Afroman, the singer-rapper known for his hit song “Because I Got High,” captured the heart of the Internet this week defending himself in a wild defamation case brought by Ohio police officers who he mocked in songs as vengeance for an erroneous house raid.
In 2022, police raided the Winchester, Ohio, home of Afroman — whose real name is Joseph Foreman — over kidnapping and drug trafficking allegations. However, no evidence of these crimes was found, and no charges were filed as a result.
In the three years that followed, Afroman released songs mocking the officers involved, accusing them of breaking his door, stealing his money, disconnecting his home surveillance cameras, and even eyeing the lemon pound cake sitting on his counter.
The recording artist also used the home security camera footage he had of the raid in the several satirical music videos for his songs about the officers.
The songs had titles such as “Randy Walters Is a Son of a Bitch” or “Licc’em Low Lisa,” in which Afroman goaded a female officer, saying she was sleeping with the other officer’s wives.
Moments from the defamation trial repeatedly went viral through the week, with clips featuring surreal cross-examinations and Afroman’s larger-than-life personality commanding control of the court room.
One officer involved in the case was suing in response to Afroman making a song claiming he was having sex with the officer’s wife.
After being asked if it was actually true that Afroman is having sex with his wife, the officer responded, “I don’t know,” effectively nuking his own case by bizarrely establishing that there is a non-zero chance that Afroman might actually be having sex with his wife.
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In another clip from the trial, a female officer — apparently the subject of “Licc’em Low Lisa” — can be seen sobbing in court while the song plays and Afroman rocks in his chair to the beat.
“Licc’em Low Lisa, she raided my house. She disconnected my cameras, then she went down on my spouse,” the lyrics played before the jury. “I just don’t know what I’m gonna do, y’all keep on laughing, she’s gonna eat your wife’s pussy, too.”
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In another clip, Afroman — who appeared in court clad in an American flag suit and sunglasses — is asked by a lawyer for the seven Adams County officers what he thinks gave him “the right” to do everything he has done.
“Under the circumstance that I got freedom of speech, after they run around my house with guns and kick down my door, I got the right to kick a can in my backyard, use my freedom of speech, turn my bad times into a good time, yes, I do,” Afroman replied.
“And I think I’m a sport for doing so,” the 51-year-old singer continued. “Because I don’t go to their house, kick down their doors, flip them off on their surveillance cameras, then try to play the victim and sue them.”
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The lawyer then asked Afroman if he knew that one of the officers was “upset,” to which the rapper replied, “Just like she knew I was upset when she was standing in front of my kids, with an AR-15 with her hand around the trigger, ready to shoot me.”
“Just like she knew I was upset when she cut my cameras,” Afroman continued, before sarcastically adding, “But I’m not a person. She is. So, I’m sorry for being a victim, let’s talk about the predators.”
After the lawyer noted in court that Afroman is “still posting stuff” about the raid on social media, despite knowing how upset officers and their children are, the “I’m a Have a Good Time” singer responded that it was the officers’ faults “for coming in my house in the first place.”
“If they hadn’t came to my house, their children wouldn’t be saying nothing,” he said. “None of this would be going on if they did their research and did things right. So, all of this is their fault. And now they want to sue me for their mistake.”
After being asked, “Is there anything that could change your mind?” Afroman replied by asking, “Is there anything that can change my mind about the fact that they shouldn’t have been at my house in the first place?”
“Is there anything that can change my mind about how my money shouldn’t have been touched in the first place? No,” the singer added.
In another clip, an attorney can be heard asking an officer to explain “what private fact” that lyrics about a “receding hairline” and “dipshit” are supposedly revealing about him.
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Another video from the case shows a now-retired Adams County sheriff’s deputy — who Afroman dubbed “Officer Pound Cake” — stating in court, “I received hundreds of pound cakes at work from different people.”
Afroman’s song “Lemon Pound Cake” then plays for the jury, featuring the lyrics, “The Adams County sheriff kicked down my door, then I heard the glass break. They found no kidnapping victims, just some lemon pound cake.”
“Mama’s lemon pound cake, it tastes so nice, it made the sheriff wanna put down his gun and cut him a slice,” the lyrics continue. “Lemon pound cake, he’s a family guy. Lemon pound cake, munchies, because he got high.”
“He’s an Adams County sheriff, he’s hungry and he’s big as hell,” the lyrics go on. “He was sniffing for weed, then he smelled another smell. What was that? Mama’s lemon pound cake.”
The song’s music video also featured footage from Afroman’s home security cameras, and includes a clip showing the sheriff appearing to examine the pound cake during the 2022 raid.
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During the trial, Afroman brought in only one witness — Officer Shawn Grooms’ ex-wife, Rhonda, who testified that the song did not ruin her marriage.
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Another video — which social media users found particularly amusing — shows a lawyer stating in court, “Mr. Foreman posted that Lisa Phillips likes to have sex with other women,” adding that Afroman “used other words” like, “She ate my ex-wife, just like pizza,” and, “Pussy, pussy, pussy eating” many times on the Internet.
“People saw it, people laughed. But people here in Adams County would sometimes yell at her when they saw her, ‘Hey! Lisa, Lick ‘Em Low, Phillips!’ That was his nickname for her,” the lawyer added.
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Another clip from the trial shows Afroman’s lawyer, David Osborne, explaining before the jury that songs like Cardi B’s “WAP” (Wet Ass Pussy) are merely “entertainment” and “social commentary.”
“They make fun of everybody for entertainment, and some of it is a social commentary, but it is not fact, and everybody knows that,” Osborne said of various music artists and television personalities.
“Nobody look at Lil Wayne’s song, ‘Pussy Monster,’ and says there’s a monster in that song,” he added. “Everybody knows it’s exaggeration for entertainment. Is he commenting on something? Sure, but it’s not fact.”
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On Wednesday, a jury ruled in favor of Afroman, who was found not liable in the defamation case.
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And finally, Afroman celebrated exuberantly outside the courthouse with fans, yelling, “God bless America!”
Footage from the Ohio defamation case went viral on Friday, with social media users praising Afroman for his testimony and calling the rapper a “legend” and an “American hero.”
“This man is an American hero and we should cherish him as such,” one person proclaimed in a Reddit forum, under a thread titled “Afroman: The Hero We Didn’t Ask For But The Hero We Needed.”
“That was fucking golden,” another Reddit user commented.
“Imagine raiding someone’s house and then ending up in their music video… and losing the case,” one X user quipped.
“How do you even sue for this?” another asked.
“Not a soul would have known about this situation had they not sued him,” a third surmised, adding, “Now I’m walking around singing my house singing ‘Randy Walker is a son of a bitch.’”
“Afroman’s victory against police corruption is more inspiring than any PoC or Minority story pushed on us by Hollywood in the last 6+ years,” another X user declared.
“This entire thing has been a great win for free speech and absolutely fucking hilarious,” another asserted.
Another X user remarked that “the cop not knowing if Afroman was actually sleeping with his wife is the plot twist that no writer could come up with.”
“Someone needs to turn this into a mini-series immediately,” another implored. “It is the funniest thing that has happened in years — this could be a cinematic masterpiece.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
