A recently proposed New York state bill to prohibit rap lyrics from being used in criminal trials has support from some of the biggest names in the music business, including Jay-Z, Big Sean, Fat Joe, ...

“Rather than acknowledge rap music as a form of artistic expression, police and prosecutors argue that the lyrics should be interpreted literally,” JAY-Z’s lawyer Alex Spiro wrote in a letter ...

The bill known as “Rap Music on Trial” passed a week after Young Thug lyrics were cited in the indictment to paint his as a violent figure. A bill supported by artists including Jay-Z, Fat Joe, and ...

Rap Music on Trial is a New York state bill that would prevent prosecutors from using a defendant’s artistic expression as evidence. The legislation has passed the initial stages of New York‘s senate ...

Music figures have bound together to join the effort to Protect Black Art and its creators from legal persecution. Artists, labels, and music scholars joined forces to print an open letter petition to ...

In the history of hip-hop, some rappers have set out to murder the competition with lyrics that have ranged from vicious to downright violent. But a group of music stars — led by Brooklyn’s own Rock & ...

Several prominent rappers — including Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Killer Mike, and Fat Joe — lent their names to a letter supporting New York State Senate Bill S7527, a.k.a. “Rap Music on Trial.” The bill seeks ...

Described as a call to "Protect Black Art" and creative expression, the letter articulates the desire for an end to prosecutors treating rap lyrics as confessions. "Rappers are storytellers, creating ...