While lawmakers ignore the terrifying crime waves roiling blue state New York, they took time to pass an inane bill that bars prosecutors from using rappers’ violent lyrics as evidence in rappers’ criminal trials.
On Tuesday, the Democrat-majority New York Senate passed S7527 on a vote of 38-23.
The House version of the legislation remains in committee.
The Senate bill “limits the admissibility of evidence of a defendant’s creative or artistic expression against such defendant in a criminal proceeding.”
In other words, if a rapper who glorifies shooting people or killing police officers in his music is charged with murder, his incendiary lyrics could not be used against him in a criminal trial.
The farcical Democrat-sponsored legislation claims its purpose is “to protect freedom of speech and artistic expression in New York State.”
Keep in mind that Democrats have aggressively campaigned to censor conservatives on social media as well as in news, entertainment, sports and virtually every other arena.
However, S7527 provides “enhanced free speech protections” for rappers, supposedly to ensure that “criminal defendants are tried based upon evidence of criminal conduct, not the provocative nature of their artistic works and tastes.”
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Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Killer Mike, Big Sean, Fat Joe and Yo Gotti are among the high-profile rappers who urged lawmakers to push this bill forward, according to Rolling Stone.
Proponents claim the law is necessary to protect rappers accused of violent crimes from prosecutors seeking to use their violent verses against them at trial.
We are officially a LAWLESS NATION!
Police in Disbelief After Wannabe Rapper Who Allegedly Shot Cop Is Let Out on Bail via @WestJournalism https://t.co/nSjSL0Dtff— ann (@ann52206750) January 30, 2022
Naturally, there has been a left-wing outcry against allowing rap lyrics to be used at trial, presumably because some juries have been swayed by the violent rhetoric.
In 2001, rapper McKinley Phipps was convicted of manslaughter for allegedly killing a concertgoer after prosecutors used verses from his hit song “Murder, Murder, Kill, Kill” at trial.
The chorus of the rap repeats: “Murder, murder (Murder, murder). Kill, kill (Kill, kill). S***’s real (S***’s real). On the battlefield (On the battlefield).”
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language that some viewers will find offensive.
The lyrics continue:
Murder, murder, murder, murder, kill, kill. It’s real.
You cross me wrong. Don’t think I forgot ya, just waitin on you to chill.
You started beef with the assassin, when you see me, you gotta be blastin.
In 2013, rapper Jamal Knox (a.k.a. Mayhem Mal) was convicted of witness intimidation and making terroristic threats against the police after he was arrested during a traffic stop for allegedly hauling 15 bags of heroin in his car.
At trial, prosecutors presented Knox’s violent anti-police lyrics to the jury for consideration.
In his 2012 rap tune “F*** the Police” — an homage to NWA’s 1988 song “F*** tha Police” — Mayhem Mal torched the arresting police officers by name, attacked them with the racist slur “cracker” and ranted “f*** the police” and “kill the police.”
The incendiary verses include:
This first verse is for Officer Zeltner and all you Fed force b****es.
And Mr. Kosko can suck my d*** for knocking my riches.
Want beef? Well, cracker, I’m wit it. That whole department can get it
All these soldiers in my committee gonna f*** over you b****es.
F*** the police, b****. I said it loud.
The f***in city can’t stop me.
The song concludes: “Let’s kill these cops, ’cause they don’t do us no good. Pullin your glock out ’cause I live in the hood. You dirty b****es. B****.”
Imagine the outrage if you substitute “kill these cops” with “kill Black Lives Matter” or “kill the NAACP.”
Whether or not you like rap, it’s hard not to get disgusted at some of the overtly misogynistic, racist, anti-police harangues glorifying murder.
It’s also comical that Democrats are gung-ho about censorship when it comes to silencing conservatives but breathlessly invoke the “free speech” card when they’re pushing their destructive, soft-on-crime agenda.
