.freeblackgirl: Who gets access to free speech? Apparently, not rappers.
in murder trials. By treating rap music as more than mere expression, America’s legal system is putting an entire genre on trial, as if the world’s most popular gene is a scourge that must be eradicated.
There’s nothing inherently new about state and federal governments criminalizing Black men. But insisting that the music they’ve created is evidence of their criminality is a self-fulfilling cycle that leaves little room for rappers to paint a picture about their upbringing and experiences. But here’s the thing: Rap originates in urban communities populated primarily by Black and Latinx folks deprived of resources. It becomes, for those who are successful, a means of escaping their environment — but just because they’re no longer forced to reside in their communities doesn’t mean that they can’t create music about their experiences. It doesn’t mean they have to leave their friends who haven’t gotten the same breaks behind because that’s what prosecutors consider respectable.
Alex Spiro, Jay-Z’s attorney, and Erik Nielson, a professor at the University of Richmond, who wrote the 2019 book “Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics, and Guilt in America,” argued inthat this tactic “gives prosecutors a dangerous advantage in the courtroom: By presenting rap lyrics as rhymed confessions of illegal behavior, they are often able to obtain convictions even when other evidence is lacking.
While the bill has passed a New York State committee, it might not become law in enough time to set a precedent that can change Gunna and Young Thug’s fate. But no matter what happens in their individual case, the question remains: Who gets access to free speech? Apparently, not rappers. It’s 2022, but it might as well be 1996 all over again.Evette Dionne is a culture journalist, critic, and editor who writes extensively about pop culture as it relates to race, gender, and size.
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