Tag Archives: Freedom Of Speech

University Of Richmond Professor Says Prosecutors Increased Use Of Rap Lyrics As Evidence Of Guilt

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The tactic of using rap lyrics as evidence of guilt isn’t new by any means, but a college professor says there has been an uptick of the occurrence in courts. According to the professor, this could be seen as misleading and used by prosecutors to connect stereotypes to Black and Latino men as they argue their cases.

Dr. Erik Nielson of the University Of Richmond is an associate professor of Liberal Arts of the institution. In a new piece written for Raw Story’s The Conversation column, Nielson shared that alongside the University of Georgia law professor Andrea Dennis, the pair have discovered that the introduction of rap lyrics in the courtroom to help decide a case has been used over 500 times.

Nielson highlights the case of rapper Drakeo The Ruler, whose lyrics were used as evidence to charge him in connection to a 2019 shooting that left a 24-year-old man dead. Prosecutors suggested that Drakeo ordered the gunman to shoot and kill and musical rival who was later found not to be an attendee of the party where the fatal incident took place. Further, Nielson notes that there was little evidence connecting Drakeo and RJ as having approached anything close to violent interactions in their dealings.

From Raw Story:

So to bolster their case, prosecutors focused on Drakeo’s music. At one point, for example, they cited a line from his song “Flex Freestyle,” in which he raps, “I’m ridin’ round town with a Tommy gun and a Jag / And you can disregard the yelling, RJ tied up in the back.”

The line was fictional; nobody claims that RJ was ever tied up in the back of Drakeo’s car. Nevertheless, prosecutors wanted the jury to believe that the lyrics were actual reflections of Caldwell’s desire to harm an industry rival.

Despite the prosecution’s efforts to use Drakeo’s music against him, it didn’t work: In July 2019, the jury acquitted Drakeo of most counts, including the multiple counts of murder.

Nonetheless, prosecutors are taking the unusual step of retrying Drakeo on a charge on which the jury deadlocked the first time around: criminal gang conspiracy.

The entire column is a fascinating read and Nielson points to the fact that prosecutors are using rap lyrics to shift the minds of jurors and the court into assuming the largely fictional tales of violence and tough talk are essentially real-life missives and orders to enact widespread acts of violence.

Read Dr. Erik Nielson’s entire piece here.

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Source: HipHopWired.com

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Florida Struggle Rapper Locked Up For Threatening To Shoot Up College Campus

Contentious Florida Senate And Gubernatorial Midterm Election Results Remain To Be Definitively Settled As Recount Looms

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A struggle rapper based in Florida found himself on the wrong side of the law after lyrics of his threatened violence at a college campus in the state. The lyric seemingly suggested that the artist known as Jun Jun would confront a musical rival at a University of Florida sports contest and shoot the event up.

Gainsville.com reports:

Christopher Maurice McCallum, 26, 620 NW 19th Ave., was arrested Tuesday, according to a warrant affidavit filed by the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.

“Rap is a heavily stigmatized genre of music,” said Clay Calvert, a First Amendment expert on faculty in the UF College of Journalism and Communications. “It’s not unusual for rap to find itself in the crosshairs of prosecution.”

At issue is a rap posted on McCallum’s Facebook page March 22 that deals with a feud between McCallum, Gainesville men and another rapper. It alludes to a March 23 rap concert by Keyanta Bullard at 8 Seconds, a downtown club.

In the song McCallum raps he will “catch you at a Gator game and shoot the whole campus up.”

The outlet adds that any threat of such violence, even written, is considered a felony in the state.

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Source: HipHopWired.com

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Frank Ocean Returns to Blonded Radio to Discuss Right-Wing Conspiracy Theories, Freedom of Speech & More

The last episode of Frank Ocean’s Blonded Radio was August 2017, but he returned with a new episode of his Beats 1 radio show on Midterms Election Day.

Ocean, Vegyn, and the rest of the group talked openly about voting today, fascism, and more. Talking on free speech, Ocean said it was a “two-way street” and noticed Republicans’ ways to “deal more in fantasies.” The singer also called out PizzaGate idiots, gerrymandering efforts, and more.

“We’re against gerrymandering,” Ocean said. “We’re against voter ID laws. We’re against voter suppression.” Addressing evangelical voters, Ocean proposed a different way to read the Holy Bible. “If Jesus didn’t say it, don’t read that shit,” he said.

In regards to music, there was a wide variety. Valee, The Carters, Retro X, Jadakiss, La Goony Chonga, Arthur, and Playboi Carti were among those lucky to have a cut on the most recent episode of Frank Ocean’s show.

Discussing Carti, he recently revealed that him and Ocean have a slew of songs together in the vault. “Frank Ocean, he’s the GOAT,” Carti told the Cruz Show back in July. “The last time I worked with him was in New York about a month ago. We did like five songs.”

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