (18:49)

Mr. Foreman posted that Lisa Phillips likes to have sex with other women. He used other words. She ate my ex wife. Just like pizza, pussy, pussy, pussy eating, blah, blah, blah.

Brett Cooper (19:07)

This poor liar. I mean, I'm watching him, he's like, what has my life come to like? Dude, you should be excited. You are becoming Internet viral right now. You should be having a little bit more fun with this. I will say, though, I do think one of the things that these courtroom drama things on social media has exposed is how truly ridiculous so many cases in the world are. Like, attorneys are not out here doing things that are straight out of scandal or TV shows like suits. Like, I feel like most of it is actually straight out of Parks and Rec and Arrested Development. Like, that is what I have learned from all of these cases. Anyway, we're still not done. Because this still is not the best part, not even the best part of Lickable Lisa. Because then, as they do with all of these people, they played some of the song for her to listen to.

Alex Cooper (19:54)

She raided my house, guys.

Brett Cooper (19:56)

Like, when I first watched this clip, I thought it was the person recording the screen that was laughing. I was like, oh, my God. No, it's Lisa. She's literally on the stand crying because of this song. That right there, that might be the most honest part of the entire trial. Because she certainly does look distressed, I will say, but not as distressed as the other cop who thought that Afroman could potentially be sleeping with his wife. Thanks to this song that Afroman dropped a mere 24 hours before the trial. Again, this man does not stop watch this.

Alex Cooper (20:23)

Yeah, that's why I fucked his wife and got filthy rich.

Brett Cooper (20:28)

Guys, I should have put a disclaimer on this episode. Like, this is not what you watch around your children, because this man is so unhinged. But like, I'm genuinely telling you again, this rivals 50 Cent. If you thought that 50 Cent, like, trolling Diddy. If you thought that was like peak trolling. No, it is Afroman. Especially because thanks to this song, that cop then had to testify about whether his wife was actually sleeping with Afro.

Sponsor Voice (20:51)

But guys, the Bleacher Report app is your destination. For sports. Right now, the NBA is heating up, March Madness is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I can follow the teams I care about, get real time, scores, breaking news and highlights, lights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment. Most people would rather assemble a 300 piece cabinet than search for insurance. That's why the zebra searches for you. Comparing over 100 insurance companies to find savings no one else can Compare. Today@thezebra.com

Brett Cooper (21:37)

he couldn't give a clear answer about whether that was actually happening or not.

Attorney (21:41)

So you're claiming that that is the defamation statement is that he said he had sex with your wife?

Alex Cooper (21:47)

Yes.

Attorney (21:48)

And that's painted you in a false light. It's caused tremendous pain in my life. I'll get to that. We have to go through false light first. So does it paint you in a false light? Yes. That my wife is cheating on me with Mr. Foreman. But we all know that's not true, correct? I don't know.

Brett Cooper (22:04)

It's so good. It's just literally so absurd. Somebody commented and said having a cop testify under oath that he isn't sure if his wife is effing Afroman is a level of effing with the police. Previously unknown. Like this genuinely makes 2020. It makes BLM look like child's play. Like guys, if you wanted to make a dent, you did not need to be marching in the streets and laundering money. You should have just been making songs with Afroman. Anyways, what are the bright spots here? Even though I don't even know why I just said that. Cause my cheeks literally hurt because I'm like smiling and laughing so much just because this is so ridiculous. Anyway, one of the bright spots is that throughout all of this, Afroman's lawyer was truly remarkable. And the best part is he looked like he was having so much fun. Like compare what we are about to watch to the other attorney who looked like he was so miserable, like he could not believe what his life had just come to. That he had to be read these lyrics working with these cops who were just like crying on the stand. Like this man loves his job. He realizes that just an absolute gold mine of virality and popularity has landed in his lap and he had fun. And honestly, this needs to be played in law schools around the country, just watch.

Attorney (23:02)

Nobody looks at Little Wayne's song Monster and says, there's a monster in that song. Comedian. He exaggerates for the sake of inside entertainment. The same thing I knew when I was watching Johnny Carson, the late night show and SNL Saturday Night Live with my grandfather when I was a kid. That's all entertainment. They make fun of everybody for entertainment. In my opinion. I. His wife, doggy style.

