Intimate Conversations with America’s Change-Makers

Flipsyde member Jinho ‘Piper’ Ferreira talks about how his experiences as a police officer, rapper, and artist have influenced him.

Piper was born and raised in Oakland, California. During his childhood in the 80’s and 90’s, Oakland was rife with crime, and police/community relations were at an all-time low.

In 2002, Piper’s childhood friend Jihad Akbar was killed by police. This inspired him to create Flipsyde, a successful Hip-Hop group that toured worldwide in the early 2000’s. Their song Someday was chosen by NBC as the theme of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

In 2009, Oscar Grant was killed by an Oakland police officer. The story resonated with Piper, and he decided the only way he could make an impact was if he was the one making the life or death decisions.

During the interview, Piper had this to say about the difference between his reaction to the death of Jihad, and the death of Grant:

“I didn't have any control over the cop that pulled the trigger. I initially put that pain into my music and ended up touring the world with my band. I tried what I could, according to the rules that I had known growing up and according to my values, until it became apparent that I needed to try something else.”

Piper became an Alameda County Deputy Sheriff, and served in law enforcement for eight years. During that time, he helped create the Deputy Sheriff’s Activities League, which addresses policing problems by focusing on social equity and community-led economic empowerment.

In 2014, he wrote a one man play titled Cops and Robbers that “highlights the frequently fraught relationship between police officers, the communities they serve, and the media.” It received critical acclaim.

Check out the website for Marcus Books, which is mentioned in the episode, here.