Rapper held in burglary; producer claps back
The rapper Chief Keef was arrested Thursday in connection with a home invasion robbery that occurred last week at the home of his former music producer, Ramsay Tha Great, according to the alleged victim and authorities.
The 21-year-old rapper, whose real name is Keith Cozart, was taken into custody by a team of Los Angeles Police Department special operations officers at his Tarzana home in the 5100 block of Otis Avenue about 4 p.m. A second man, Darron Rose, 24, was also arrested, Lt. Tim Torsney said.
Both men were booked on suspicion of home invasion robbery. Cozart and Rose were being held on $500,000 and $250,000 bail respectively, according to authorities.
Cozart attorney Michael Goldstein said officers broke down part of a wall to gain entry to the rapper’s home. He said officers did not recover a gun during the search.
“I don’t why they need the SWAT team,” Goldstein said. “My client doesn’t have a felony conviction.”
Footage of police detaining the rapper was broadcast by KNBC-TV Channel 4. Officer Tony Im confirmed that the search and arrests were in connection with a Jan. 19 robbery at a San Fernando Valley home, but declined to name the victim. At least two men armed with assault rifles broke into the home, Im said, and assaulted the victim.
Cozart’s former producer, however, has taken to social media, saying he was the target of the violent attack and has condemned his former client.
While lying in a hospital bed, the producer described the assault in a video. He said he was awoken by someone at his door. When he went to see who it was, Cozart and another man, who was armed with an AK-47, pushed their way into his room, he said. They started hitting him in the face.
“He stole my $1,600, he stole my rings, and he stole my Rolex watch,” the producer said. He posted photos of himself on social media that revealed bruises and a cut near his eyebrow. He also wore a neck brace.
“This ain’t ‘Grand Theft Auto,’ ” the producer said on Instagram. “You have been playing too much of that. It’s real life. You can’t do that.”
After Cozart’s arrest Thursday, some fans criticized Ramsay Tha Great and threatened to harm him for “snitching.”
This provoked an angry response from the music producer.
“Yo, it’s real sad to see my black community condone home invasion, armed robbery with deadly assault — hitting me in the face with an AK-47,” he said on a video posted on Instagram.
“It’s Chief Keef’s fault,” the producer said. “If he didn’t do this to me, he didn’t run in my crib like that, if he didn’t jump me, punch me in the face, rob me, home invasion, he wouldn’t be going to jail.”
In 2015, two men were found fatally shot in a Compton marijuana dispensary that bore Chief Keef ’s name. But the rapper’s manager denied that he had any formal ties to the Chief Keef Glo Shop.