SOUTH-CENTRAL : Cops Fight Bad Rap With Rhyme, Reason

Police officers and rap may seem an unlikely match but not to the officers in One Tyme and the 5-0 Posse, a group that is taking on controversial rap songs word for word and performing songs like “Mind of a Cop.”

To all you crazy fools out there who don’t know what it’s like to be a cop who’s trying to do what’s right,

You think we’re at Winchell ‘ s chillin’ like a villain,

While these other fools are making songs about the killin. . . .

The group was formed two years ago by Officers Darin McBride, Terrance Williams and Kent Ferrin, after the three bought a West Covina track pre-production studio. The three found themselves increasingly drawn to the studio and began recording.

What began as part-time fun for the group soon took off after Ferrin played the tape for some friends, who invited the trio to perform at El Monte High School. More invitations followed, including a Sept. 18 performance at the 77th Street police station’s open house. The group is to perform Saturday at the Rampart Division station.

About 900 people attended the open house, which included performances by other groups as well as presentations by Special Weapons and Tactics teams and gun displays. )

“Everybody wants to know what’s in the mind of a cop when a baby dies,” said Williams, a Pasadena officer, citing the bridge from “Mind of a Cop.” “The lyrics to our song are what we see from inside the police car and from growing up on the streets. You just think about a day at work.”

“When we first went out there, we were trying to imitate a lot of groups, a lot of the gangster stuff and we were trying to retaliate,” said McBride, a former officer who is now working full time for the group.

But while the focus has shifted somewhat since those days, the goal remains the same: to get the message out that cops are not the enemy.

“(Rappers) are glamorizing getting arrested and doing stuff to the police. These are the people who are getting listened to. So we need to give that audience something else to listen to,” McBride said.