Chief Keef's management said Thursday that it's "unfair" to target individuals hanging posters in the city promoting the rapper's upcoming album.
The comments came as the Sun Times reported Wednesday that police Union Vice President Daniel Gorman said posters promoting the album "Finally Rich," which debuts next Tuesday, are a "slap in the face" to officers who serve in South Side communities.
"It seems as if he's being hailed a hero," Gorman told the Sun Times, adding that police are searching those responsible for hanging the posters, and that they face citations.
But Rovan "Dro" Manuel, Keef's manager, said the posters aren't meant as a "smack in the face" and that Keef has nothing to do with them.
"I don't think it's fair," he said. "If they [don't] do that with Britney Spears, Madonna, the Goo Goo Dolls, why do they have to do that to us?"
Manuel said he's long been in the practice of Guerrilla marketing for several companies, which has included hanging promotional posters. While he said he's heard of citations being handed out for the practice, he said Gorman's comments seem "personal."
"I think they're targeting Chief Keef a little bit for more reasons than one," he said. "He's a spokesperson for Englewood, they had problems way before Chief Keef. When something bad happens they want to put it all on him."
Manuel insisted Keef, whose real name is Keith Cozart, had nothing to do with the posters.
"He isn't thinking about that, he's thinking about having fun and making good records," he said.
When asked for comment, police spokeswoman Melissa Stratton replied in an email: "These citations are part of CPD's quality of life enforcement efforts that happen across the city on a regular basis. Residents should not have to worry about their neighborhoods being bombarded with promotional stickers on light poles and other public and private properties."
Keef, an Englewood native, was placed on probation this year for pointing a gun at police officers.
Want more? Discuss this article and others on RedEye's Facebook page.