Atlantic and 300 Entertainment execs call for federal “Rap Music On Trial” law
thefader.comThe ongoing YSL RICO indictment in Georgia has reignited a long-running debate about the legal admissibility of rap lyrics as evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
In response to recent events, 300 Entertainment co-founder and recently appointed CEO Kevin Liles and long-time Atlantic Records COO Julie Greenwald have circulated “Rap Music on Trial: A Petition to Protect Black Art.” “Weaponizing creative expression against artists is obviously wrong,” Liles and Greenwald write. “But what gets us so upset is what’s happening to Young Thug, Gunna, and YSL is just the most high-profile case.
In courtrooms across America, Black creativity and artistry is being criminalized. With increasing and troubling frequency, prosecutors are attempting to use rap lyrics as confessions, just like they’re doing in this case.” The Atlantic and 300 executives have a vested interest in clearing Thug and Gunna’s names and returning YSL to good public standing — Thug’s Young Stoner Life Records is distributed by 300 and Atlantic, and both artists are signed to all three labels — but their sentiments have been echoed across the country.
Last month, S.7527/A.8681 (better known as the Rap Music On Trial bill) was approved by the New York State Senate. If it passes through the State Assembly and is signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul, it will force prosecutors to show that a lyric is actual proof of a crime before it is shown to a jury, bucking the historic trend of hip-hop’s use as highly prejudicial character evidence.
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