Jay Z, Fat Joe, Meek Mill & More Artists Contest New York Lawmakers Using Rap Lyrics as Incriminating Evidence
- Jay Z has teamed up with other notable artists to propose legislation that restricts prosecutors from using hip-hop song lyrics as evidence for criminal trials
- Hova’s lawyer, Fat Joe spoke to Rolling Stone about the significance passing the bill in the state of New York would have on creative expression
- The bill also stresses the dangers of taking the art form of songwriting literally, especially for people of colour such as the wrongly convicted late rapper Drakeo
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Shawn Carter gathered big names such as Fat Joe, Meek Mill, Kelly Rowland, Big Sean and Yo Gotti to support the proposed Rap Music on Trial bill. The letter sent with the proposed law urges the condemnation of using song lyrics as evidence for crimes.
Source: Getty Images
Jay Z’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, submitted the letter he wrote with Professor Erik Nielson, the author of Rap on Trial in November. This Tuesday, news broke that the legislation made it through the Senate Codes Committee, a major action signifying a high probability of a complete vote on the Senate floor.
The significant movement of the proposed law may see it become a bill that is passed in states beyond New York. Spiro noted the glorious achievement as a sign of positive change, telling Rolling Stone:
“By changing the law here, you do a lot of good for the cases that it affects, but you also send a message that progress is coming. We expect it will be followed in a lot of places.”
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Fat Joe also chatted to the publication about the optimistic outlook the law would have for hip-hop artists’ creativity. After Tuesday’s news, the artist said in part:
“Our lyrics are a creative form of self-expression and entertainment – just like any other genre. We want our words to be recognized as art rather than being weaponized to get convictions in court.”
The passing of the bill could see a decline in the wrongful arrests of innocent POC. For instance, the late rapper Drakeo was acquitted of a murder charge that authorities earlier concluded using his lyrics as evidence. However, white artists like David Byrne are rarely investigated for songs like his Psycho Killer.
Jay Z deletes Instagram page 11 hours after joining, getting 2.3 million followers
In more Jay Z related stories, Briefly News previously reported that the rapper’s fans were all kinds of excited when the star joined Instagram for the first time recently.
Well, the rapper joined the photo-sharing platform and in less than 24 hours he had gained over 2.3 million followers. The fete was viewed as one of the most phenomenal things to ever happen on social media and it directed endless attention to his side.
However, Jay Z broke the hearts of his legion of fans after deleting his Instagram page in less than 24 hours of creating it.
One important thing that stood out moments before deleting his page is the fact he chose to follow only one person, his wife Beyoncé.
Source: Briefly News
