Afroman wins lawsuit over ‘Lemon Pound Cake’ police raid footage

“Because I Got High” rapper Afroman won the lawsuit, filed by Ohio deputies, over his use of police raid footage in the music videos “Lemon Pound Cake” and “Will You Help Me Repair My Door.”

“Lemon Pound Cake” will live on.

Rapper Afroman won a three-day-long trial in Ohio after law enforcement sued him for using real footage of police in a pair of viral music videos.

“I didn’t win, America won,” the Grammy-nominated rapper, real name Joseph Foreman, told Cincinnati’s WCPO 9 News outside the courthouse Wednesday, March 18, moments after the verdict. “America still has freedom of speech. It’s still for the people, by the people.”

The verdict comes three years after Adams County Sheriff deputies filed the lawsuit, after Afroman’s music videos “Will You Help Me Repair My Door” and “Lemon Pound Cake” used footage from a 2022 police raid on his home. The trial for the case kicked off on Monday, March 16.

“I’m glad things went my way, but if they would’ve took it all from me, I was happy about all the love I was getting from everybody after them people kicked my door in,” the rapper told the station, getting emotional.

WCPO 9 showed supporters passing out lemon pound cake after the verdict. “When life gives you lemons, you make lemon pound cake,” he added.

The March 2023 complaint, which listed two sergeants, a detective and four deputies, alleged Afroman used their likeness without their permission and profited off their images. The rapper was not home at the time of the raid, but his then-wife filmed it on her phone.

The suit also claimed the deputies suffered embarrassment and death threats and are entitled to compensation.

“All of this is their fault,” Afroman, 51, said during a Tuesday hearing. “If they hadn’t wrongly raided my house, there would be no lawsuit, I would not know their names, they wouldn’t be on my home surveillance system and there would be no songs.”

A representative for the Adams County Sheriff’s Office was not available for comment at the time of publication.

What do Afroman music videos ‘Lemon Pound Cake,’ ‘Will You Help Me Repair My Door’ show?

In December 2022, four months after Adams County police raided his home, Afroman released the video for “Will You Help Me Repair My Door,” a song that poked fun at authorities’ search, which was reportedly based on a warrant over kidnapping and drug trafficking allegations. Afroman was never charged.

The song progresses as the video shows scenes of deputies rummaging through the rapper’s possessions, including several coats in a closet and CDs stacked near a stereo. “Did you find what you were looking for?” Afroman sings.

The music video has racked up over 9 million views to date.

Afroman quickly followed up the clip with another music video, titled “Lemon Pound Cake,” which included footage of a deputy walking by a lemon pound cake in the rapper’s home during the raid. The video currently has 3 million views.

Afroman says police raid was a ‘mistake’

During Tuesday’s hearing, Afroman defended the music videos and criticized police for their raid on his home.

“The sheriff was never supposed to raid my house in the first place,” Afroman said. “The whole raid was a mistake.”

The “Because I Got High” emcee maintained that posting the videos was part of his freedom of speech and allowed him to raise funds to pay for repairs after property damage from the raid.

“After they left, I had the right to kick the can and to do what I had to do to repair the damage they brought to my house,” he continued.

Afroman has continued to make music about the raid and ensuing legal battle, releasing the police diss track “Batteram Hymn of The Police Whistle Blower” on Sunday.

“I have freedom of speech. I’m a rapper. I entertain,” Afroman told prosecutors. “I entertain for a living like you practice law for a living, so I have to go to work.”

Contributing: Scott Hawkins, USA TODAY Network