Public Enemy's Flavor Flav gave public props to rock star Bruce Springsteen for his new song 'American Skin' which addresses the police shooting of Amadou Diallo. Flav offered solidarity with The Boss for a couple of reasons. First, he's big fan of Bruce's music. Second, he appreciates the fact that he recognized a gross injustice in the shooting of an unarmed man. Finally, Springsteen has come under fire from the New York City police who have actually called for a boycott of the famed singer. The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association held a rally the other day in which hundreds of officers attended. They accused Bruce of making money off of a terrible tragedy. Back in the days when PE did their song '911 Is A Joke' which was rapped by Flavor Flav, the group came under fire from both law enforcement as well as 911 operators. On February 4, 1999, four white New York City police shot West african immigrant Amadou Diallo 41 times when they mistook the street peddler for a serial rapist and mistook the wallet he was removing from his pocket for a gun. the four officers were acquitted of all charges earlier this year, though a civil suit against the officers has been filed by Diallo's parents, and a federal "civil rights" trial is still a possibility.

In an Atlanta stop of his concert, Bruce Springsteen debuted an unrecorded song, American Skin (41 Shots). By all accounts, the audience approved almost unanimously. Not suprisingly, the reaction of the NYPD's Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, was somewhat less enthusiastic, asking its members to boycott Springsteen's New York City appearances (June 12 through July 1), and not to work security for the concerts (as moonlighting policemen often do). Bob Lucente, president of the city's Fraternal Order of Police, went a bit further, calling Springsteen both a f------ dirtbag" and a "floating fag".

The New York area saw a similar call for a police boycott in January of 1999, when a fund-raising concert was held for Mumia Abu-Jamal at the Meadowlands Arena (in upstate New Jersey).