When I was just a babyMy mama told me, “SonAlways be a good boyDon’t ever play with guns,”But I shot a man in RenoJust to watch him dieJohnny Cash wrote that in his classic country hit, “Folsom Prison Blues,” recorded in 1955. The man in black. Self-styled outlaw. Sex symbol. Shot a man just to watch him die. The line made him famous and anchored a storied career.When N.W.A. released “F-- tha Police” in 1989, the gangsta rap protest song brought fame as well, but also bans from airwaves and a letter from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.The difference underscores the scrutiny rap lyrics and hip hop in general continue to endure, compared to other genres where artistic expression is rarely interpreted as actual criminal intent and deeds — past, present and future.Add to this today’s vast and easily accessible social media ocean for aspiring rap artists to post their work and express hip hop culture, and everything is a click or swipe away. And it is presenting a challenge in courtrooms in the United States and Canada, where a growing area of study examines the complex and controversial intersection of crime, rap lyrics as evidence, expert witnesses and the courts.Google “rap on trial” and plenty pops up. Rap lyrics are being used in court cases as proof of intent, confessions and threats, and as character evidence, at times without the benefit of experts who can provide judges and juries with context and history. In other words, taking them to the school of rap.“There is this tendency for outsiders in the justice system and police to view the word and the lyrics and stories that are coming out of the mouths of rappers, especially Black rappers, as if they are autobiographical portraits of their lives,” says Jooyoung Lee, associate professor of sociology at the University of Toronto.“But that’s been roundly disproved and there’s quite a bit of stuff, both in academia ...
|
