DJ Vlad, YouTube screenshot/ Police raid of Quando Rondo's Savannah, Ga., home. WJCL screenshot
Is there a curse for rappers who appear on DJ Vlad’s show?
Rapper Quando Rondo has appeared on Vlad’s show, which runs on YouTube, and just recently had his home raided.
There have long been questions about DJ Vlad’s credibility as a journalist.
Born Vladimir Lyubovny, he is a former rap mixtape DJ who transitioned to hip-hop video journalism when he launched VladTV.com in 2008.
“Very quickly, Vlad established himself as an interviewer primarily interested in rappers’ personal and illicit histories; Rick Ross’s entourage, Vlad alleged, attacked him as retribution for a video in which he interviewed other rappers about Ross’s past career as a corrections officer in Miami,” The Ringer reported.
Vlad has been accused of often going for gossip instead of news or discussions about music. “Vlad is far less likely to ask about music, and far more likely to ask for detailed accounts of alleged criminal activities and incidents,” The Ringer reported.
On June 15, Quando Rondo, whose real name is Tyquian Terrell Bowman, had his Savannah, Ga., home raided by police.
He was arrested and later charged drug charges. Prosecutors allege Bowman is the leader of a local chapter the “Rollin 60s” gang.
The Rollin 60s Neighborhood Crips is a street gang based in Los Angeles, and originally formed in L.A. in 1976 from the Westside Crips. It has since spread to other cities.
Bowman’s home on Reynolds Street near Hamilton Court was one of five houses in Chatham County that a joint team of officers from the Savannah Police Department, the Chatham County Narcotics Team and agents from the FBI and Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms searched beginning at 6 a.m. that Thursday morning.
Law enforcement sources said the raid was to look for evidence connected to the street gang, which is connected to illegal drug sales.
FBI agents were seen carrying out a box filled with envelopes and other documents, WJCL reported.
Quando Rondo isn’t the only artist who has appeared on DJ Vlad’s show who has found himself arrested.
Some say DJ Vlad’s interviews are used by feds to imprison rappers.
Fans think beleaguered hip-hop artist Casanova’s interviews on VladTV by DJ Vlad led to his arrest and indictment by the FBI. They’ve bombarded Twitter with calls to boycott the popular hip-hop show.
Casanova has been interviewed on VladTV a number of times.
Boosie Badazz also often went on Vlad’s show. And he has been arrested numerous times, most recently in June.
A spokesperson for the San Diego County District Attorney’s office told TMZ that Boosie was in court for an appearance in his ongoing gun case. The case was dismissed, but as he left court Boosie was arrested by federal agents on other charges. The reason for the arrest was never reported.
It’s not farfetched to think that interviews on Vlad’s show could be used by law enforcement to investigate rappers. Online activity is helping the FBI take down gang members and rappers. Social media posts, for example, led to the arrests of five alleged members of Chicago’s notorious O-Block Gang for the execution-style murder of hip-hop artist FBG Duck in 2020.
DJ Vlad, YouTube screenshot, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mpjrPvVl0o/ Police raid of Quando Rondo’s Savannah, Ga., home. WJCL screenshot, https://www.wjcl.com/article/quando-rondo-savannah-police-raid-video/44281473#
