Philly rapper AR-Ab has been sentenced to 45 years in prison following the conviction in his drug trafficking case.

Born Abdul West, the 37-year-old rapper is accused of turning his Original Block Hustlaz label (OBH) into a drug trafficking ring which led to the 2017 murder of Robert Johnson. While appearing in front of U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson in a Philadelphia courtroom on Thursday, Baylson told the courtroom that the murder of Johnson and the content of his West’s lyrics weren’t taken into account during his sentencing.

“You could have been a hero instead of a criminal,” he said. “But you became a drug dealer. You made that decision. That’s why you’re being punished.”

AR-Ab responded to Judge Baylson stating that he “doesn’t understand his culture.”

“The court, the FBI agents, and the prosecutors don’t understand my culture. We don’t rap about flowers and rainbows. We’re gangsta rappers. We rap about where we grew up. So we rap about drug dealing. We rap about violence.”

During the trial, a number of witnesses revealed that West’s alleged drug ring obtained drugs including crack cocaine, heroin and meth from a distributor in California. These witnesses also told the judge that the drugs were being stored in an upscale Center City apartment, in an effort to draw less attention from law enforcement.

To OBH’s demise, however, FBI agents raided one of the stash houses at the One Water Street Apartments in Old City and seized 10 kilograms of cocaine. AR-Ab went on to rap about it on his “Beef (Freestyle).”

“Quarter million loss, got a broke heart,” he rapped. “And they snatched my dog, that’s the worst part/One rat destroy everything you work for/I pray to God that he don’t tell them who he work for.”

Dontez “Tez” Stewart, a key witness in the trial who was charged with the murder of Johnson, testified against AR-Ab in exchange for a lighter sentence.

“I’m not saying I’m innocent. I’m saying I’m not guilty of all them charges,” said AR-Ab before being escorted by U.S. Marshalls out the courtroom. The rapper plans to file an appeal.

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