Afroman vs. The Police: The Lemon Pound Cake Trial

I’m This week on True Crime Tuesday, we’re talking about one of the wildest courtroom stories in recent memory. After police raided Afroman’s house in Ohio over kidnapping and drug trafficking allegations and found nothing, he turned the entire thing into music, videos, merch, and one unforgettable song: “Lemon Pound Cake.”

In this episode, I break down the full timeline from the 2022 raid, to the songs and viral videos he released, to the lawsuit filed by the deputies, and the courtroom moments that had the internet obsessed. We’re getting into the facts, the chaos, the funniest moments, and how this whole thing ended in a major free speech win.

Listen now, and while you’re here, grab some energy for your next deep dive with Dubby:

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:42

Heya. Hiya. How are ya? Sorry, I'm really high at the moment. Which is fitting, because I'm going to be talking about Afro Man. So I guess it's okay. I'm Kelly, and welcome back to Don't Quote Me as Probably Nothing, the podcast where I get high and talk about weird stuff. And I already told you that I was talking about Afro Man. But I'm going to tell you again. Today we're talking about Afro Man. Not because like he's a criminal or anything, but because of like the defamation case against him. That was like, I don't know. I don't know what it was like. I don't know how to explain it. Which is why I'm going to tell you about it. But before I do, I obviously have to tell you about the Stephen Wilson Jr. concert last night. And it was amazing. Which if you listen to him, then you already know that. But it was so good. It was my first time seeing him, obviously. And it was one of the best shows I've been to. And I've been to a lot. I well, you know, I don't know how to explain it because I'm high. But if I wasn't high, I could probably explain to you how great this show was. I got three shirts and a poster. I wanted everything. I wanted so much more. But like I didn't want to take everything, you know. Well, like, buy everything. I didn't take it. I'm not a thief. I'm sorry for this. My apologies. But I went by myself because sometimes I go to concerts by myself. It's really fun, actually. Not when you're waiting around because you have no one to talk to, so then you have to like awkwardly look at your phone so you're not staring at people. Because I tend to people watch. Like I'll stare at you pretty hard and try to figure out like your entire life and everything about you just by looking at you, you know? Because like I think I can read minds and stuff. Just kidding, I don't really think that part. But some lady next to me, or a girl, I should say, but she's my age, but should she wasn't young. Well, she's I mean, she was probably in her forties, maybe. Actually, maybe not. She didn't look like she was in her forties. She looked like she was like in her twenties. But she had like five kids. That's how I knew she wasn't in her twenties. I mean, it's possible she could have been, but I don't think so. But anyway, I don't know her name. I never got it. But I found out that she's from Lancaster and she's a nurse. So it's weird making small talk in the outside world because she knows a lot about me too, but we don't know each other's name. You know what? I think I told her my name and I think she told me hers. I just don't remember it. Or I just made that part up and we never told each other our names. But if for some reason Lancaster nurse lady with five children, if you ever come across this, hello. I'm Kelly. Anyway, I guess I should talk about Afro Man now. Okay, so Afroman's real name is Joseph Edgar Foreman, which I never looked up his name ever. I just he's Afro Man. We don't need to call him Joe or anything, you know? I wonder if his parents call him Afro Man or his like wife or kids or something. I'll have to find out. I'm gonna see if he's on Instagram and I'll send him a message and I'll ask him. Actually, you know what? Hold on, I'm gonna do it right now. Okay, I messaged Afro Man. I'll let you know if he responds. He probably won't. It'll probably go to junk. But I asked him if his family members called him Afro Man. And then I told him about my podcast and told him to listen to him. Anyway, so he I mean, you don't need to know his birthday. This isn't like a true crime, like he was born on this date. I don't need to say all that. But he's I will say that he's from LA and then later moved to Mississippi, and he got the name Afro Man, so Afro was inspired by his hairstyle, and man was just like a laid-back persona. So he's Afro Man. But like not Afro Man, it's Afro Man, you know? Anyway, let me just say this part first, and then I'll tell you what I was about to tell you. So he got famous because his like breakout song was Because I Got High in 2000, and that actually started as a homemade track and then blew up after being shared online, which was like an early internet viral moment because it was 2000, and it was featured in movies like Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. And then there's other popular songs. There was The Crazy Rap, Colt 45 and Two Zig Zags, and Palmdale, which both that whole album was just the best. I listened to it from beginning to end multiple times. I think, how old was I? Hold on. I'm gonna pause this to do my math, and I'm actually gonna use a calculator. So hold on. Okay, I was 12. Also, my bad for all my math lately. Uh, I it's been terrible. I I'm terrible at math. You add, you give me algebra with like a bunch of letters in it. Yes, please, I can do that, no problem. It took me many years to master. Like, I didn't do well in seventh grade with it, but I did in high school. But like you tell me to, you know, basic subtraction and addition, and no, thank you. And do not ask me any fractions. Why am I telling you this? Oh, yeah, because I listened to that like whole album all the time and I was 12, which is wild. However, it that's not that bad because I used to play that album for my children when they were like