Dawn Staley, ‘Live PD’ and doughnuts appear in Richland deputy’s rap video, ‘RCSD Proud’
“Fresh head to toe, nice boots on our feet,” Tina Roy sings in a new hip-hop release from a little known emcee in Columbia’s music scene.
The new track wasn’t created by the latest Trap Star. Quite the opposite. Roy, a former USC basketball player, is a deputy with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, and with her blitz of blue-striped braggadocio, she led the creation of a new department anthem “RCSD Proud.” The song is complete with a video that is as self-aware of being cop-created rap as it is a tour de force of the department’s resources and community connections.
“Bad boys, what you going to do . . . ,” Roy raps, an allusion to the Inner Circle song made ubiquitous by the show COPS, until she gets to the heart of the video with, “Respect us, we respect you too. . . . RCSD this is how we do.”
Roy was a standout on the University of South Carolina’s women’s basketball team before graduating and joining Sheriff Leon Lott’s crew. She is known among her peers for her ability to drop a verse, which caught the ears of her boss.
Alexis Aarons, a spokesperson for RCSD, said Lott is always looking for ways to show his deputies as more than just officers — to give a rounder, human picture of the people toting the cuffs and to let their other talents shine.
“This was a lighthearted way to do that,” Aarons said. “A lighthearted thing on Friday.”
It’s lighthearted and aware. The opening sequence of the video shows Roy with another officer who’s eating a doughnut before a bumbling bad guy goes running off from a crime right in front of the two deputies.
Later, Roy raps, “Shaking hands and kissing babies, shout out to the CAT team,” a reference to the department’s Community Action Team.
The video also showcases some of the other resources of Lott’s department, such as the D.A.R.E Dodge Challenger, complete with lighted rims; the boat and scuba team; school resource officers; and the goals and values of the department.
“Performance, results, ownership, unity, difference, Wash my patrol car more often,” a deputy writes about those goals.
The video cost taxpayers nothing as it was produced without charge by Kyle Hayden, head of Hayden Media Co. of Columbia. The video producer offered up his services to the department, Aarons said. Hayden is also a recent graduate of USC, according to Aarons.
Hayden Media Co.’s website says its employees “believe in telling stories that matter. We believe that quality videos help tell those stories. We believe we can deliver you the quality you deserve.”
“We are extremely thankful to Kyle Hayden and Hayden Media Co. for the donation of his time and skills,” Aarons wrote in an email to The State. “He filmed, directed, produced and edited the entire thing. All of the equipment used belongs to him. We made zero purchases to make the video happen!”
The video also offered the sheriff’s department a chance to show its community connections. Dawn Staley, head coach of the USC women’s basketball team, shows up and lip syncs some words alongside her former player. Staley’s dog, Champ — a local social media star with his own Twitter account — makes a cameo as well, trotting around with a sheriff’s badge on his collar.
The camera crew of “Live PD” also makes an appearance, striking a pose beside Deputy Donny Campbell, a regular on the A&E police show.
Citizens posting on social media are on board with the department’s move into the rap game.
“Absolutely awesome! Other agencies in SC and the nation need to take notice,” one person commented about the video.
“I’m about to move to Richland County,” another person said after watching the video.
The first person to make a comment on the video was someone close to Roy.
“I’m one proud Mother, much love to all law enforcement,” Marcelite Roy said.
This story was originally published February 1, 2019 at 5:09 PM.