Louisiana Attorney General outraged by rapper’s school visit

A TikTok video of a local rapper’s recent visit to his former Baton Rouge middle school has prompted an East Baton Rouge school district human resources investigation, after drawing harsh criticism from Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill.
Rapper Realbleeda, whose birth name is David Catherine, stopped by Park Forest Middle School on March 21, to hand out snacks and donate a PlayStation 5 to the magnet school’s esports program.
During the visit the 22-year-old rapper filmed a video of himself dancing with students, which was later uploaded to TikTok accompanied by his explicit song, Step 2k25.
The video caught the attention of Murrill, who released the following statement on X on Friday:
“The principal says he didn’t know that the person had a known gang affiliation, but then let school children make a video mimicking holding guns and displaying acts of violence,” Murrill posted on X Friday.
“Since when can you just show up on campus and make a video with school kids? That violates a number of school privacy laws. This is appalling on so many levels. Crime is already out of control in Baton Rouge. Let’s not glorify violence at our schools or any place of learning.”
According to local law enforcement, Catherine has ties to Baton Rouge’s Bleedas gang, a criminal outfit known to be connected to multiple homicides and armed robberies across the city.
At the time of his visit to Park Forest Middle School, the rapper was out on a $36,000 bond for multiple drug and firearms charges and resisting an officer. Court records also show arrests for multiple charges in 2022 and 2023.
In an interview with The Advocate, Murrill called the video “appalling.”
“The leadership at the school failed our children. … You don’t let people just come into your middle school in the middle of the day and make a rap video,” she said. “I don’t care if it’s the Pope. … It violates the privacy rights of these children and their families.”
The TikTok video has since been deleted, but in a version of the video posted on Instagram, Catherine is seen shaking hands with Park Forest Middle School Principal Xavier Rawls-Stromile. Then the rapper walks into a gym filled with students, with his arms draped around a male student. A group of students then join Catherine dancing, briefly imitating pointing a gun at the camera.
“Somebody arranged all of this intentionally,” Murrill said in the interview.
An East Baton Rouge school district spokesperson said Monday Catherine invited himself to the middle school and the principal accepted his invitation.
The district spokesperson declined to make Rawls-Stromile or the school’s assistant principal available for an interview Monday with The Advocate.
The PlayStation and snacks the rapper brought to the middle school for students were intended as motivation for students taking upcoming state standardized tests, according to a statement the school district released Friday.
The attorney general said she plans to appear at the next East Baton Rouge school board meeting to hear an explanation how Catherine’s visit was arranged and by whom.