It was an awkward situation for rapper Rick Ross when his ankle-monitoring bracelet went off while attending a high-level meeting with other rappers in Washington, D.C., about criminal justice issues.
What made the situation even more awkward for him — and everyone else involved — is that the meeting took place at the White House, and his electronic monitor started beeping right after President Obama finished speaking to the assembled group.
Ross was there along with a bunch of other rappers — Nicki Minaj, Busta Rhymes, J. Cole, Wale and DJ Khaled — to support Obama’s Brother’s Keeper youth initiative, ironically to keep men of color out of trouble.
It was a serious and fancy affair … enough to get Ross in a suit, which covered the ankle monitor he has to wear … a condition of release in his kidnapping case.
Ross is out on $2,000,000 bond for kidnapping, aggravated assault and aggravated battery of a man working on one of his homes. According to police, Ross and his bodyguard allegedly “forced the worker into a guesthouse bedroom and pistol-whipped him with a .9-mm Glock” after an argument.
Though he was initially held without bail, in July TMZ reported that a judge allowed him to be released on $2 million bail with a GPS ankle monitor.
While some might question the wisdom of inviting rappers to the White House to get their thoughts on pressing criminal justice issues, I dare say the vast majority of us question the wisdom of bestowing such an honor on a man who has recently been charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery. But when it comes to the Obama White House, truth is always stranger than fiction.
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