New York State Senate Passes "Rap Music On Trial" Bill Limiting Use Of Lyrics As Evidence

The New York State Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would limit prosecutors’ use of song lyrics as evidence in legal cases. Senate Bill S7527, otherwise known as the “Rap Music On Trial” bill, will now head to the State Assembly before it can become law.

Sponsored by Senators Jamaal Bailey and Brad Hoylman, the bill garnered support early on from artists including Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Killer Mike, Fat Joe, and more. Though it would not completely prohibit prosecutors from introducing rap lyrics as evidence, it would heighten the burden of proof to show that the work is “literal, rather than figurative or fictional.”

“The purpose of this legislation is to protect freedom of speech and artistic expression in New York State,” a description of the bill states. “This bill effectuates the enhanced free speech protections provided by the New York State Constitution, ensuring that criminal defendants are tried based upon evidence of criminal conduct, not the provocative nature of their artistic works and tastes.”

The latest win for the Rap Music On Trial bill comes after Young Thug and Gunna were arrested on RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization) charges earlier this month. The 88-page indictment uses statutes that were established in 1970 to fight organized crime syndicates like the mafia. In the case of Young Thug and Gunna, their rap crew Young Slime Life is being treated as a criminal organization similar to John Gotti and the Gambino crime family. Prosecutors allege that the rappers’ lyrics and music videos represent “an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.”

“This is the dichotomy that we’re living in right now,” NPR Music staff writer and Louder Than A Riot podcast host Rodney Carmichael said in a recent interview. “Basically, we have a music industry that rewards artists for exploiting their connection to the streets. Then, on the other hand, we got a justice system that’s dead set on criminalizing those same connections — whether they’re real connections, whether they’re dramatized. For young people who were seduced by the limelight and really oftentimes just looking for a way out of the streets, rapping about where you’re from and the things that you or your people used to do in the streets has the possibility of earning you millions of dollars a year — or years in prison. If you’re an icon like Young Thug, maybe even both.”