The truth behind JPEGMafia’s darkest song
Hip-hop has always been a vehicle for messages about social change and real-life stories, but sometimes, the tales behind the tracks we love can be shocking. Experimental hip-hop artist JPEGMafia known for pushing the boundaries of rap music and exploring new sonics, but in 2016, the Flatbush native released a highly incendiary single that sent shockwaves through the culture.
The Veteran creator has always addressed issues of racism in his music due to his shaky upbringing. However, in 2016, he did it in a particularly striking way. The song ‘I Just Killed a Cop, Now I’m Horny’ was first released on SoundCloud but gained vast amounts of traction from the minute JPEGMafia uploaded it. The track’s title alone seems like enough to annoy people. However, the story behind its creation is more than disturbing.
The most startling aspect of ‘I Just Killed a Cop, Now I’m Horny’ was the emcee’s decision to sample audio from the dashcam video of the murder of Sheriff’s Deputy Kyle Dinkheller, who was shot at point-blank range for pulling over his killer Andrew Brannan.
Both individuals involved in the tragedy were caucasian. However, in his song, JPEGMafia tells the story of himself killing a police officer. A purposeful inversion of the tale many are used to hearing of law enforcement shooting a civilian.
While rapping, the ‘Sin Mideo’ lyricist makes sure to evoke the stories of late innocent victims like Sandra Bland, Tyre Nichols and Daunte Wright, to name a few. Still, the track makes people think about the extent to which police officers killing black folks has been normalised in the US.
Although JPEGMafia was drawing attention to a good cause, his sample tells a dark story. The dashcam audio used is from a 1998 murder, where Sheriff’s Deputy Kyle Dinkheller (a highway patrol officer) came face to face with a mentally ill veteran.
Deputy Dinkheller had pulled over Andrew Brannan for speeding, but Brannan, who was a Vietnam War veteran, came out of his car agitated, angry and seemingly ready to kill.
In the sample, Dinkheller demands, “Take your hands out of your pockets” and “Get back.” Brannan responds, “Shoot me.” After a back and forth, Brannan reaches into his truck, but Deputy Dinkheller fires a shot. Unfortunately, Brannan responded violently, returning fire with multiple rounds, and the altercation ultimately ended with Brannan killing Deputy Dinkheller with a shot to the face.
The sample is hugely controversial as it includes the horrific screams of pain and the last moments of Dinkheller’s life as he begs Brannan not to shoot him. Although from his past, it appeared Brannan had a mental illness, he was tried in court as a sane man and was found guilty of first-degree murder. Furthermore, he was sentenced to death and was executed by lethal injection in 2015.
Despite the sounds of death, JPEGMafia decided to use Dinkheller’s murder for the track because it is now shown in police academies across America to show young up-and-coming cops what could happen if they hesitate and don’t use their guns in dangerous situations. As such, many see the footage of Dinkheller as one of the ways law enforcement encourages police brutality.
Training programs following this model have faced criticism for promoting the use of deadly force and not highlighting that a ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ approach could disproportionately impact Black individuals.