A gang intervention specialist who works for the City of Los Angeles' anti-gang program is under fire for rapping in a music video about how to make crack cocaine.
Andre Vickers, who goes by the name "Gee Slick" in the video, can be seen rapping about how to make and sell drugs in the video "Washing Dishes." CBS2/KCAL9 uncovered the music video and showed it to LAPD Sgt. Dennis Kato, who expressed disappointment at what he saw.
"They say get the water, boil it up…this is all about making crack," explained Sgt. Kato. "It's glorifying cocaine."
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Check out CBS2/KCAL9 to see how Vickers responded to the news report about his music video.
"Washing Dishes" has since been removed from YouTube (in fact, Gee Slick's entire account seems to have disappeared), but the video below depicts the making of the music video at the Jackie Tatum/Harvard park, a city-owned space.
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Summer Night Lights is a gang reduction program pioneered by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The initiative keeps city park lights on after dark, serves food and provides educational and artistic programs for teens in the area.
An important part of the program involves hiring other at-risk youth to help run and staff the programs. In a 2009 blog for the Huffington Post, Mayor Villaraigosa explained, "The idea was to engage the young people most connected to the problem and challenge them to be a part of the solution."
There has been a 57 percent reduction in gang-related homicides in the neighborhoods where Summer Night Lights takes place.