five. Anyway, so his music is usually funny and explicit and story-driven, kind of chaotic, but like in the best way possible. Okay. And his style and vibe is like freestyle like storytelling. And then sometimes he would like literally record at home. And there's like wild, random, like hilarious lyrics. If you're listening to this, I'm sure you probably know who Afro Man is. But if you don't, go listen to like one of his songs. But he basically built a career off of being like unfiltered and real, which I I feel that. So Afro Man didn't stay in like the traditional music industry lane. So he self-released his music and sells merch directly and uses like viral moments to stay relevant. And he built like a cult fan base instead of like chasing mainstream fame. And cult isn't like a bad thing. It's like this in this case is not a bad word. It's just that like it's kind of like a what do they call them? Cult classics and movies and stuff, like movies that aren't like really, really popular, but like a lot of people love them, you know, if I even describe that correctly. So some little fun random facts about Afro Man is that he started rapping as a teenager and sold tapes in high school, and he performed all over the world despite being considered a one-hit wonder by some people, which he is I don't think he's a one-hit wonder. I don't know a good word to make up to call him that would like be similar to one-hit wonder, maybe like a mini-hit maker. But anyway, so there's like a couple controversies. Um, one is just that like some lady snuck onto stage and he he like ended up punching her, but then he said that like he didn't know who it was, which that's probably true, because if you're on stage and someone's like sneaking up behind you, like you don't know what they're gonna do. They could like have a shiv in their pocket that they made from a toothbrush, you know. You never know what someone's gonna do. So that's justified, I think. And then the next one was what I'm gonna talk to you about, and that's the police raid situation that was going on. So in 2022, police raided his home in Ohio on suspicions of kidnapping and drug trafficking, and obviously they found nothing, but this is where it gets very Afro man because he literally turned the whole thing into content and he ended up releasing songs, like one was called Lemon Pound Cake, and the other ones like said, Will you help me repair my door? And in the videos that he released, he included footage from the raid, and like basically the lyrics were like clowning police, and then the officers sued him for using their likeness. I use air quotes in his music videos. And I couldn't find anything on like how they even like decided to raid his house for kidnapping and drug trafficking because police never publicly detailed any of that. They didn't say like who gave the tip or what the exact evidence was or whether it was like a confidential informant or what. So the probable cause like behind that warrant was never laid out for the public, you know? So the police ended up going to his house and they're probably all running inside, right? And Afro Man actually was not home, but his family was there, and police searched the house for drugs and like evidence of kidnapping, but they didn't find anything because I already told you that they didn't find anything. But I'll have to say that is probably like really traumatic for his family members because they're probably just chilling watching SpongeBob or something, and then the police come in and knock the door down and you know, run in all like we're serving a warrant. You know why I know that they say they're serving a warrant? It's because I've seen it on TV. But not only that, I okay, sometimes I have warrants for unpaid parking tickets, and the one I have now isn't my first. Because, but why do I have to pay to park on a free earth? Okay, you already like uh the tickets that I got were in media where the courthouse is, which I worked in. You already have my money from the taxes you take out of my paycheck. Why can't I park for free? And they didn't even have anything, at least I wasn't aware of anything, but I have asked and I didn't hear anything, so I think I'm correct with this. Is that like as an employee there, I couldn't even purchase like some type of parking pass to be able to park on the street, you know, and not have to pay. You know, I would have paid the parking ticket if I could have put coins in the meter, but they did away with that. And you gotta scan something and you gotta link your bank card to it, and you gotta do all this stuff. I mean, it's linked now, it's fine. But you know how many times I like change my bank card because I use it at the gas station and someone hacks it, and then I have to get a whole new one, and then my card numbers aren't memorized anymore. It's annoying. Like, you should have just let me be able to put coins in a meter, and I would have gladly paid you my dimes and quarters anyway, about the this serving a warrant thing. Okay, so I got a letter in the mail, like this was about six years ago, seven years ago, sorry, maybe eight years ago, but it was a while ago, it was before I lived where I live now. It was at our old house, and there was like the people across the street, there was like a lot of stuff going on with the people across the street. The cops were like always there. Okay, so we our house was built like over a hundred years ago, and I I think it was like 120 years old when we lived there. So we had like the radiator heat, and it would get so hot in our bedroom. So I always had the windows cracked. And I got a letter in the mail saying, Hey, we're gonna issue a warrant if you don't pay this parking ticket. And I was like, eh, whatever, I'll go pay it when I'm at work. It was like the weekend when I got the letter or something. Well, I forgot and I didn't pay it at work when I was there. And so I was laying in bed and it was like 6 a.m. and my alarm goes off, and I'm like, I don't want to get up right now. I'm gonna sleep for like 10 more minutes. But like this