{"id":530707,"date":"2026-03-12T05:04:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T05:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/530707\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T05:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T05:04:08","slug":"travis-scott-tells-scotus-use-of-rap-lyrics-for-death-penalty-is-unconstitutional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/530707\/","title":{"rendered":"Travis Scott tells SCOTUS use of rap lyrics for death penalty is ‘unconstitutional’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Travis Scott<\/a> is among a group of rappers defending a man on death row in Texas.\n<\/p>\n

Scott has signed an amicus brief addressed to the Supreme Court stating that James Broadnax had his First Amendment rights violated when Broadnax’s rap lyrics were introduced as evidence in his sentencing for a pair of 2008 murders. The brief states that “taking rap music out of context subjects the entire genre to prosecution.”\n<\/p>\n

After Broadnax was found guilty, prosecutors presented the jury with 40 pages of lyrics written by the defendant. Per the New York Times<\/a>, the violent themes of the lyrics contributed to the nearly all-white jury’s determination that Broadnax, who is Black, should be sentenced to death, rather than life in prison without parole.\n<\/p>\n

Broadnax’s execution is scheduled for April 30.<\/p>\n

Travis Scott performing in 2025.<\/p>\n

Barry Brecheisen\/Getty<\/p>\n

Scott’s brief, filed by his lawyer Alex Spiro and provided to Entertainment Weekly, notes that prosecutors “argued Mr. Broadnax was likely to be dangerous in the future simply because he engaged in ‘gangster rap.'”\n<\/p>\n

“Such an argument functionally operates as a categorical and straightforwardly unconstitutional content-based penalty on rap music as a form of expression,” Scott continued in the brief.\n<\/p>\n

“As a form of artistic and political expression protected by the First Amendment primarily created by and historically associated with minority artists, prosecutors should not be permitted to use rap lyrics \u2014 and the mere fact of engaging in a particular genre \u2014 against a criminal defendant as evidence of criminal propensity,” Scott wrote.\n<\/p>\n

Killer Mike, Young Thug, and T.I. have also signed briefs in support of Broadnax.<\/p>\n

Prince Williams\/WireImage; Ivan Apfel\/Getty; Earl Gibson III\/Variety via Getty<\/p>\n

Other artists, including Killer Mike<\/a>, Young Thug<\/a>, and T.I.<\/a>, have filed separate briefs regarding Broadnax’s case and sentencing.\n<\/p>\n

Rap artists have previously spoken up regarding the use of rap lyrics in legal matters. In 2015, Killer Mike, among others, filed a brief<\/a> in support of a high school student who was suspended over a rap song accusing two coaches of sexual misconduct with female students. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case. In 2019, artists came together on a brief over the trial of Jamal Knox<\/a>, who was charged with terroristic threats and witness intimidation over song lyrics. The Supreme Court declined to hear Knox’s case as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Travis Scott is among a group of rappers defending a man on death row in Texas. Scott has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[49,48,75,341],"class_list":["post-530707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}