Abstract

Excerpted From: Maia Young, All Eyez on Rap & Hip-Hop: Analyzing How Black Expression Is Criminalized and the Language of the Rap Act of 2022, 19 Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts 1 (Spring, 2024) (198 notes) (Full Document)

The trend of allowing rap and hip-hop lyrics to be used as evidence in criminal proceedings subjects Black expression to unfair participation in a system that has historically ignored its people and its protest. Linking violence or criminal conduct exclusively to the genres of rap and hip-hop perpetuates America's thematic history of injustice and misinterpretation of Black life, music, and culture. Stereotypical public opinion of the association between rap and violence “attempt[s] to erase from the consciousness of [Americans] the history of oppression that [gave] birth to hip-hop culture.” Particularly, American media discreetly characterizes rap music as uncontrollably violent while highlighting the art form's rapid popularity and success in the mainstream music industry. This demonstrates America's obsession to engage with Black art and Black people at its earliest convenience.

The RAP Act of 2022 challenges this norm within the context of the criminal legal system. The proposed RAP Act of 2022 seeks to amend the Federal Rules of Evidence, as Rule 416, to protect rap artists and their creative expression. However, under listed exceptions, the RAP Act permits a literal interpretation of creative and artistic expression, failing to fully recognize rap and hip-hop music as a protected art form. Despite this permission, the RAP Act was proposed to counter the criminal legal system's natural inclination to deem rap music as an artist's truthful narrative rather than a form of free artistic expression. Part I of this Note discusses the history and evolution of rap music and hip-hop, while also looking at how rap music has been historically and contemporarily criminalized. Part II analyzes whether the RAP Act, as is, would ensure the protection of rap music and its artists. Part II also criticizes Factor 1 of the RAP Act and proposes an alternative, such as a balancing test, to ensure that there is no legislative loophole that would unjustly admit rap lyrics. Part III concludes that allowing rap and hip-hop lyrics as evidence in criminal proceedings furthers Black disenfranchisement in America through the criminalization of Black individualized expression.

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Rap and hip-hop music have always been instrumental in the shaping and empowerment of Black people and Black culture. The inclusion of rap music and rap lyrics in criminal proceedings as evidence in favor of the prosecution is biased and prejudiced, rooted in racism and injustice. The tactic of criminalizing Black art and expression inspired the RAP Act and its provisions. On the federal level, the RAP Act would be the first legislative act to propose an amendment to the Federal Rules of Evidence as Rule 416. The cultural colloquialisms, AAVE, and poetic rhythms demonstrate the need for rap and hip-hop music's consideration as a form of literary art, not criminal evidence. The RAP Act's purpose is to restrict the use of song lyrics in criminal proceedings; however, the exceptions within the Act that justify admissibility undermine this purpose. The language and potential statutory interpretation of Factor 1 contradict the limitation that the RAP Act is intended to enable. Without an amendment to this Factor that acknowledges racial bias and prejudice as a basis for this practice, or an exclusion altogether, rap music nor its lyrics will be safe from prosecutorial conduct. Furthermore, the codified silencing and suppression of Black art, creativity, and people will continue. All rap music needs is for the world to finally give it a fighting chance.

Joint-Degree J.D. & M.A. Candidate, Vermont Law School, 2024; Vermont Law Review, Symposium Editor; B.A., Prairie View A&M University, 2020.