wasn't the first time my alarm went off. My alarm actually started going off at like 5.15 and then just continued to go off every five minutes until six o'clock, and I just kept turning it off. But six o'clock was like my final, final alarm, and I still set it for five more minutes after that. You know, now my alarm goes off at 5:45, sometimes 5.30, and I get right up without hitting something, but that's because I moved my alarm, like a real actual alarm clock. I had to use, I had to buy one of those again because I can my sleep through the alarm on my phone, and I had to move it across the room so that I actually get up to turn it off. And I think that's what keeps me awake. Why am I telling you this? Oh, yeah. So I'm laying in bed and it's 6 a.m. and I'm just about to fall back asleep after I've reset the alarm and I hear like a knock, knock, knock, and they were like, sheriffs, we're serving a warrant, and my eyes shot open so fast, and I was like, hmm? You're doing what now? So I just decided to lay there because if I don't get up, they'll go away. And then I hear another knock, knock, knock, and then they scream louder, sheriffs, we're serving a warrant. And then I kind of started to panic because I sleep in a t-shirt and undies. And I also had three German shepherds at the time because and who knows what like my dogs would have done, you know? And I was freaking out a little bit. Uh actually a lot of it. So I'm like I hopped out of bed and I'm like trying to put pants on. And I don't want to be the person that gets arrested in their undies, you know. You ever see that on like cops? They're arresting someone and he's walking out with his droopy drawers. Like, no, mm-mm. And my drawers would be droopy. Anyway, so I'm freaking out, and then I um actually looked outside and saw that it wasn't for me, it was for across the street. And they were busting into his house because there was a bunch of drugs in there and they raided them. And yeah, that's actually happened a few times. The rating of the neighbors part, not the warrant part, except for now. I really do have to pay that. But what is it that people say? F the patriarchy? Is are they is that the right thing to say? Did I say that right? Anyway, um I'll pay it. Don't worry. Uh I'll pay it. Wink wink. But anyway, people questioned the raid with Afro Man because there was like no arrest or charges or no clear explanation of anything about why they raided his house. So he just recently had his trial in 2026 because they sued him for defamation. And so the trial focused on whether or not Afro Man defamed the officers and whether or not he violated their privacy. So, like, the trial wasn't about proving if the raid was justified or not, because it wasn't like about that. So the original reasons for the drug trafficking suspicion and the kidnap suspicion were never fully like dissected in court. Uh, sorry guys. I turned this recording off for a second and got sidetracked and don't remember what I just talked about. So if this sounds out of order, then my bad. Anyway, I think I mentioned the videos that Afroman made. Okay. So the videos are made from home security cameras and phone footage and actual audio from inside the house. So you're literally watching like a real police raid happen in real time. Please go to YouTube and watch them, okay? So the opening scenes in multiple videos, especially Lemon Pound Cake and Repair My Door. That just makes me funny. I mean, that it it is funny. It makes me laugh, is what I was my brain was trying to say. Sorry, I smoked a bowl like in between this break. So do with that what you will. But anyway, you see police like busting through the door and their guns drawn, like they had rifles and they were visible, and then they're moving through the house room by room. It like full, like it looked like something that you would see in like a SWAT movie, you know. It's exactly how I pictured my neighbor's house across the street getting raided when it happened. But they did it like this because they were looking for kidnapping victims and drugs. So the footage shows the officers going through closets, checking shoes, searching jackets and pockets, looking through personal belongings. And at one point, an officer is heard asking something like, Is he a raiders fan? Like while he was going through the clothes, which is that's so funny. I mean, I guess when the cops are looking through your stuff, they wonder things too, you know? If I was a cop and I was raiding someone's house, I'd probably be asking all the questions. Anyway, so the 11 pound cake scene is actually what made everything go viral. So there's this cake sitting on the counter and it's under a glass cover. And in the footage, an officer walks past it and then looks at it, and then like kind of lingers near it and like keeps looking, and that's it. But Afroman turned that into like the entire joke of the song. So the song is basically a sarcastic retelling of the raid, and he's like playful about it, like he usually is, but all he's doing is like recounting what happened and pointing out how ridiculous it was, and then like making the cops look kind of goofy. So, like, this this is an example. It's like you kicked in my door, did you find what you were looking for? Want some cake, you know? Basically, I don't know if I can like redo the lyrics on here. I probably could. Anyway, like the cake became a thing because of like how absurd it is. Because like you have armed officers looking on suspicion of like serious crimes, and then like the one dude just staring at dessert. Honestly, I I would I'd stare at the dessert too, though. But that's just me. But they did damage his property. They like the door was busted open, obviously, and then his gate was broken and stuff. But like they really wreck your stuff when they search your house. And like I thought, like on TV, you know, on TV when they're raiding a house, they're doing it all nice, and they're pulling out the drawers nicely and lifting something up and then closing it. They'll come in here and sometimes I wonder