Rapper Bobby Shmurda and GS9 Crew Arrested at Quad Recording Studios NYC

A long-term investigation of Brooklyn rapper Bobby Shmurda culminated in his arrest outside of Quad Recording Studios yesterday.

Brooklyn rapper Bobby Shmurda and his GS9 crew were working at Quad Recording Studios in NYC at the time of their arrest.

Shmurda, whose real name is Ackquille Pollard, was one of more than a dozen people arrested inside and outside the storied Midtown studio. It was the result of a multi-agency investigation being carried out by New York City’s office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, the New York Police Department, as well as the Brooklyn district attorney’s office.

According to Katie Cornell, a spokeswoman for the special prosecutor’s office, the arrests were part of a “long-term investigation that centered on shootings and drug trafficking.” An indictment against Mr. Shmurda and others are scheduled to be unsealed this morning when the suspects are to be arraigned. Various news reports state that Epic Records VP of A&R Sha Money XL, along with Shmurda’s GS9 crew, was also among the arrests.

According to an anonymous source at Quad Studios, the police action took place between 3 AM and 7 AM on Wednesday morning. “It was a well-planned operation,” said the source, who noted that although Quad’s staff was a “little rattled,” there were no injuries and no serious damage to the studio (Quad’s recent upgrade to a new Augspurger system was documented on SonicScoop).

Doors were reportedly smashed throughout the building, 723 7th Avenue, and other facilities in the building were also affected by authorities’ sweep in search of more suspects. Terminus Recording Studios owner Andrew Koss posted photos of their live room on his Facebook feed, showing acoustic clouds hanging perilously over the studio’s Steinway piano, apparently following a police search in the room’s ceiling.

Brooklyn-born, Shmurda is famous for his song “Hot Nigga” (aka “Hot Boy”), which was released in July, 2014 and debuted the “Shmoney dance,” which went viral after the release of the music video and has spawned tens of millions of YouTube views. The song peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has been remixed and performed by artists including Lil’ Kim, French Montana, Juicy J, and Gunplay.

The incident adds to the dramatic lore at Quad Studios, which made headlines in 1994 as the site of rapper Tupac Shakur’s shooting and robbery. Shakur survived, only to be gunned down in Las Vegas in 1996.

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