TAURANGA (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — A recent brush with the police has led New Zealand singer Tiki Taane to become an unofficial proponent for free speech.
According to the Australian Associated Press, Taane was arrested on stage at an April 9th gig after allegedly encouraging his fans to chant the chorus from the NWA song F*** Tha Police while several members of the local constabulary were present. Taane spent the night in jail for his troubles.
Taane has since been using the controversry to generate media attention over the incident and has seen a jump in bookings and has added 5,000 addition friends on Facebook as fans rally to his cause.
"I'm going to milk it as much as I can because as far as I'm concerned I've done nothing wrong and I'm innocent," Taane told AAP.
"I sang a lyric from a song and I've been arrested for it because that lyric offended one police officer," he added.
Formerly the frontman of NZ D&B/reggae/roots band Salmonella Dub, Taane took his career solo in 2007 and his debut album "Past, Present Future" has since gone platinum. The album featured the number one single "Always on my Mind," which held the #1 spot for more than nine weeks and stayed in the top 40 for forty weeks.
The incident also prompted Taane to pen a new song "Song For Freedom" that features Michael Franti of Spearhead fame, which is set to drop later this month.
Taane is also due in court to plead his case on May 30th. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