if they just toss it just to do it, like just to because they can, you know? Like, I get it, you have to look for stuff, but I don't know, they just leave I they leave your house a wreck when they leave. Like, I don't I don't know personally, but like I've heard and like I've seen too on like TikTok or something, and on actual like body cam cop shows and stuff. But anyway, he in the song he does talk about like the family presence with his kid his family being in the house and like his kids there during the raid. But that does become something serious later because he felt that they were traumatized first. Like, you're not traumatized because someone made a song about you, your butthurt because someone made a song about you. Anyway, he ended up turning Lemon Pound Cake into an entire album, and that's that's what the album's named. And the songs that are some of the songs that are on it are like Lemon Pound Cake, Will You Help Me Repair My Door, The Police Raid, and like why are you disconnecting my video camera? Which is true, they tried to like disconnect his video camera. Isn't that wild? Because they saw he had video cameras and like cameras, like security cameras, and they were trying to disconnect them. That is insane. So, anyway, on the internet, the videos obviously got millions of views. It went viral pretty fast, and then everybody online thought it was like hilarious and ridiculous because absolutely. So one of the deputies got nicknamed Lemon Pound Cake, and reportedly he received like hundreds of pound cakes at work as a joke. And like, I'm sorry, but I I'd be so excited. If someone was sending me a bunch of lemon pound cakes, I'd be like, Hell yeah, brother, send away because I like lemons and I like pound cake. I've never had lemon pound cake, but I bet it tastes delicious. You know what? Have I? I think I had one from Starbucks, it was like a slice, but they put that icing on it and it was really, really sweet. So the police were mad because they felt that it made them look incompetent and they got turned into a meme, and it led to public ridicule and harassment and hurt their reputations. So they claimed uh defamation and invasion of privacy. And Afro Man gets up there and he like he didn't fake anything or stage anything. He used like real footage of a real event involving public officials and then just added commentary and humor. Like he didn't do anything wrong, you know, but he did he showed up to his court in that that American, I don't know, like that like American flag suit where just like Americ like red, white, and blue. I think it was American flag. But that was a pretty nifty suit. I liked it. I kind of want to get one for Jim to wear on 4th of July. But anyway, because of all that, like because of using like the real footage and stuff, and like not making anything up and everything, that's why the jury ultimately like sided with him, which rightfully so. And then also one of the things that he did was like the cop who claimed like that he was defamed Afroman's witness, if I if I read that correctly, was that cop's ex-wife. Which I think is just so funny. You know, I sat in on court one time, like so when when I worked at the courthouse, the for the second time I was a court clerk. So like I sat like in the trial and stuff, in trials and stuff like that. And there was this one guy and a lady, and it was a bench trial, so there was no jury, or anyone else in the courtroom, actually. It was like a end-of-the-day short trial thing, which is the weirdest, the wildest thing I've ever heard. But I think he was in like a motorcycle gang or something, and he was in prison. Well, not prison, jail. He was at the county jail um for like domestic abuse or something like that. I think he punched the lady, and anyway, they go through everything, and he's still in jail because he must have he. I think he had like a whole bunch of like prior domestic abuse charges. I think he definitely punched this lady in the face, and I think he like threatened her and said, You better come to court and say this or else. But so I think that's why what I'm about to tell you happened, happened. So, anyway, he goes through his whole thing and was like, No, she started it, blah, blah, blah. And they call her up, and then she gets on the stand and she denied everything that she told the police. She said, That never happened, that never happened, that never happened. Basically, she was like, I c okay. So she's sitting there, and they're like, So he didn't punch you in the face. And she said, Well, he did, but it's because I kicked him in the dick. And I was like, I looked at her real quick, like, oh my, she just like there that was one of my very first. That was like during the very beginning of me working there. And I I thought that was wild. I'm like, man, this is the wildest thing I've ever heard. Little did I know all of the other things that I would see. But yeah, why why did I why am I telling you this? I don't know why I just told you that story. Oopsies. But you know what? I'm going to like okay, I'm gonna play a a tiny, tiny clip of lemon pound cake. Maybe if I just play like five seconds of it, I won't get canceled or in trouble. So hold on, let me let me find it. But also I wanna say, like, if you go on YouTube and you type in Afroman Lemon Pound Cake literally on the side, you can watch the like entire trial. You know what? I think I am I'm gonna play at least half of it. Okay, so the but I will say this first. So during the trial, like please, I know I said it's on YouTube, but like go to YouTube and watch it because I've been chocolate. But his defense attorney asked the cop and was like, Do you know the song Lemon Pound Cake? And the guy's like, Yeah. And he's like, Alright, I'm gonna play it for you. So he played it for the he played it for the jury, but he played he played the entire song from beginning to end. And then when the song was over at the end, he was like, I'm gonna stop it there. Which is just uh so funny to me. But okay, hold on, I'm gonna I'll play hold on, I'll play this real quick.

