NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of killing Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay can’t have his rap lyrics used against him at trial, a Brooklyn judge decided Tuesday in a ruling that doubled as a history-filled ...

The use of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal trials has become a controversial practice in the legal system. This trend raises concerns about freedom of expression, racial bias, and the ...

Prosecutors' use of rap lyrics at trial has come under scrutiny. A California judge vacated the murder convictions of two Black men on Monday after ruling that prosecutors "more likely than not" ...

He’s getting a second chance to beat the rap. A Brooklyn man convicted of helping a killer pull off a 2016 shooting will get a new trial, after a state appeals court ruled that the judge in the case ...

No one believes that country music legend Johnny Cash shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die. When Cash in 1968 released “Folsom Prison Blues,” a ballad about shooting and killing a man for no ...

In Florida, rapper YNW Melly’s double murder retrial looms in 2024. Meanwhile, in Georgia, Young Thug is the latest high-profile hip hop artist to have his lyrics dissected in court. Prior to Melly’s ...

The racial bias of courts using rap lyrics to criminalize artists of color. California is the first state to prevent courts from criminalizing Black and Brown artistic expression, after passing ...