What Does It All Mean? Images Of Social Media Conversations Forwarded To JNS Blog In Wake Of Red Hot Discussion About Death Of Tyrone "Ty Crack" Washington In Gang Related Murder, "Kobe Diss" Music Video...

Contributed images, blog post by John Hoff

Red hot blog discussion continues about the death of Tyrone "Ty Crack" Washington, killed in a gang-related murder at Epic Nightclub, and a subsequent video called "Kobe Diss" which apparently references the death of Ty Crack...


(Explanatory note for clarity: The Kobe Diss video APPARENTLY references the death of Ty Crack. However, the "No Competition" video--oddly enough named "Competition" on the actual album but labeled "No Competition" on YouTube--that video DEFINITELY DOES reference the death of Ty Crack when a bracelet is displayed that says "Ty Crack" and has Tyrone Washington's birthday and date of death)

Anonymous Emails In The Night

Two or possibly three anonymous and unknown-to-me email sources are sending me snapshots from social media and making factual assertions about the death of Ty Crack; naming names, alleging circumstances and motivations, commenting on the woeful injustice of it all, i.e. claiming Washington had seven children and was known to be a "fighter" but was the victim of somebody who "brought a gun to a fist fight" in a dishonorable and low-down manner inconsistent with the chivalry we NORMALLY witness in gang disputes. (Eye roll) 

The Imprecise Language Of The Streets 

It's difficult to figure out what is being said in these social media snapshots and why it is being said. Assertions are being made that "#CrackKills" is some kind of claim of responsibility for killing "Ty Crack" Washington; I say "#CrackKills" could be nothing more than a play on words, mockery, First Amendment expression; NOT a claim of responsibility let alone anything worth the precious paper an arrest warrant is written upon. Save the trees, I say, by not trying to stretch "probable cause" to the breaking point. 

But is there SOMETHING happening in these social media expressions? I think so. 

The police apparently know all this stuff already. A warrant was served a while ago which focused on evidence related to utterances on social media but nobody was charged. Unlike some of the participants in this conversation, I believe the police are doing a fine job; the police WANT to catch the killers; and the police are TRYING to catch the killers; and the police would have a much easier time doing their job if somebody would TALK to the police. 

I have people talking to me but I can't figure out half the stuff they're saying, so how much harder would it be for the police when witnesses won't even come forward and TALK? I would tend to think there is an exception to the "no snitching" code of the streets when somebody (allegedly) mocks the mother of the victim in a widely disseminated rap song and wears the victim's memorial bracelet like a "championship ring." (Allegedly, allegedly, allegedly) (Some hypothetical facts are so hot they require more than one "allegedly") 

Here, Figure It Out

For what it's worth...here is more stuff from social media. I'll discuss the dates (or lack of dates) at the end.

My anonymous email source also sent me the following image of Louis Banks. What is Banks' alleged connection to this? Hell if I know. 

Here is more from social media. At the bottom of these two images I have assertions from my source about what, allegedly, these message mean:

Really? That's What It Says? 

My source, whose credibility is unknown, makes the following assertion about these messages:

The first two are from a Instagram post where a 19 member was saying that they killed crack on accident Kibbie commented that he killed crack as a birthday gift for Louis Banks (girthefoundation) louis banks then confirmed it with his comment.

To which JNS blog says: Really? That's what it says? If I had a degree in cultural anthropology with an emphasis on urban street lingo, maybe I'd have more luck drawing meaning from these conversations. My position is I don't know WHAT it says. I know what YOU say it says. I don't know what it says. 

But supposedly this next message was from around that same time:

I already published this image, recently, but this blog post gives the longer context I didn't have time to put on the internet yesterday. My source says the following about this image:

The next pic is from James Horshaw Jr. Stating that he got the call and the kill was confirmed meaning somebody confirmed that Taliban killed crack. 

To which I say: Really? I look at the same message and I don't get that at all. "Kill confirmed" could mean, "Yes, I've heard from people on the streets I know and trust that a rival gang leader is definitely dead." And "we kill" might mean, "We who are the enemies of Ty Crack killed him" but without any knowledge of the crime or complicity in the crime. It's kind of like when I was in uniform the day Osama bin Laden was killed and I said, "WE killed Bin Laden."

Really? So to what degree did I have personal knowledge or accomplice-like action to the killing of Bin Laden? Yes, this "kill confirmed" message reeks and smokes suspiciously, but ultimately PROVES NOTHING except somebody is cheering for their own side in a conflict. 

I did ask my source about the use of the term "nerds." Apparently this term means "people who don't belong on the streets," that is to say, people who lack the hardness and street skills necessary to survive and dominate in the rough game of gang membership. 

This last image is interesting...

This image, according to my anonymous informant, is as follows:

Last pic is of mental mid from his Instagram page where he took a pic of the crime scene where Ty Cracks body laid and captioned the pic "last night was fun" 

To which I say, first of all, there should be a possessive "s" on "Cracks." It is the body belonging to Ty Crack, therefore (please note) "Ty Crack's body."

Secondly, I say that I can't determine where that photo was taken and whether it was even taken in the UNITED STATES, let alone outside of Epic Nightclub. 

A note in regard to the dates of these photos...

All these images, with the exception of the image at the top and the online information about Louis Banks, were supposedly made right after the Tyrone Washington murder. But just attempting to get clear "who, what, when, where, why" out of anonymous dime-droppers is tough. 

WRITE IT OUT, I say, LIKE YOU'RE WRITING FOR YOUR ENGLISH TEACHER? 

Does this help? Barely. 

This blog strives for clarity and facts, even when it is clarity and facts about ALLEGATIONS. But in this case (given the chronic inability of sources to communicate with clarity, let alone substantive candor) I am left to take a big ball of dubious information, toss it upon the waters like bloody chum, and say, "Chew on it. Figure it out. And, by the way, ALLEGEDLY." 

I do not like to do business this way. But the shattering of my all time page view records and all time number of comments records and the nature of that commentary tells me people who care about this issue passionately are using this blog as a source of facts and a forum for discussion. 

What I Think Happened

I believe these images are the same images provided to the police earlier, and probably by the same source or a source close to the original. I think the police weren't able to take action with this thin information so now, frustrated, the same informants seek dissemination of their information through the blogosphere, hoping that roiling up the waters will produce a break in the case. 

Why now? It's simple. The "Kobe Diss" video has made emotions raw. And participants in discussion about the video are advocating and cheering for their own side; dropping dimes, issuing threats, making denials, planting false leads, and most of this is happening anonymously. So, engaging in a rather simple calculations, somebody close to the case thinks pouring more information into the discussion will produce a break in the case. 

Will this work? I doubt it. 

But it sure has been fun for the blogger to be exposed to some music I wouldn't normally seek out, and to actually find the music interesting and compelling because of the controversy surrounding the songs! Here I find myself clicking OVER AND OVER on a song, looking at every image, trying to figure out every word. What if the makers of this music could get tens of thousands of other people this interesting? Image how much MONEY they could make!

My Favorite Mental Mid Song! "Name Ring Bellz"

Based upon nothing more than the catchiness of the tune, not interesting controversy, this song below is my FAVORITE song by Mental Mid. How can I express this in my vanilla midwestern way? These are some, um, DOPE FRESH BEATS!!! (Did I say that right?) 

I will be talking more about this incredible song later, why I like the song and (yes!!!!) presenting a musical response, of sorts, from the "other side" which references the murder of Tyrone Washington. 

Are you ready? Here is "Name Ring Bellz"