What happens at the state level?īOWMAN: You know, California and New York are usually the states that lead on these issues. RASCOE: You know, at the end of the day, this is obviously something that you're pursuing at the federal level.
#So lyrical free#
And we're looking for bipartisan support in the House because, you know, Republicans care about free speech, so they should be ready, willing and excited to join a piece of legislation like this. So we're still going to be organizing to try and get someone to take on that lead. But obviously we want to start with our colleagues in the House and Senate. We haven't begun those conversations just yet. Law enforcement is also going to be helpful. We are having ongoing conversations with them. Have you talked to any of those types of interest groups or even prosecutors, etc., to see if you could get backing?īOWMAN: Yes, particularly prosecutors. And in a case like this, I would think that maybe support from police unions or advocates from law enforcement might help. RASCOE: You know, part of the sausage-making of getting legislation passed is getting the support of interest groups. You know, finally, I grew up without a father, and many of these rappers were father figures to me growing up and pretty much the superheroes that guided my life. I wouldn't have a political education and political perspective, especially not the one I have now, if it weren't for, you know, Brand Nubian, X Clan and many other artists.
I would not know my history and culture as a Black man if it weren't for KRS-One, Chuck D and Rakim. You listen to rap, right?īOWMAN: So my knowledge of self came from rap and hip-hop. And as a result, they are - they're now considered to be guilty because of the bias.
So what we found and what studies have shown is when rap lyrics are introduced, the racial bias kicks in, and people automatically believe that what's being said is explicit and a documentary, if you will, of a person's life, of what they've done. And that racial bias is connected to hip-hop and rap for obvious reasons, because the genre and the culture and the art form is disproportionately Black and Latino. Why did you want to draw this out into law to make clear that rap lyrics are also a form of artistic expression?īOWMAN: Well, first, there is racism in our country. People look at rappers, and they think that they're kind of, like, you know, rapping their diary, that they're rapping about things they actually did. RASCOE: I spoke with Pusha T, a rapper, earlier this year, you know, and he talked about how rap is about crafting a narrative. And that case is very promising because it creates a pathway forward for many other convictions to be overturned and for people to understand in my line of work, particularly in Congress, that policies like this need to move forward not just at the federal level, but also at the state level. and Diallo Jackson had their convictions overturned recently because they were convicted of murder pretty much based on their rap lyrics alone without other evidence. RASCOE: Can you give us some examples of cases where rap lyrics have played a key part in the prosecution?īOWMAN: So amateur rappers Gary Bryant Jr. And if you have hard evidence, forensic evidence and a case without the lyrics and you want to use lyrics or lyrics that reference a particular crime after you have the hard evidence, you know, that is admissible. They've only been used or introduced five times, and in all five of the other cases, the lyrics were thrown out. This is about over the last, I would say, a decade, where in 500 separate cases, rap lyrics were introduced as part of indictment and conviction proceedings in comparison to other genres of music. You know, this is not just about Young Thug and Gunna. But generally speaking, if a person is charged with a crime and they've made a specific reference to that crime in a song, what is the issue with using it as evidence in a trial?īOWMAN: Well, first you have to start with hard evidence - forensic evidence, witness testimony, weapons and the like. RASCOE: So that Atlanta case is ongoing, and obviously defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. JAMAAL BOWMAN: Thank you so much for having me. Representative Jamaal Bowman of New York is a co-sponsor of the RAP Act, and he joins us now. RASCOE: Those words are currently being presented alongside other evidence in the case brought against Young Thug, Gunna and others in Atlanta. I got the streets on my back, carry it like I'm moving a body. YOUNG THUG: (Rapping) I never killed anybody, but I got something to do with that body. The Restoring Artists Protection Act, the RAP Act, is a proposal to limit the use of lyrics in federal criminal proceedings, lyrics from songs like this one called "Anybody" by Young Thug and Nicki Minaj.
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