When the ticker came across the screen on CNN on March 26th, 20024 there was news footage of a HSI or Homeland Security tactical team raiding Diddy’s home, and it was at that moment people started to wonder what HSI is and why do they look like a paramilitary operation in the United States…. So, I wanted to be clear and really understand where did Homeland Security come from? AND WHY would they be involved in investigating arguably Hip-Hop’s biggest mogul? Well, 11 days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge was appointed as the first Director of the ..read more

The story of the Hip-Hop Cops when I started the documentary back in 2004, was that it was a secret unit, and it was shrouded in mystery, for many reasons. The journey of going inside Hip-Hop and law enforcement for two years, left me with a few takeaways, but more importantly it left me with a question inside my head that played over and over. Why was the Hip-Hop music industry at War with the Cops, and more importantly why did Hip-Hop have such a distinct connection to the War on Drugs.   While the NYPD, FBI, HIDTA, and the United States Attorney looked at the business ..read more

Join hosts Nicole Luciano and Johnny ‘The Greek’ Anagnopoulos, two of the producers of The Dossier, as they break down all things crime and hip-hop, gleaned from their years of investigative work on the topic. From the Biggie and Tupac murders, to the twenty plus killings that are tangentially related to Death Row Records, Suge Knight, the Bloods, the East vs. West rivalry, the gangster cops inside the LAPD and much more. In this inaugural episode of Collateral Damage, Niki and Johnny give listeners some background on their work and how they’ve gained some expertise on the topics that will b ..read more

Where to begin, with the news of Homeland Security Investigations raiding the homes of Diddy in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami, it is very clear to me that something is afoot, combine that with rumors being reported that the Southern District is interviewing 3 what they are identifying as Jane Doe victims, and one John Doe, and Diddy has really hit a trifecta.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, and let's make some early analysis.  Personally, I have some experience covering HSI or Homeland Security Investigations, and in my work I have also embedded with them on an opera ..read more

As my persistence to tell the story of the Hip-Hop Cops increased, my “fixers” —Steve Lobel and Pistol Pete, delivered on their promise to secure me interview subjects. What sounded good in theory, was in reality far different, as their strategy was to merely accost artists and executives pretty much anywhere—at studios, at parties, concerts, on the street, back alleys—they even spotted Kanye West at an album release party and convinced him to do an interview in the back of the club’s kitchen. In true Kanye fashion he gave me a great sound byte, even though I wa ..read more

As I have started the introspective study of my life since the documentary I created 17 years ago, I don’t want to stray from my initial inspiration that catapulted me into my fascination with law enforcement and Hip-Hop, but more specifically, the nuances, perception, and uneven legal ground created by criminal prosecutors using lyrics, and their visuals, to pursue their criminal cases.  Like the secret book I found, the use of song lyrics or the use of a music video to create a criminal narrative seemed as odd to me today as it did back in 2005. Art imitating life, or life imitating ar ..read more

If you have been listening in, a New York Times article about rap lyrics that I read by a pool in the Spring of 2022, really brought me back 17 years when I decided to explore the origins of a secret Hip-Hop dossier, and why the NYPD and federal government wanted to surveil, track, arrest and indict Hip-Hop Superstars.   The way I chose to tell my story was in the form of a documentary I called Rap Sheet, and where I left off was, I was now in business with Pistol Pete and Steve Lobel, and my best buddy Rick Phillips was my main source of fina ..read more

In Episode one, I talked about securing a weird dossier that was compiled by federal and state law enforcement to track Hip-Hop superstars, and their entourages, associates, and record labels. With the book in hand as a young journalist, I decided the best route to tell the story of the book was to actually make a documentary, but I had no experience, no money, and I didn’t know anyone inside the Hip-Hop industry, but fuck it I started anyway. At that time in 2007 I was fascinated by what they called the Hip-Hop Police, and I was also fascinated with how much mystery was behind this uni ..read more

My name is Don Sikorski. I grew up in the confines of suburban Norwalk, Connecticut, a fan of the hip hop music of Public Enemy, KRS One and Rakim. In 1994, at the age of 18, I left to pursue an interest in journalism and New York University. I was always fascinated by the rumors I heard surrounding hip hop culture, about murder, extortion, the laundering of drug money, the connection between criminal activity and the music. Little did I know at the time, that fascination would eventually take me on a three-year journey into a very complex relationship between hip hop, violence and the ..read more

In 1999, LAPD detectives Buford Watts and Fred Miller (whose name should ring a bell) served a sweeping search warrant on the following places while investigating the murder of Biggie Smalls: A 1995 Chevy Impala SS that was in the possession of Michel’le Toussant Knight 8200 Wilshire Boulevard – at the time the home of Death Row Records’ Company Offices The home of Michel’le Toussant Knight The home of Reggie Wright Jr. While information has been scarce for years about the affidavit and search warrant, we are in possession of the thirteen-page document. In this week’s episode, Don Sikorski ..read more