SPEAKER_00 23:49

The Adams County Sheriff kicked down my door. Then I heard the glass spray. Just some lemon pound case. It made the sheriff wanna put down his gun and cut him a slide. Of what? Lemon pound cake, he wanna put down his wild. Lemon pound cake, trending on ticket, lemon pound cake. He's a family guy. Lemon pound kind of munchies because he got hot. Lemon pound cake, pound cake.

SPEAKER_03 24:45

Ugh he's he is so funny. But yeah, you should go listen to the rest of that. And the whole album. Give Afro Man all of your money. But like, good for Afroman. Well, well, he was found not guilty, obviously. And then also he like got free promotion. Okay, so I just came across this one thing actually on Afroman's Instagram. And I know I mentioned that nobody knew like why the police raided. Well, I just found out because Afro Man because Afro Man posted it. Okay, I'm gonna read you exactly what his Instagram thing says. So he shared this video of this girl, and he said, This is the unconfidential informant who had my home raided. Pedophile police officer baby making Brian Newborn Newlin raided my house based on the words of this woman in this video. Her name is Tasty Tasha Chamblin. Since this woman's words were good enough to get my house raided in some sort of military style, I demand an investigation be open on pedophile police officer baby making Brian Newborn Newland. I'm sorry for laughing every time I say his name. With the same woman he raided my house for, the unconfidential informant, Tasty Tasha. Hey Brian, is that why you turned the mic off in the interview room and she had to be interviewed twice? So, on top of like going to YouTube and watching his his videos, I think you should go to Instagram and read all the drama. That's everything with the From Man stuff. I thought it would be a fun true crime Tuesday. Shout out to those listening on Nighthawk Radio. And if you're listening on Spotify or Apple or something, you can like hit five stars and be like, hey, weirdo. This is pretty great, maybe. But yeah, that would help out a lot actually. If you would do that. Or don't. Also, if you go to www.w.gg or click the link in the show notes, you can get 10% off anything in there if you use code stay weird. So you should try it. The song of the week this week is called Destiny, and it's by a band called Spin. Spin is the name. It's not by a band called Spin. That's not their name. Let me rephrase that. The song of the week this week is by Spin, and it's called Destiny. That sounded a lot better. And I think you should go stream it wherever you get your music. Stay weird, stay curious, go be kind to someone for no reason, and go be amazing. Also, I think the aliens are coming.

SPEAKER_02 28:03

Maybe it was all a dream. But stop it all beef.