Canada - ~Hells Angel portrays himself as 'old school gangster' in music video~
METRO VANCOUVER - The tinted window of the classic white car rolls down to reveal the stony face of Hells Angel Hal Bruce Porteous.
He beckons to an awestruck teen who leaves his bike behind and gets into the car.
This is the opening scene of a rap music video starring Porteous, a Vancouver member of the notorious motorcycle gang who sings under the name Hal Heffner.
A Vancouver Sun investigation has uncovered dozens of online photos and videos featuring Porteous, sometimes in Angels colours, posing with scantily clad women and partying with friends. Other images show him backstage with pop stars Fergie, Rihanna and Swollen Members.
He promotes himself as an "old school gangster" in music videos for such songs as Do Ur Time, Living Large and the self-titled OSG. He's draped in gold chains and surrounded by flashy cars and women in bikinis.
One of the men featured with Porteous in some of the photos and a video is Robert J. Shannon, a Maple Ridge trucker who pleaded guilty this week in Seattle to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana, as well as money-laundering. The U.S. alleges the drug ring operated for the benefit of the Hells Angels.
Police and criminologists say the gangster imagery of Porteous's music and the fact he is a real-life full-patch member of an alleged criminal organization make for a disturbing mix.
Criminologist Darryl Plecas of the University of the Fraser Valley said the "messaging" in Porteous's songs can entice youth to the gang lifestyle.
"This particular kind of negative messaging just can't be good news," Plecas said Wednesday.
"The more people are exposed to what could be called negative definitions and negative experiences, you increase the probability that you are going to end up in crime. The name of the game is to reduce the number of negative influences."
There is no lack of flash in Porteous's OSG video, which starts in black and white with the boy being taken into the limo and introduced to men dressed in Mafia-like suits, sunglasses and hats. When the video moves to colour and modern times, Porteous raps while a bundle of cash flies through a counting machine.
Some of the lyrics from his songs include:
"I solve all my problems with a loaded gun," "Double-cross me and you'll run for your life," and "Basically, my attitude is f--k authority."
Plecas said some may argue the lyrics are irrelevant, but he argues, "If they are not influential or not important, then why have the lyrics at all?"
Simon Fraser University school of criminology director Rob Gordon said Porteous's imagery is "over the top."
"He is not trying to sell the Hells Angels like they try to sell the Hells Angels with the toy drive," he said of the bikers' annual charity event.
Instead, the videos are promoting "a combination of violence, sex and gang culture," Gordon said.
"It boils down to what impact it has on kids that look on this stuff."
Porteous did not respond to online requests for an interview about his music and his relationship with Shannon, the man sitting in a Seattle jail awaiting his sentencing hearing next March.
Nor did Hells Angels Vancouver spokesman Rick Ciarniello respond to an e-mail request for comments on Porteous's music career or the U.S. allegations that Shannon's drug ring was linked to the biker club.
The Vancouver Angel, who is listed as a goldsmith on the land title for his Maple Ridge home, is selling his debut CD Living Large on his website.
He says the luxury home featured in the OSG video is his house.
"All the things you will see are not movie-making magic, it is my life," he said on the website. "The cars, the girls, the bling are all normal parts of my everyday. All the cars are either mine or my friends, the bling ---- I make!!! YES it's All REAL!!!"
He also says he and his friends "live large - we drive the best rides, with gold and diamonds profilin,' the babes are all lined up We're never goin to STOP!"
Porteous is featured on the site with members of the band Swollen Members, with whom he says he has performed.
The Sun reported in 2003 that several Hells Angels members and associates were featured in a Swollen Members video.
At the time, full-patch member Damiano Dipopolo said he was a close friend of Shane Bunting, a.k.a. Mad Child, one of the group's lead singers.
"He was putting the videos together and asked whether we wanted to be in them. We just showed up and volunteered our time," he said, stressing that his club had no business relationship with the rap group.
According to property records, Porteous lives in a Maple Ridge home assessed this year at $705,000.
His name surfaced in a Federal Court of Canada case earlier this year as one of 42 Hells Angels, relatives or associates being targeted for special audits by the Canada Revenue Agency. The government dropped its demand for detailed financial information after the bikers challenged the CRA in court.
Porteous was flying back from Brazil with fellow Vancouver chapter member Rick Conway when they were met at Vancouver Airport by a revenue agent and two cops, court documents said.
Porteous "was extremely unhappy to be served at this location and tried to get into a verbal confrontation," the agent later wrote in his file memo. "Porteous made a reference that we were cockroaches which should be stepped on."
Porteous was also named in a 2004 trial of Rick Mandi - a Hells Angels prospect at the time - who was convicted of beating a man he believed had stolen marijuana belonging to Porteous.
Porteous's move into the rap music world isn't surprising considering the relationships in the U.S. between some rappers and gangs, Sgt. Shinder Kirk of the B.C. Integrated Gang Task Force, said Wednesday.
"It was just a matter of time before these guys would look at opportunities to earn legitimate money and certainly at some point influence others," Kirk said.
He said it is no secret that kids living in poverty or facing other risks are susceptible to imagery promoting the gang lifestyle, whether in songs, video games or movies.
"Certainly the music, the lyrics, the status of someone involved in the music industry, can play a significant part in an individual's makeup and how it manifests itself in a social setting - in other words, encouraging criminal behaviour," Kirk said. "When someone is blatantly associated to a group that may be involved in criminal activity, that possibly compounds the effect."
Disclaimer: The opinions in this article are solely those of the writer, and may not reflect the beliefs of anyone at Outlaw Biker World.
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