A DVD that made waves last year chronicling dangerous Baton Rouge and Port Allen neighborhoods is stirring up controversy once again.
“Thuggin’ It and Lovin’ It,” released in May 2009 by production company Millionaire Entertainment, is set to receive a sequel Nov. 12, according to Troy Route, one of the video’s producers.
The original production was advertised as depicting “real” life in high-crime Baton Rouge neighborhoods. The DVD was made up of several segments of low-income neighborhoods with residents using drugs and wielding firearms and knives.
Though the original video caused unrest among Baton Rouge residents for its depiction of crime and gang presence, Route said Millionaire Entertainment hasn’t encountered any legal trouble regarding the video because everything in it was staged.
“Everything was props and stunts,” Route said.
Noel Jackson, owner of Music Treasure Chest on North Acadian Thruway, said he sells the original DVD and plans to sell the sequel, “Thuggin’ It and Lovin’ It, Part Two,” when it’s released this month.
Jackson said the DVD is a true depiction of life in Baton Rouge, and he thinks the makers of the DVD are doing the community a service.
“It’s great that someone’s crazy enough to expose this,” Jackson said. “Parents need to know what their kids are doing out here.”
Route, who goes by the rap name “Da Triggaman,” said the DVD’s purpose is to show what life is like on the streets of Baton Rouge.
“A lot of people in Baton Rouge don’t know that side of life if they don’t live in those areas,” Route said.
Michael Steele, civil engineering freshman, said he has heard of the DVD, but it doesn’t make him feel unsafe in Baton Rouge.
“I’m not too worried about it,” Steele said. “I don’t really go into those parts of town.”
Steele said he thinks police should try to investigate the people on the DVD.
“[They should] watch them and see what they’re doing,” Steele said.
Sgt. Don Kelly, Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman, said BRPD had “absolutely no reaction or comment or desire to speak about” the video.
Sgt. Blake Tabor, LSU Police Department spokesman, said he doesn’t believe the DVD signifies any threat to students on campus.
Jackson said the producers of the DVD claim the people involved are actors, but he doesn’t believe it. He said he believes the producers made that claim to put residents at ease.
“It’s been going on,” Jackson said. “You just woke up to it.”
Route said he received mixed responses to the original video when it was released.
“A lot of people liked it, but we did get some negative feedback,” Route said. “You can’t really have one without the other.”
Jackson said he doesn’t agree with people who say the DVD encourages violence. He compared the DVD to movies like “Scarface” and “Takers” and said its purpose is entertainment, not to encourage crime.
“I like those movies. It’s not like I’m going to go out and rob anyone,” he said. “It’s just a show.”
Jackson said his store will carry both the original DVD and its sequel because he thinks it’s important for the community to know what’s going on.
“It’s going to be big,” Jackson said. “It’s going to be bigger than the first one.”
 
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Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected]