Papoose Pleads Case For Legislation Making Rap Lyrics Inadmissible In Court

Papoose the Brooklyn native made the trek to Albany, NY, to plead the case for the AB127 bill, which limits the “admissibility of evidence of a defendant’s creative or artistic expression against such defendant in a criminal proceeding. Papoose spoke with state legislatures about the bill, introduced by Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz, which he described as “a very important issue” not only to Hip-Hop, but the state’s economy. “With over 202,000 jobs created and a substantial $19 billion contribution to the state’s GDP, music plays a vital role in New York’s prosperity,” the “Law Library” rapper captioned a social media post sharing footage of the sitdown. “In response to these pressing concerns, nearly a dozen Assemblymembers, led by Assemblywoman Cruz, have introduced AB127. Passing AB127 would limit the use of a defendant’s creative work in a trial,
ensuring artists are able to express themselves freely without fear of reprisal from the justice system. Pap continued, adding, “AB127 establishes safeguards to ensure music, literature, film, and other works of creative expression remain protected by the First Amendment. This legislation seeks to establish a systematic framework for the handling of lyrics in legal proceedings. It does not ban the usage of creative work in criminal proceedings; instead, it shifts the burden to the prosecutor who must prove the work is relevant and admissible. The veteran lyricist thanked music executive Kevin Liles, rapper Torae, the Recording Academy, Tunecore the politicians present at the meeting for contriubuting to the effort to destigmatize the artform that’s had such a global impact during its existence.

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