#Lyrical rappers mac
In the case of Mac Phipps, prosecutors presented the artist’s lyrics as evidence he was a criminal, despite overwhelming evidence that he was innocent.īrandon Duncan, better known as Tiny Doo, is a rapper whose lyrics were used against him in court.
#Lyrical rappers trial
He wrote about a 2013 California murder trial in which prosecutors tried a 14-year-old boy as an adult, claiming lyrics in his notebook were “autobiographical journals”, including lyrics from other artists’ which were erroneously attributed to him. So why wouldn’t you do this if your goal is to lock people up, whether they’re guilty or not?” said Nielson, the University of Richmond professor. “Prosecutors talk to each other and see this is a very effective tactic, and that it’s unlikely to be reversed on appeal.
Researchers have also found widespread examples of prosecutors taking lyrics out of context, presenting them in inaccurate and misleading ways, treating fictional lines as facts or confessions and using music to expand charges and secure convictions and lengthy sentences. “As soon as you introduce rap, you’re compromising the defense’s ability to have a fair trial,” Lerner said. Multiple studies have found that associating defendants with rap music creates a strong negative bias in jurors and that people are significantly more likely to perceive lyrics as violent, offensive, threatening, dangerous and literal if they are from rap, compared to other genres.
#Lyrical rappers manual
Jack Lerner, University of California, Irvine law professor and an expert on the subject, said the tactic is used across the US, pointing to a 2004 manual of the American Prosecutors Research Institute, which encouraged the use of lyrics in search warrants and trials to “invade and exploit the defendant’s true personality” and present him as a “criminal wearing a do-rag and throwing a gang sign” to contrast the “nicely tailored … altar boy” in the courtroom.Īlthough there are rare cases where words or music videos may be linked to specific criminal offenses, experts say research shows their use in court has often worked to prejudice jurors against young men of color. The lyrics are typically cited to suggest “gang affiliation”, proof of crimes and intent, or demonstrate a rapper’s “violent” character or threats, and the strategy was used against famous artists like Snoop Dogg in the 1990s, Drakeo the Ruler in 2018 and Tekashi 6ix9ine in 2019. The practice started to surge in the 2000s, when authorities began to rely on social media in cases against amateur rappers, and when law enforcement “gang units” escalated their crackdown, said Erik Nielson, a University of Richmond professor and co-author of Rap on Trial. Researchers have tracked more than 500 reported cases of prosecutors using rap music as evidence against defendants in the last 30 years, though that number is probably a significant undercount.
#Lyrical rappers free
“It’s an attack on free speech and particularly Black art.” ‘It’s effective for prosecutors’ There are people still sitting in prison who have been affected by this,” said Phipps, who was released last year after two decades in prison. Last week, California lawmakers passed new regulations meant to restrict such use of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal court, the first-of-its-kind legislation expected to become law in the US.Įxperts say that although the impact of the new policy will be narrow, it is a step forward in putting guardrails on a prosecutorial practice that all too often has worked to criminalize the artistic expression of young Black and Latino men.Īs prosecutors in Georgia face growing scrutiny over their use of rap lyrics in recent gang conspiracy cases against Gunna and Young Thug, advocates and artists hope the reforms will help expose the tactic.
Photograph: Sabree Hill, Dillard University
Phipps had no criminal record but found his lyrics used against him.
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