The double standard is almost as old as hip-hop itself. A decorated filmmaker gets laurels for his or her latest bullet-laden gangster movie. A rock or country star is proclaimed a songwriting genius for violent tales of man’s inhumanity to man. But rappers are held to a different standard, their …
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Congressmen Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) have reintroduced the Restoring Artist Protection or RAP Act, a legislation that, if passed, would limit the use of song lyrics for use in criminal proceedings. The bill’s proponents — including music executives from the Recording Academy and its Black Music Collective …
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ABC News Studios and Hulu are prepping a new documentary, Rap Trap: Hip-Hop on Trial, that will explore the ongoing YSL/Young Thug trial and the use of rap lyrics in criminal prosecutions. The doc will premiere Feb. 23. Young Thug (real name Jeffrey Williams) was one of 28 people arrested …
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Dozens of musicians, music industry executives, legal experts, and more added their signatures to the “Art on Trial: Protect Black Art” open letter defending creative expression and protesting the use of rap lyrics as a means of criminalizing Black artists. The letter refers to the current incarceration of Atlanta rapper …
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After unanimous approval in the Senate and Assembly, the California bill that aims to restrict the use of rap lyrics as evidence by prosecutors in criminal cases was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday, Variety reports. Killer Mike, Meek Mill, Too $hort, Tyga, YG, E-40, Ty Dolla …
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