California takes action to prevent the use of rap lyrics as evidence against people in court

Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, approved a measure today that restricts the use of rap lyrics as “proof,” joined by the rappers Killer Mike and Meek Mill.

Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, signed a new bill into law today that restricts the use of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal trials in the state. He was joined (virtually) by rappers Killer Mike, Meek Mill, Too $hort, Ty Dolla $ign, YG, E-40, and Tyga. That goes against a fairly common strategy employed in court cases involving musicians, and particularly Black musicians, where lyrics about illegal activities—delivered, like much of rap, in the first person and from an adopted persona—get brought up as though they were some sort of clumsily composed musical confession to actual crimes.

Consider the recent RICO indictment of rappers Young Thug and Gunna (in Georgia, not California, mind you), in which lyrics from the two artists’ musical careers were used as evidence against them. Although we aren’t qualified to comment on the specifics of the case, we are fairly certain that Johnny Cash was never required to give a testimony in court regarding the incident in which he admitted to shooting a man in Reno for the callous and pointless purpose of merely wanting to witness his demise.

The Black Music Action Coalition, which is also advocating for federal legislation to accomplish comparable goals on a federal level, helped push for the California statute in issue, which has the working title The Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act. According to Willie Stiggers, co-chair of the BMAC, “The signing of AB 2799 (The Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act) into California law is a huge victory for the artistic and creative community and a big step in the right direction towards our federal legislation, The RAP Act (Restoring Artistic Protection Act), which prohibits the use of lyrics as the only justification to prosecute cases. The Black Music Action Coalition commends Governor Newsom for his desire to support artists and defend our First Amendment freedom of speech rights.