Music producer STEF (@STEFisDOPE) was enjoying his Airbnb during a visit to the Atlanta Music Festival & Conference when two DeKalb County locals decided to make his stay a very unwelcome one — by calling the cops on him. STEF live-tweeted the incident, which has gone viral on social media, collecting hundreds of retweets and comments.
Yo! The Air B&B we're staying at is so nice, the neighbors thought we were robbing the place & called the cops! pic.twitter.com/XUQjuyCXMO
— Trill DeGrasse Tyson (@STEFisDOPE) October 9, 2015
2 sets of Dekalb County cops pulled up on us but, they were super chill & just doing their job so I don't have any complaints.
— Trill DeGrasse Tyson (@STEFisDOPE) October 9, 2015
Now that the cops are gone, back to the regularly scheduled program of rolling up
— Trill DeGrasse Tyson (@STEFisDOPE) October 9, 2015
The only thing I regret about the cops coming is that I didn't get them to dab for the selfie
— Trill DeGrasse Tyson (@STEFisDOPE) October 9, 2015
Yo! Why did one of the neighbors just straight walk in the crib to "check things out"?
— Trill DeGrasse Tyson (@STEFisDOPE) October 9, 2015
4. Random neighbor just opens the door on us lol pic.twitter.com/a8rI5V84Oy
— Trill DeGrasse Tyson (@STEFisDOPE) October 9, 2015
The "DOPE" in STEF's stage name refers to his motto: "driven on positive energy"
The two Atlanta residents who called the police and accused STEF of robbery could have turned his stay into a negative experience if it weren't for just one thing: STEF's life philosophy.
The "DOPE" in my name means "Driven On Positive Energy" If you know me, you know I try to flip every negative situation into a positive.
— Trill DeGrasse Tyson (@STEFisDOPE) October 9, 2015
5. The turn down pic.twitter.com/Lhhd3fe27X
— Trill DeGrasse Tyson (@STEFisDOPE) October 9, 2015
While it's unclear how many black Airbnb renters report similar false accusations from neighbors, a Harvard Business School study conducted last year indicates that Airbnb has one specifically documented problem with racism — for hosts. While the company criticized the study for using data from two years prior, the researchers found that non-black hosts charged about 12 percent more for a similar Airbnb location than black hosts, indicating that there's a problem of discrimination in online marketplaces.
STEF told Vox that one of the accusers and the Airbnb host apologized, but a second accuser did not. In the video above, STEF remarks on the event by saying, "Life is crazy, man." He says he has continued his day by enjoying time with his friends until he leaves the Airbnb on Saturday. As of publishing, the group is cooking breakfast and listening to Jay Z.
