JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville rapper Foolio gave an impromptu performance while awaiting arrest in a police interrogation room following a 2022 traffic stop.
The interrogation room video shows the artist, whose real name is Charles Jones, singing the R&B song “Dark Clouds” by St. Petersburg R&B/rap performer Rod Wave.
The video was taken while Foolio was being held in police custody after gang unit detectives stopped him for alleged excessive window tint and felony fleeing in his Dodge Durango last April. In September, he pleaded no contest to one charge of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony, in exchange for a sentence of six months’ probation.
The nearly 3-hour recording shows the rapper being questioned by both homicide detectives and gang unit officers. A homicide detective tells Jones he’s leading the investigation into the murder of Foolio’s friend, “Mitch,” who was killed last January. He asks if Jones has heard anything about who might be responsible, noting his style of “drill rap” celebrates with specificity the murder of rival gang members.
“I know everybody made these songs back and forth towards each other,” the detective says. “So, was there anything within your group that was happening like anybody was feeling or anybody had beef with one another? Within your own circle?”
When the rapper denies knowing anything about the shooting, the detective asks him whether he thinks his music contributes to the violence around him. “Don't you feel like there’s a bunch of s*** happening around you? Like, how’s that feel to you?”
“It’s a blessing and a curse,” Jones replies, noting he, too, has been shot. He says he was also punched in the face during a recent concert in South Carolina. But he rejects the detective’s suggestion that music actually foments violence.
“You can’t just say it’s my music that’s why somebody died,” he says. “No, a song can’t make no n***** do nothing bro.”
At the time Jones is in police custody, he’s unaware that he will be arrested. His attorney said Jones wasn’t informed he was going to jail until after a 2½ hour traffic stop, followed by nearly three hours in the interrogation room.
You can watch the full video here.