Police beating victim Rodney King is using part of his $3.8 million civil judgment to launch a rap record label.
King, whose 1991 videotaped beating was broadcast worldwide, is promoting his Straight Alta-Pazz Recording Co. and little-known rap group Stranded with a Fourth of July party in Pasadena, Calif.The 32-year-old fledgling rap producer is looking for a distributor for the group's debut album "California Grindin'."
"We want to give a real positive boost to the rap market," King said. "I believe there are only two cuss words in the entire album."
King, who called his foray into the music business "fun but real tiring," plans to donate part of the proceeds to boost recreation activities at a park where he played as a boy.
In 1992, rioting erupted in Los Angeles when police charged in King's beating were acquitted on state criminal charges. Some were later convicted of federal civil rights violations and served prison time.
King won the multimillion-dollar settlement after suing the Los Angeles Police Department. The city eventually paid him $3.8 million, but much of it went to lawyers.
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