Notorious C.O.P.: The Inside Story of the Tupac, Biggie, and Jam Master Jay Investigations from NYPD's First "Hip-Hop Cop"

by Derrick Parker, Matt Diehl

Throughout his career, Derrick Parker worked on some of the biggest criminal cases in rap history, from the shooting at Club New York, where Derrick personally escorted Jennifer Lopez to police headquarters, to the first shooting of Tupac Shakur.
Always straddling the fence between "po-po" and NYPD outsider, Derrick threatened police tradition to try to get the cases solved. He was the first detective to interview an informant offering a detailed account of Biggie Smalls's murder. He protected one of the only surviving eyewitnesses to the Jam Master Jay murder and knows the identity of the killers as well as the motivation behind the shooting.
Notorious C.O.P. reveals hip-hop crimes that never made the paper--like the robbing of Foxy Brown and the first Hot 97 shooting--and answers some lingering questions about murders that have remained unsolved. The book that both the NYPD and the hip-hop community don't want you to read, Notorious C.O.P. is the first insider look at the real links between crime and hip-hop and the inefficiencies that have left some of the most widely publicized murders in entertainment history unsolved.

Genres: True Crime, Music, Nonfiction, Hip Hop, Biography

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 5, 2000

Reviews

[Jay Rain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating - 8.5

Finally an undercover book that actually offers some meat to the reader - sure Parker knows more than what he lets on but he still offers some plausible theories behind the Biggie, Tupac, JMJ murders

The topic in itself is a serious issue for hip-hop as aspiring stars believe that they need beefs & a rap sheet to have street cred: Hip hop is traveling a dangerous path much to the delight of the structure - a tad repetitive

Interesting Thoughts
Hip hop has a serious issue as rappers are heavily intertwined with organized crime. To gain street credibility (and sales), rappers have to purport a gangster image or have violent feuds with other rappers

Police only exacerbate the situation with a confrontational attitude towards witnesses and rappers. They do not establish a relationship of trust; hence there are not many witnesses coming forward

Rappers are also a major target due to the bling that they wear. Many street hustlers target the jewelry of rappers which leads to escalating violence

Big Daddy Kane was affiliated w crime back in the day

As with business, a caring, relationship approach achieves more than the power from threat and intimidation

Tupac was shot outside a NY studio prior to his shooting in Las Vegas. Word on the street was that Biggie contracted the killing to a couple of hitmen from the A-Team gang

The Tupac/Biggie feud started w Biggie’s friendship w Haitian Jack - a thug who had ripped off Tupac prior

Tupac’s killer was Orlando Anderson - the Crip that Suge and Tupac were beating on earlier in the evening. There is a link from Orlando to Biggie but it is not 100% verified

BIG was killed in LA going to an afterparty - he was close to 400 pounds at the time of his murder. Parker’s theory was that bad Boy owed the Crip’s money (either for protection or for the offing of Tupac) and Bad Boy reneged on the debt

A binder existed on all of the rap stars w a criminal record - their known affiliations, hangouts

Lil Kim, Beanie, Jay-Z, ODB, Game, 50 Cent have all been shot or involved in shootings over the last five years

Jam Master Jay was murdered for outstanding drug debts that he owed. Keefee D and Ronald Washington were the triggermen

50 Cent is beefing with everybody to draw up his sales - his beef w the Game happened because the Game did not support 50’s beef w JadaKiss and Fat Joe (who sided w Ja Rule in the Murder Inc, G-Unit beef)

[Badly Drawn Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't believe the hype... while an interesting look at the inner workings of the NYPD in regards to rap crime, this book didn't really offer the inner story about Tupac, Biggie and Jam Master Jay. It's a lot of Derrick Parker tooting his own horn and trying to prove that he's a one of a kind superstar when it comes to hip hop crime. Unfortunately, he doesn't spill enough of the beans to justify a recommendation. I didn't learn anything new about the Tupac or Biggie case, and only a little bit more about the Jam Master Jay case. It is an interesting topic and the book makes it clear why the hip hop community doesn't get involved with the police. But this book could have been very dynamic and thrilling and it's just not. If you are interested in the topic, check out the book LAbyrinth.

[Timd · Rating 4 out of 5]

i think its goood because the got alot of cops and stuff in this book that sounds good

I choosed this book because it was about cops.THe book it non fiction. The setting is NYC The main character is Derrick Parker. The plot summary is that there trying to know why the raper and hip hop are killing every one that is not hip hop or rap that why the gangs get in trouble. The main conflict is the deth of Jam Master Jay.The problem is resolved by the mured inc coming in to close this case. my opinion is thats it a good book and when he started the cop job he went on his frist crime the very frist day.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really interesting. I'm not someone who knows a whole lot about hip-hop beyond the basics, so seeing how Parker explains the interplay between music, gang violence, and inner-city life was pretty interesting. It was also interesting as a memoir for him as a member of the black community working for NYPD, and some of the challenges he faced while in that role. His writing voice is bombastic and at times braggadocious, but I found it fit the subject material well.

