Young Thug, Olutosi Oduwole, and too many other established Black rappers have found themselves in court over lyrics.
John,
Freedom of speech is a constitutional foundation that allows us to craft culture, expression, and art. But right now, many artists aren’t able to speak freely. Since 2020, prosecutors in over 500 criminal cases have used musical artists’ lyrics as evidence against the artist — and we probably don’t need to tell you that racism plays a big part in this legal approach.
All too often, systemic racism informs these prosecutions as white artists do not face the same legal scrutiny as Black artists. Too frequently, we see established Black rappers in court having to argue against their own lyrics, music videos, and social media personas to protect their freedom. While other white artists, discussing the same topics in different musical genres or with different skin tones, have gone without legal trouble.
This is unacceptable. That's why Cori is a proud co-sponsor of Representatives Hank Johnson and Jamaal Bowman's bill, the Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act.
The RAP Act is one of the first steps towards ensuring that artists and creatives are protected from the wrongful use of their lyrics and speech against them in criminal and civil proceedings. The bill would limit the admissibility of evidence of an artist’s creative or artistic expression against them in court.
Join Cori and add your name today to protect our constitutional right to the freedom of speech and expression. Sign today to support the RAP Act.
Add your name →
John, it’s time we set the standard and protect artists’ freedom of speech and expression of every genre. Please stand with us today and add your name in support of the RAP Act.
In solidarity,
Team Cori
