\n\t
\u201cI\u2019m Gucci. It\u2019s a rap. F**k [can they do] about a rap?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThose are the words of Lawrence Montague on a jail phone call, words that now sit at the center of a broader legal reckoning unfolding in Maryland over the use of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal proceedings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tMaryland prosecutors introduced Montague\u2019s rap verse, recorded using a jailhouse telephone and later posted to Instagram as evidence of his guilt for the killing of George Forrester.\u00a0 In December 2020, Maryland\u2019s highest Court ruled in Montague vs. Maryland that rap lyrics can be admitted in court as evidence of a defendant\u2019s guilt.\u00a0 The Court\u2019s treatment of the genre as inherently violent reflects a deeply flawed and biased assumption, and Montague was ultimately convicted and sentenced to fifty years.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tOn appeal, the state\u2019s highest court affirmed Montague\u2019s conviction, finding that Montague\u2019s lyrics made it more probable that he shot and killed Forrester. In doing so, the Court embraced the very kind of bias the legal system is supposed to guard against.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThat ruling set a dangerous precedent, particularly for rap and hip-hop<\/a> artists in America, and prompted Variety to publish our January 2021 opinion piece<\/a>.\u00a0 What we didn\u2019t realize at the time was that the article would help spark a national movement \u2014 now a united front of influential academics, defense and civil rights attorneys, and prominent music industry advocacy organizations including Songwriters of North America, the Black Music Action Coalition, The Recording Academy, and more.\u00a0 Together, we\u2019ve partnered under a coalition known as Free Our Art<\/a>,\u00a0 led by high-profile music executive Kevin Liles and co-chaired by me and Prophet. Over the past few years, the coalition has built a diverse and bipartisan group of allies, urging lawmakers to act. This week, in a full circle moment, Maryland became only the third state to pass a bill reconsidering how creative works are used in criminal trials. The bill now heads to the desk of Maryland Governor Wes Moore, who is widely expected to sign it into law.<\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n \n\tWhen signed, Maryland\u2019s Protecting Artists\u2019 Creative Expression (PACE) Act will join California and Louisiana, which enacted similar laws in 2022 and 2023 following advocacy by BMAC, SONA and later Free Our Art. Critically, the legislation establishes clear standards for when creative works may be admitted as evidence in criminal proceedings.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThis law addresses a growing concern among the music industry, legal scholars, and civil rights advocates, as rap lyrics have almost exclusively been used against Black and Brown artists in more than 820 cases since the 1980s. The PACE Act seeks to limit bias in the courtroom, reinforcing First Amendment protections that are frequently overlooked today.\u00a0 When signed into law, the legislation would limit the use of artistic expression as evidence to narrowly defined legal circumstances. Any creative expressions the government is looking to present as evidence must be presented to the judge before a jury trial even begins.\u00a0 These include instances where a defendant clearly intended the work to be taken literally, where it contains specific factual details tied to an alleged offense, where it is directly relevant to a disputed issue, and where its probative value outweighs any unfair prejudice.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tRace has long shaped how rap lyrics are interpreted in the legal system. Courts have often misunderstood the history, purpose, and cultural significance of rap music in America, which emerged in the 1970s in the South Bronx as a response to poverty, unemployment, gang violence, isolation from mainstream America, and unfair treatment by government institutions. Courts are starting to correct the problem \u2014 overturning<\/a> <\/a>convictions<\/a> where rap lyrics were wrongly used \u2014 but that\u2019s not justice, that\u2019s damage control. We need real protection on the front end. That\u2019s why the PACE Act matters.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n \n\tAnd the momentum is building: New York, Georgia, and Missouri legislatures are in discussions to pass laws to defend artistic freedom and draw the line.\u00a0<\/p>\n