{"id":105434,"date":"2025-07-28T11:59:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T10:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?p=105434"},"modified":"2025-07-28T11:59:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T10:59:18","slug":"reintroduced-rap-act-would-stop-lyrics-from-being-used-as-court-evidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/reintroduced-rap-act-would-stop-lyrics-from-being-used-as-court-evidence\/","title":{"rendered":"Reintroduced RAP Act would stop lyrics from being used as court evidence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After failing to get through back in 2022, the RAP Act is back to protect artistic expression in the US.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rap lyrics in the courtroom? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The fight to stop lyrics from being used as legal evidence in US courtrooms is back in the spotlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally introduced in 2022, the Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act didn\u2019t make it through Congress the first time around. Now, Democratic Representatives Hank Johnson and Sydney Kamlager-Dove are pushing for it again<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal? Stop prosecutors from using an artist\u2019s lyrics against them in criminal and civil trials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The full bill can be read here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem: Fiction treated as fact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll too often Rap and Hip-Hop artists have been punished for the same kind of hyperbole and imagery other genres routinely use without consequence,\u201d said RIAA President and COO Michele Ballantyne<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This lies at the heart of the issue. Rap lyrics are increasingly being used in court to imply guilt, despite often including fictional storytelling, playful nature, and exaggerated personas. It\u2019s a practice critics say disproportionately targets young Black artists and opposes the First Amendment in the US of a right to freedom of expression. Not to mention, assuming that every lyric an artist writers is a true confession is a dangerous idea in itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Representative Johnson summed it up well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Image credits: Spotify<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBob Marley did not confess to having shot the sheriff. And Johnny Cash did not confess to shooting \u2018a man in Reno, just to watch him die\u2019.\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Johnson\u2019s research found at least 820 criminal cases where creative works were cited as evidence. Most recently, this was seen in the case of Jeffrey Williams (more commonly known as Young Thug), where the judge ruled that prosecutors were allowed to use 17 specific lyrics from him and fellow YSL artists in a RICO case. His lawyers slammed<\/a> the move as \u201cracist and discrimination\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would the RAP Act change?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The RAP Act would change the Federal Rules of Evidence to presume that an \u201cartist\u2019s creative or artistic expression<\/a>\u201d aren\u2019t admissible in court unless the prosecution can meet strict criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Included within this strict criteria, prosecutors would need to prove that the lyrics were meant to be taken literally, not fictionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, it\u2019ll become a lot harder to use someone\u2019s artistic expression as ammon in the courtroom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What now?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The RAP Act has plenty of backing. Support comes from industry players like the Recording Academy, RIAA, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and the Black Music Action Coalition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With high-profile artists and organisations rallying behind it, there\u2019s hope the bill will finally gain enough traction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal isn\u2019t to shield artists from accountability. It\u2019s to make sure creative expression isn\u2019t wrongly used as a confession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Get your music onto streaming platforms everywhere for free with RouteNote.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After failing to get through back in 2022, the RAP Act is back to protect artistic expression in the US.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":105436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11109],"tags":[2044,10670,16920,5244,20541,30766,30765],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nReintroduced RAP Act would stop lyrics from being used as court evidence - RouteNote Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/reintroduced-rap-act-would-stop-lyrics-from-being-used-as-court-evidence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reintroduced RAP Act would stop lyrics from being used as court evidence - RouteNote Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After failing to get through back in 2022, the RAP Act is back to protect artistic expression in the US.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/reintroduced-rap-act-would-stop-lyrics-from-being-used-as-court-evidence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RouteNote Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-28T10:59:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-28T10:59:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-28-115233-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"968\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"545\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tom Marshall\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"RouteNote\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"RouteNote\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"RouteNote Blog\",\"description\":\"The World of Digital Music - 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