Will Dephree Bounce Back Or Just Turn Into Another 'Florida Man'?

In today’s day and age, the words “Florida Man” have become more of a meme than a headline. Dephree, who was at one point Vice’s “Man of the Year” and received the distinguished title of “Eco-Warrior Rapper” from Time Magazine, has now reportedly relocated to Florida after a series of soaring highs and hellish lows that include 6 figures of legal damages owed to the State of California, incarceration, along with a relapse that landed him in rehab and caused his wife leave him with their newborn son. 

His rap sheet from his days on the other coast give your average Florida Man from the 6 o’ clock news and 4Chan a serious run for their money— literally. According to court documents, Dephree has accrued over $134,000 in fines and charges that stemmed from his environmental activism stint in 2018, resulting in his downward spiral that lead up to his incarceration and relapse.

Dephree finds himself now in Florida, where the odds are again staggering against him. Last year, Governor Ron DeSantis passed an expansion of the Stand Your Ground law that allows immunity for those who  have accidentally killed protesters, who are blocking traffic, or looting; by running them down or shooting them. Theoretically, this means that if Dephree were to pull the same California pretty boy  stunt he did on the 110 Interstate in Los Angeles, then his assassination would not only be merited in the eyes of the Florida judicial system, but also completely legal and moreover—  not incarcerable.

We caught up with Dephree who was explosive in his reaction “my family comes first, I’m going to get my wife and son back before anything.  After I do that… I got a bone to pick with Ron DeSantis”. When we asked him to elaborate on what that means he said “I’m gonna look him square in his eyes and I’m gonna ask him why he wants me to die and how come he’s giving all these people a license to kill me and the others. Only guy who needs that caliber of a government clearance is maybe Steven Seagal— not even Obama needs that.”

Dephree released his public apology to his wife and family “Wish I Had That Back”… it is clearly a sober and somber tone, compared to the man we fell in love with a few summers ago who was doing strong man poses in his underwear on the highway earning Vice’s “Song of the Summer” and a special place in our hearts. Now, Dephree seems to be focused and serious about his new role as a family man, husband and father. We wish him well and hope that Ron DeSantis takes him seriously and decides to repeal some of his new “shoot first ask questions later” laws in Florida so Dephree doesn’t get shot next time he wants to climb from a high vantage point to shout from the top of the mountain (or interstate sign) to “Fight Pollution, Not Each Other”.