Crime

Failing Boss Goon and Other Local Artists Like Him

THE FLORIDA STAR — Up and coming rapper Boss Goon aka Willie Addison did not get the full opportunity to show the world how incredible an artist he was.

Published

7 years ago

February 16, 2019

Oakland Post

By Opio Lumumba Sokoni, MSCJ, JD.

Up and coming rapper Boss Goon aka Willie Addison did not get the full opportunity to show the world how incredible an artist he was. If you go onto his Facebook (at Bossgoon Howimcommin) page to see his video teaser “How I’m Coming” you learn right away how incredible this artist’s music was. You also learn that this young man, with history as a Flag Street resident, did a long stint in prison. He posted a comment that read, “I got Jammed when I was 16 Now I’m 24 You do the Math Them Crackas Toast me…”

After leaving prison, the sky was the limit for Willie Addison. A flyer reveals a show date at the Paradise Gentlemen’s Club where he and fellow musicians performed. However, after that show he was killed in what was called in the white news media a mass shooting. After leaving the show in an SUV, his vehicle was shot up. Five others traveling with him suffered gunshot wounds, however, Willie Addison was the only one in the vehicle to die.

It all happened near the Spring Park Road intersection on Emerson Street. Authorities told the press that surveillance cameras at Wacko’s Gentlemen’s Club has footage of the time leading up to the shooting. Two vehicles are seen following the SUV carrying Boss Goon on Emerson before the gunshots.

The current mayor Lenny Curry said that it was all gang and drug related. In an election year it is easy to call black violence gang related. It is a code to the city that there is not much else to see here. Addison’s sister Lola told the media that Lil Willie was not a gang member.

Willie Addison was released from prison last June after serving a six-year stint for burglary and perjury convictions. He was also arrested in 2010 on attempted murder and gun charges but prosecutors later dropped the case.

Jacksonville continues to miss opportunities to provide local artists an avenue to make real money and travel the world show casing their music. There are a number of highly talented artists from this city that will rival any top ten rap and singing artist out today. This town has a strong history of supporting entertainment. However, that was 100 years ago.

In many cities like New York, LA and Atlanta, local artists can actually walk right into an office and get signed by a major record label. From what can be obtained from Boss Goon’s free style on the bus and video teaser How I’m Coming, he had some experiences to share. Those experiences may have provided some insight for his youth fans into how not to get caught up like he did. Some youth may not be able to get these lessons from a preacher, teacher or parent.

Boss Goon and so many street reporters like him have the formula that many wayward youth can use to side-step the pitfalls of the failed criminal justice system.

This article originally appeared in The Florida Star.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

3 days ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.