Afroman, the crypto token launched by “Because I Got High” rapper Afroman, soared after Ohio police failed to prosecute him over a series of music videos he made mocking police officers who raided his home.
A jury sided with the rapper — his real name is Joseph E. Foreman — Wednesday, concluding a three-year defamation lawsuit launched by Adams County police.
The lawsuit stems from a police raid on Foreman’s home in 2022 that resulted in a broken door, confiscation of cash and a search that found no evidence of alleged drug dealing and kidnapping.
The Pump Fun cryptocurrency “Afroman” (ticker $FRO) was launched six months ago, just before Foreman promoted the token on his Instagram account.
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A live stream showing Foreman dining at the restaurant was uploaded along with the crypto token. It reached a market cap of $38,000 before falling back to $12,000 on its launch day.
However, in the two days leading up to Foreman’s defamation lawsuit victory, the crypto’s market cap soared 4,685% to a high of $335,000. FRO’s market cap now exceeds $175,000.
Lawsuit calls music videos ‘humiliating’
Foreman was able to capture footage of the raid on his home security cameras, and in response, he created a series of video clips mocking the officers in various wacky ways.
A song called “Lemon Pound Cake” mocked an officer who was recorded reaching for a split second for Foreman’s lemon pound cake on the kitchen counter.
“Why Did You Disconnect My Video Camera” focused, if you hadn’t already guessed, on the officers who disconnected their cameras during the raid.
“They ran up my driveway with guns and hate, to steal my buns, they just couldn’t wait, I know you want me dead, or in jail, but why did you take down my video cameras?” Afroman sang.
Others were more graphic. One, titled “Randy Walters is a Son of a Bitch,” joked that Afroman was sleeping with the wife of one of the officers and that the officer wouldn’t pay to fix his broken door.
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The officers claimed the videos had caused them “humiliation, ridicule, mental distress, embarrassment and loss of reputation”.
In the deposition footage, an officer claimed the videos partly caused his ex-wife to leave him. However, when his ex-wife was tested in court as the only defense witness brought by Foreman, she testified that the music videos never affected her marriage or her life.
He also argued that the police officers would not pay for the damage they caused during the raid, and so he created the video clips to try to recoup those losses.
Foreman also asserted his right to free speech while dressed in a red, white and blue suit adorned with the American flag.
After the verdict was handed down, Foreman filmed himself celebrating and shouting, “Yeah! We did it, America!…Free speech! Go, go, God bless America!”
The rapper had already uploaded a song before the final days of the trial, singing his own rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
His version is called “Battam Hymn Of The Police Whistle Blower”.
He says, “My eye has seen the corruption of the Adam County cops. Stealing money, stealing cake, when they bust their business. First they screw you over, then they sue you, play games, then deny your claims. The proof is on the Internet.”
Protos has reached out to Foreman for comment and will update this article if we hear anything in response.