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The 32-year-old rapper – whose real name is Rahjon Cox -- was one of 10 reputed members of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips charged under federal RICO statutes following a massive North Jersey roundup last year.
A total of 42 targets in all were arrested in a series of pinpointed attacks on organized gangs dealing drugs, packing weapons and waging street warfare, federal authorities said at the time.
Cox took a deal from the government rather than risk the possibility of a much more severe sentence if he’d been convicted at a trial. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon this past April.
He must serve out the entire sentence handed down on Thursday, Nov. 30, by U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Wigenton also sentenced Cox to three years of supervised release and fined him $15,000.
To attack the Rollin’ 60s and similar street gangs operating in North Jersey, federal authorities in Newark turned to the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law, which Congress adopted more than 50 years ago to pursue mobsters.
Although RICO is hardly used against the Mob anymore, its definition makes it a nearly foolproof tool against street gangs, corporations, politicians and managed care companies. It requires only that prosecutors prove that someone participated in a pattern of crimes connected to an “enterprise.”
Tsunami Surf was known in the battle rap scene for his performances at various SMACK/URL events. NBA star Kevin Durant was featured in the song “Want It” and Cox's 2021 album “Until Further Notice” included pairings with, among others, Faolous, Mozzy and Young M.A.
The album “Disparu” dropped in November 2022, just weeks after his arrest.
Fellow Brick City artist Wyclef Jean called for Cox’s freedom during the VMA Awards this past September.
The battle rapper joined the Rollin’ 60s in 2015, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
He shot at, but didn’t hit, a member of the rival Rollin' 47 Neighborhood Crips who returned fire on March 18, 2017, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark says.
Cox was also found with two loaded guns -- a .40-caliber Beretta Px4 Storm and a 9mm Taurus Brazil handgun -- even though he was prohibited by federal law, as a previously convicted felon, from possessing firearms, they said.
Cox “held a leadership role” when the case was made against him last year, according to Sellinger.
And he didn’t go quietly.
Members of the U.S. Marshals Service’s NY NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force seized Cox after he barricaded himself in an associate’s Jersey City home on Wilkinson Avenue on Oct. 13, 2022.
A Jersey City Emergency Services Unit with negotiators also responded. With the place surrounded, Cox had no choice but to surrender. He’s remained held at the Essex County Jail ever since.
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