10 OCTOBER 3-9, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | “BOYZ IN AURORA”: COMBATING THE CITY’S BAD RAP BY BENNITO L. KELT Y “I just don’t really see a gang problem in Aurora,” says Brandon Connor, who moved there from Los Angeles a decade ago. “I’m not saying there’s not gangs, but I don’t see it as a problem. When you go to L.A., there are the dudes at the corners asking you where you’re from. You don’t really have that in Aurora.” In fact, Aurora has nearly 1,400 gang members across 36 gangs, according to a July 2023 report by the National Network for Safe Communities. In contrast, Los Angeles is considered the gang capital of America, with 450 active gangs with 36,000 mem- bers, by Department of Justice estimates. That’s down from 1,300 gangs and 150,000 members in the ’90s. Connor came to Colorado with his then-girlfriend, who was trying to get out of Dorner Blocc, an L.A. gang; she had fam- ily in Denver and he found work in Aurora, a city where he soon felt at home. “Now I’m adopted by Aurora,” he says. “I don’t really have any connections with L.A. I don’t go there anymore.” Today, Connor runs New West Manage- ment, a local music label with rappers from across Colorado, including Aurora, Denver and Pueblo. A musician himself, he used to perform as Young Fait but swapped that a few years ago for CallMeWhoElse. These days he spends most of his time getting bookings for his rappers and producing their music, but he’s occasionally motivated to make his own. He was inspired when former president Donald Trump said that Venezuelan gangs were “taking over the buildings in Aurora” — so inspired that he wrote the song “Boyz in Aurora,” in an attempt to turn the discussion to “real issues in Aurora,” like gun violence and police brutality. “Don’t mention our city, that’s real weak,” Connor tells Trump in the song. “These rap- pers live in a city that’s safe, but some stay with they mom.” The song is his fi rst rap about his new hometown. “I really haven’t done any Aurora songs yet, just because you’re stuck doing stuff as manager,” he says. “I haven’t been able to write songs lately.” But when he saw reports on the Venezuelan gang rumors on the national news, he knew he had to write a song because “it just gave me that same familiar feeling like they did with saying Black people in L.A. were gangs,” he says. Coming from Los Angeles, Connor is a fan of N.W.A., the ’90s rap group from Compton. The name of his new song plays off “Boyz-N- The Hood,” a song from a 1987 compilation album that talks about the gun violence and crime on an ordinary day in Compton. At the time, L.A. was dealing with “a lot of violence, a lot of police activity, a lot of misinformation,” Connor recalls, and the media was trying to make L.A. sound worse than it actually was by “saying every dude standing on any block was a gang member.” Now he’s seeing the same thing hap- pening in Aurora, he says, with the media “trying to paint Aurora as a war zone” when the police are part of the problem. “Aurora really pulls up and shoots, Police pulls up and shoots,” he raps. Lowdy Trails, a rapper from Aurora who is managed by New West, says that Connor’s song is great for Colorado, because it tries to combat the bad press while still staying rel- evant to what’s really happening in Aurora. “I thought the song was hard as hell, bro, and matches exactly what’s going on,” says Trails. “The only time the news of the world pays attention to Colorado is when some major shit is happening: We shot up a movie theater, we shot up a high school, Venezuelans took over the apartments. Now you know Aurora.” But in reality, Aurora is much safer than Los Angeles. Connor never has an issue with the colors he wears, something he had to watch for in L.A. because of gang rivalries and turf wars. “I don’t think I’ve been asked where I’m from in Aurora, so I don’t really see the gang problem,” he adds. “I can wear whatever hat I want. In L.A., you can’t wear certain hats. It can be your favorite basketball or baseball team, and they’ll be like, ‘Nope, take it off.’” He hopes that “Boyz in Aurora” offers a more reliable account of Aurora’s problems than the media puts out, just as N.W.A.’s song showed the reality of life in Compton against the backdrop of negative media attention. “I just took something from the N.W.A. days. What N.W.A. did for L.A., maybe I can do for Aurora,” Connor says. “The media use these scare tactics, but they don’t come to Aurora. It’s up to us as musicians to tell you the real truth. We see everything every day, we hear everything. I want people to listen more to us.” Connor fi lmed the video for the song at the Edge of Lowry, the apartment complex at 1218 Dallas Street that is one of three owned by out-of-state company CBZ Management. A video taken at that complex went viral last month; it showed six armed men walking through the halls, and has been used to back the claim that Venezuelan gangs had taken over the complexes. While he was filming there in mid- September, Connor says he realized that Aurora’s real problem is a landlord problem. “It’s a slumlord situation,” he says. “They’re saying it’s gangs...but nope, it’s slumlords. Those apartments are, like, to- tally abandoned by the owner, with trash. It’s disgusting.” “Boyz in Aurora” is available on YouTube, Spotify and iTunes and the CallMeWhoElse channels. Here are the lyrics: Verse 1: Baby I’m repping that dangerous A We do not hesitate Pull out a weapon and spray Follow the leader my niggas will do what I say These rappers live in a city that’s safe Some stay with they mom and suck on a titty today They made a state anthem I’m digging their group They from the CO that shit was so cute Music videos the only thing these niggas really pull up and shoot Hook: Aurora really pulls up and shoots Police pulls up and shoots He pulls up and shoots She pulls up and shoots We pull up and shoot Aurora really pulls up and shoots Police pulls up and shoots He pulls up and shoots She pulls up and shoots Pull up and shoot Pull up and shoot Pull up and shoot Pull up and... Verse 2: They pass Havana stay away from Hampden The ’Fax is active them junkies camping He told yall bout the bright side Not our side this shit gritty Like Mississippi we’re cruising Sable Gots codes and labels Them other cities sound like fairy tales But it’s hot out here this A, we the best cause we came from hell Out here we smoking on brimstone Eating on dim sum I’m talking that chin li When I’m outside everybody friendly Online threats don’t offend me I be outside like 10th street Making a Colorado anthem don’t mention our city that’s real weak Take ’em to church headed to Iliff, hit up the drive-thru grab me a 10-piece New West in the house no weapon shall prosper against me Fuck the law if the cops come get me I hit the wrong bitches raw Aw Had to leave them hos alone Left L.A. and made the A my home Met the one she went to Hinkley She well reserved never think of her as kinky But for me she show another side she super freaky We gotta bag no help down and out no love was felt Used to be part of a team that wanted no part of me I was the game to G to skeet treated me like doggy shit I been banned from clubs Blackballed 86 They hate me still Decades later they can barely pay them bills That’s super glue they stuck for real Moving up and we all gritty Shout out to the pretty bitches making moves in the city Brandon Connor runs local music label New West Management. BENNITO L. KELT Y
