Current:Home > MyRap lyrics can’t be used against artist charged with killing Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay, judge rules-InfoLens
Rap lyrics can’t be used against artist charged with killing Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay, judge rules
View Date:2024-12-23 15:29:55
New York (AP) — The man accused of killing Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay can’t have his rap lyrics used against him at trial, a Brooklyn judge decided Tuesday in a ruling that doubled as a history-filled paean to hip-hop as “a platform for expression to many who had largely been voiceless.”
The ruling came in response to an attempt by federal prosecutors to introduce lyrics penned by Karl Jordan Jr. as evidence of his role in gunning down Jay, a pioneering artist whose birth name was Jason Mizell. His 2002 death remains one of rap’s most infamous slayings.
In her 14-page order, Brooklyn Federal Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall traced the evolution of hip-hop over five decades, referencing tracks from over a dozen artists before ultimately finding the lyrics inadmissible.
“From the genre’s nascence as an oral tradition, rap artists have played the part of storytellers, providing a lens into their lives and those in their communities,” Hall wrote.
Prosecutors had sought to introduce several lines written by Jordan that described first-person accounts of violence and drug dealing, including: “We aim for the head, no body shots, and we stick around just to see the body drop.”
Those lyrics didn’t detail the specific crime, Hall wrote, but “merely contain generic references to violence that can be found in many rap songs.”
She pointed to similar lines written by rappers Nas, Ice Cube and Vince Staples, along with interviews with artists like Fat Joe and Future who have publicly discussed the distance between their art and real lives.
Diving further into the genre’s past, Hall cited the political activism of artists like A Tribe Called Quest and Queen Latifah, along with the role “gangsta rap” played “as a portal for others to see into America’s urban centers.”
“The Court cannot help but note that odious themes – including racism, misogyny, and homophobia – can be found in a wide swath of genres other than rap music,” she added in a footnote, even referencing lyrics from the Rolling Stones and Jason Aldean, a controversial county music star.
The use of rap lyrics in criminal prosecutions has become a contentious subject in several high-profile cases, including the ongoing racketeering trial of Young Thug. In that case the judge allowed the lyrics to be presented at trial — a decision that defense attorneys say amounts to racist “character assassination” meant to poison a jury already skeptical of rap music.
In her ruling on Tuesday, Hall wrote that courts should be “wary” about allowing the use of hip-hop lyrics against criminal defendants because “artists should be free to create without fear that their lyrics could be unfairly used against them at a trial.”
She said there could be specific exceptions in cases where lyrics discuss the precise details of a particular crime.
Jordan and an accomplice, Ronald Washington, are accused of confronting Mizell in his recording studio in 2002, then shooting him in the head. The prosecution argues it was an act of revenge for cutting them out of a drug deal.
The killing had frustrated investigators for decades, but prosecutors said they made key strides in the case over the last five years, conducting new interviews and ballistic tests and getting witnesses to cooperate.
Defense lawyers have claimed the government dragged its feet in indicting Washington and Jordan, making it harder for them to defend themselves.
Both men have pleaded not guilty, as has a third defendant who was charged this past May and will be tried separately.
veryGood! (568)
Related
- Satellite images and documents indicate China working on nuclear propulsion for new aircraft carrier
- Biden raised $42 million in January, his campaign says
- Alaska’s chief medical officer, a public face of the state’s pandemic response, is resigning
- Stock market today: Asian shares trade mixed after Wall Street was closed for a holiday
- Amtrak service disrupted after fire near tracks in New York City
- 'Oscar Wars' spotlights bias, blind spots and backstage battles in the Academy
- Human remains recovered from car in North Carolina creek linked to 1982 cold case: Reports
- Can kidney dialysis be done at home? We can make treatment more accessible, so why aren't we?
- Ashton Jeanty stats: How many rushing yards did Boise State Heisman hopeful have vs Nevada
- Human remains recovered from car in North Carolina creek linked to 1982 cold case: Reports
Ranking
- Reese Witherspoon's Daughter Ava Phillippe Introduces Adorable New Family Member
- Why director Rob Reiner changed the ending of 'When Harry Met Sally'
- Mortician makes it to Hollywood on 'American Idol' with performance of this Tina Turner hit
- Student in Colorado campus killing was roommate of 1 of the victims, police say
- Get well, Pop. The Spurs are in great hands until your return
- 4 candidates run in Georgia House election to replace Richard Smith, who died
- Horoscopes Today, February 18, 2024
- Daytona 500 highlights: All the top moments from William Byron's win in NASCAR opener
Recommendation
-
NFL power rankings Week 11: Steelers, Eagles enjoying stealthy rises
-
Video shows horse galloping down I-95 highway in Philadelphia before being recaptured
-
The Book Report: Washington Post critic Ron Charles (February 18)
-
Minnesota man who shot 2 officers and a firefighter wasn’t allowed to have guns
-
Disruptions to Amtrak service continue after fire near tracks in New York City
-
New Jersey gov’s wife, a US Senate candidate, opposes power plant that he could kill
-
New Hampshire considers greatly expanding scope of settlement fund for youth center abuse victims
-
Adult and four kids die in Missouri house fire that police deem ‘suspicious’