Hip-Hop Artists Urge Lawmakers To Stop Using Lyrics Against Rappers In Court
Jay Z, Meek Mill, Fat Joe, and many other hip-hop artists are taking a stand. The rappers are joining forces to put weight on a bill that could ban New York prosecutors from using lyrics against rappers in court.
The rappers are pushing to turn the “Rap Music on Trial” bill (S.7527/A.8681) into a law.
A letter from Jay-Z’s attorney given to PEOPLE, was signed by the music mogul and other musicians. The letter stated that “reform is urgently needed.”
“Rather than acknowledge rap music as a form of artistic expression, police and prosecutors argue that the lyrics should be interpreted literally — in the words of one prosecutor, as ‘autobiographical journals’ — even though the genre is rooted in a long tradition of storytelling that privileges figurative language, is steeped in hyperbole, and employs all of the same poetic devices we find in more traditional works of poetry.”
“This tactic effectively denies rap music the status of art and, in the process, gives prosecutors a dangerous advantage in the courtroom,” the letter continues. “By presenting rap lyrics as rhymed confessions of illegal behavior, they are often able to obtain convictions even when other evidence is lacking.”
The legislation from Senator Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), Senator Jamaal Bailey (D-The Bronx), and Assembly member Catalina Cruz (D-Queens) was first proposed in November and passed through the New York Senate Codes committee on Tuesday, according to Rolling Stone, leading the way for a full vote on the senate floor.
Other musical artists who publically support the bill are: Big Sean, Kelly Rowland, and Robin Thicke.