Brett Cooper (23:33)

That honestly, is a masterful defense. Like, you can't be mad. Like, it's a free country. It's entertainment. He's an entertainer. He has written outlandish songs throughout his entire career. This is not new. He's not doing this to take down these cops specifically. He's doing what he does, turning lemons into lemon pound cake. Obviously. And what I didn't show you there is that the lawyer just takes it even farther. And he, like, talks about the song Wap. He talks about all of these crazy songs and he's like, did you think it was real? Was this written for you? Did you not like it? Did you sue them over it? No. You moved on with your life, which is what you should do now. And, like, watching that clip, suddenly I'm just so pissed that I did not go to law school like I could have been doing. I assumed it would be boring, but if I thought I had cases like this, maybe I would have reconsidered anyway. Now, obviously all of this is hysterical. Again, my cheeks are hurting because I've been having such a good time talking about this. It is top tier trolling. But in his testimony, and this is really where it gets patriotic, Afroman made really important and very patriotic points about his right to free speech and free trolling.

Attorney (24:25)

What they did, searching your house gave you the right to do everything you.

Alex Cooper (24:29)

Under the circumstance that I got freedom of speech after they run around my house with guns and kick down my door, I got the right to kick a can in my backyard, use my freedom of speech, turn my bad times into a good time. Yes, I do. And I think I'm a sport for doing so because I don't go to their house, kick down their doors, flip them off on their surveillance cameras, then try to play the victim and sue them.

Brett Cooper (24:54)

Oh, mic drop. Because, guys, he did not stop there. And this is how he responded when the attorney pressed him on hurting. Lick em low, lethal Lisa's feelings. So if you've been empathizing with liquor, blow. Lisa, just listen to this.

Attorney (25:04)

You knew she was upset, just like

Alex Cooper (25:07)

she knew I was Upset when she was standing in front of my kids with an AR15 with her hand around the trigger, ready to shoot me. Just like she knew I was upset when she cut my cameras. But I'm not a person. She is. So I'm sorry for being a victim. Let's talk about the predators.

Brett Cooper (25:20)

Oh, I mean, it is so good. Like, he had that ready. He was like, I'm not even gonna let you finish. I'm not even gonna, like, agree with your premise here because it is so ridiculous. Needless to say, Afroman won the case. The jury unanimously said, yeah, he is in the right. There was no defamation, he does not need to give anybody $4 million. And Afroman could have made this just about him, but he didn't. He says that this is a win for everybody. It is actually a win for America.

Alex Cooper (25:44)

I didn't win. America won. America still has freedom of speech. It's still for the people, by the people. Afroman becoming emotional there as he says, this fight was bigger than him. It was about free speech and what he describes as corruption in this sheriff's department.

Brett Cooper (26:04)

I mean, guys, like, America is not a real country. Obviously it is, and we are so great, but it is just like, so hysterical. Like, I just think about all the things that have gone viral this week, everything that is going on in the world, and now we are all championing this insane rapper from almost 30 years ago as he talks about free speech and fighting back against corruption and settling. I mean, it is just. It's just like remarkable. And honestly, it is very, very base. And so now Aphraman is even posting memes and funny things about limited government and how he hates big government, he's using the cops, obviously even more in his social media now, but it is just incredibly iconic. And honestly, how cool for him because now, more than 20 years, almost 30 years after that first hit song of like, I Got High, he just put himself back on the map. Like somebody commented and said, I had no idea who Afroman was until two days ago, literally. Me either. I had heard the name. I genuinely thought he was some, like, reggae artist. I had no idea he was a rapper. Certainly didn't know he was living in Ohio. Didn't know that he loved weed so much. Well, I guess if he was a reggae guy, he probably would've liked weed too. Anyway, the point is, even though this was very funny and it's viral on social media, and I wanted to break it down for you guys, I really do think that this is a lesson on how you can control how you respond to adversity in life. Like you can roll over and you can bitch and moan, pretending like you have no options. Or you can make an option for yourself where you bitch and moan for millions of people to hear, resulting in the resurrection of your career and vengeance and justice. And that, my friends, is the American dream if I have ever seen it. Short dramas, emotionales.