‘Making the Band’ rapper arrested in sex trafficking case

A rapper and former reality TV star may have used his social media influence to “recruit women to be sex workers,” according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

Kevin Barnes, who uses the “Chopper” moniker, was booked Monday into the Clark County Detention Center on one count of sex trafficking of an adult, police said Tuesday.

Las Vegas Justice Court records show that the case was filed on April 11 and a warrant for his arrest was issued the following day.

A judge ordered for the 36-year-old to be released on his own recognizance during a Tuesday hearing, records show.

Barnes, who is also known as Kevin Lamont Barnes Jr., was appointed a public defender, and it was not clear if he had hired an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Barnes appeared in MTV’s Making the Band competition and his Instagram account boasts about 340,000 followers.

According to XXL magazine, which covers hip-hop news, Barnes appeared on the reality TV show “Making the Band” in the early 2000s. The show, hosted by music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, profiled up and coming artists. Early in his career, according to XXL, Barnes was signed to Combs’ “Bad Boy” label.

A copy of his arrest report was not immediately available.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for May 10.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickytwrites.