Miami rapper SpotemGottem busted again. This time, cops say it happened on a Sea-Doo

Miami Midtown resident Nehemiah Harden — who’s had several brushes with law enforcement in recent years and who is popularly known as rapper SpotemGottem — caught the attention of police yet again.

This time, police said, the 20-year-old was arrested Sunday on a SeaDoo personal watercraft after police said he swerved around anchored boats behind Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key at high speed, while ignoring orders to stop. Then he led police on a chase that ended a few miles north near the Venetian Causeway.

“The police were on boats,” said Miami police spokesman Michael Vega. “They had to chase him.”

When Miami officers finally convinced Harden to stop, they took him into custody and charged him with the reckless operation of a boat and fleeing and eluding law enforcement, both felonies. And though each of the two counts only came with a $1 bond, Harden remained jailed Monday because he was out on bond for two more serious earlier charges.

“Because he has two felony bonds, he’s going to see the judge tomorrow,” Miami-Dade Corrections spokesman Juan Diasgranados said Monday. “So he’ll be with us tonight.”

Miami-Dade Corrections records show Harden is out on felony bonds for weapons charges and aggravated assault. Calls to Raven Liberty, Harden’s attorney, hadn’t been returned by late Monday afternoon.

Miami police said on Harden’s arrest report that they first spotted him before 7 p.m. Sunday “doing S-type turns near anchored boats.” An officer said when he called Harden over, the musician “accelerated in a full plane” and swerved through boats and near swimmers. Police turn on their lights and sirens on their boat and gave chase.

Locally, Harden first came to the attention of police in June 2021 when Miami Beach officers accused him of being involved in an argument with a parking attendant over an $80 fee that ended in an aggravated assault. A month later, federal marshals arrested him at a hotel in Aventura and said they found a gun in his bed.

Then on Sept. 17, Harden was injured but survived a drive-by shooting on Interstate 95 when the Dodge Charger he was driving was peppered with bullets. He was shot in the hip. A passenger in the back of the car was shot in both legs.

The rapper most recently released “Back from the Dead in December. He’s best known for the single “Beat Box,” which reached No. 12 12 on Billboard’s Hot 100.