Rapper arrested after barricaded standoff with SWAT team
Memphis rapper iLoveMemphis was arrested on February 10th following a standoff with a SWAT team.
The 32-year-old (real name Richard Colbert) live-streamed the incident, which took place on the 8600 block of Gatehouse Road in Plantation, Florida.
According to CBS News Miami, a family member said they had been trying to get him help for days before the situation unfolded.
He posted welfare officers showing up at his door to check on him and told them that he was “God.”
In the live stream to his 738,000 Instagram followers, he was heard saying, “Please, please save me, y’all. I’m begging you. I don’t got nothing. I don’t want to hurt nobody, y’all.” He also told his followers that he didn’t want to die.
iLoveMemphis, who barricaded himself, filmed the moment a SWAT team member arrested him at around 3am. He was taken into custody on an active warrant for written or electronic threats to kill, and went to the hospital for evaluation.
The rapper is best known for his 2015 hit ‘Hit the Quan‘, which reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is certified platinum. The song has over 108 million Spotify streams, with the music video racking up 91 million views.
Speaking on the impact of the song, he once told The Fader, “‘Hit the Quan’ started a new era for dancing again. Kendrick Lamar did my dance in his video. Drake had the dance in the ‘Hotline Bling’ video. Rich Homie Quan has dancers out dancing. Young Thug has dancers in his new video.”
He continued, “There are even hood dudes dancing now. Everybody’s dancing, and I believe that Silento’s ‘Watch Me (Whip)’ and ‘Hit the Quan’ set those standards for making dance a trend.”