In an occurrence that's sure to delight the producers of the HBO series, The Wire, it appears Baltimore native and Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony got taken advantage of by a few old friends from the neighborhood:
In a city struggling with drug violence, some activists are worried about a homemade DVD showing Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony standing with a man who warns that people who tip Baltimore police about drug deals will "get a hole in their head."The DVD's cover bears the title: "Stop Snitching" and a photocopied image and name for the apparent artist: "Skinny Suge." The cover also has photocopied images of what appear to be dead shooting victims . . .
The DVD showed up for sale for $10 within the last week on Baltimore's streets. The production includes music, dancing and spoken messages, with clips showing men stuffing wads of cash into their pockets, driving in convertibles, smoking marijuana and flashing diamond-encrusted watches.
In one segment, Anthony stands on a street, wearing a red shirt and baseball hat and laughing while another man talks about life on the street, snitches and the National Basketball Association. Anthony, 20, doesn't respond to any of the comments about violence, except to laugh. The credits of the DVD include a special thanks to "Melo," Anthony's nickname.
A few episodes ago on The Wire, Baltimore drug kingpins Stringer Bell and Avon Barksdale arranged to watch a workout of one of the city's top basketball stars in order to get him to play in an annual neighborhood grudge match. Further, one of the minor plot points in this season's set of episodes concerned problems with Baltimore's witness protection program.
Life imitating art, or art imitating life?
Readaround: 12/05/04
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When I first heard about Carmelo appearing in a “drug video,” I assumed a video had surfaced of ‘Melo’s buddy putting drugs in his gym bag.