[Stephan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable enough fast paced read.A basic "I was a cop, did this, knew them and solved that." I mean no disrespect by that, it just is what it is.

[Jolene · Rating 1 out of 5]

Filled with many interesting details, but not well written as I found the author to be self centered.

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book. This book is about the inside story of the Tupac and Biggie murder cases. This is also about the Jam Master Jay case. This book is about Derrick Parker, a cop, that investigated some of the biggest rap murder cases. I recommend this book to people that are interested in mystery. This is a very good crime mystery book that can be read by anyone. This book is cool because it tells you the inside information about these murder cases.

[Alyssa Albanese · Rating 3 out of 5]

Idk if it’s cause this is the book I’m reading on vacation but this was kinda boring tbh! I did find a lot of it interesting but I kept zoning out 😂

[Bernie Rendler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book with some insight into law enforcement & the hip-hop world. I do wonder how honest D Parker was during his tenure as a cop. At times, he came across as a Murder Inc. apologist

[Chance]

This book pretty much solely focuses on hip hop crimes. This book is about a police officer who looks into all of these hip hop types of crimes. The officer at one point in the book is in drug investigations, and then moves into investigating homicides. This book takes place in New York City, which obviously the officer is part of the N.Y.P.D then. Derrick Parker is the detective, too. Throughout the whole book, Derrick Parker is always trying to solve cases like homicide cases as well as drug cases as I mentioned earlier. This book also talks about how the N.Y.P.D is sometimes unable to handle the crimes of hip hop. I think a big reason why the N.Y.P.D is unable to handle some of the crimes and get them solved is because some of these crimes are involved with gangs, which make it difficult to who did what or who did this. In my opinion, this book has lots of information on the crime of hip hop, and also talks about the crime of hip hop that are yet still not solved. I found this book very interesting and informative because I've never really heard much about the crimes involving hip hop in particular. Also, best part of the book I would say is the fact that some crimes are still unsolved. Knowing this makes me want to learn more about the unsolved crimes and how come they are still unsolved. This book made me wanting to keep on reading because like I said earlier have never really heard much about the crimes of the hip hop world. Overall, I liked the book very much.

[Sean Evans]

This book was interesting and filled with information that make you believe that the author is very passionate both about hip-hop and law enforcement. He clearly sees the gulf between the two as very harmful to both. By telling the story both as a hip-hop fan and a police officer you see, in raw detail, where both have gone wrong.[return][return]However, the writing was difficult to read. The language seemed forced throughout. As if the authors couldn't decide if they were writing for a hip-hop audience, with the slang and the coloful language of the streets, or for a more staid law-enforcement personality (with its own slang and color). Many parts of the book felt like they were written in one vernacular and then "translated" to a more formal writing style. This made parts of the book awkward and took you out of the story.[return][return]From a standpoint of what the book had to say, it was excellent, but the execution of the writing left much to be desired.

[Corey · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off I am surprised as to how many thugs and gang-bangers are woven into the hip-hop community of stars... Second of all, I am amazed at how much money high level crack dealers were making in the late 80's, early 90's... Now as far as the writer (aka the police man)who investigated most of the hip-hop crimes in New York and some bigger case elsewhere, I think he thinks to much of himself... I think he believes he is of a better caliber police officer than his peers and thinks he is as cool or famous as the rap thugs he investigated... That is just the feel I got from reading the book...

[John Treanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, even though the title is a bit overly sensational. It's just a decent story about a cop who is also a long-time rap/hip-hop fan and managed to combine the two, to a certain extent. Very interesting to read about the origins of many rappers, their gang ties (if any), and how the NYPD and other police departments have dealt with some of the related criminal cases. Especially interesting reading about Rick Ross crashing his car into a building in Ft. Lauderdale this AM trying to evade a drive by shooting. Too bad Mr. Parker can't give me the inside scoop on this one.

[R to the -izzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another audible read for me. The guy sounds like the HBO documentary narrator. I guess the book is ok but so far it has all been about how this guy who worked to set up the hip hop task force sees himself as a 'regular' guy who is working with 'regular' people even though he is working with/to-catch Lil Kim, P Diddy, G-Unit, et al. I will repost when i finish reading it.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

man i can't believe i read this. totally guilty pleasure. If you like true crime and hip hop, you could find far worse time killers than this book. For "po po", the author even seems like a nice guy.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across this book while waiting in line at a bookstore. I was intrigued so I bought it. I really liked learning the other side of the hip hop world and have recommended the book to other friends.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

The final 20 pages were well worth reading... before that, well.....

[Charless · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting for the insight into the links between Hip Hop and crime. I found it pretty repetitive, riddled with grammatical errors and the author comes across as arrogant and self-centered.

[Kelvin Freire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is very good because it gives an inside view of a cop and hip hop. It talks about how rappers are sometimes targeted by the police. I think the book really gives an inside scoop.

[Shenandoah Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it!!