"Hip-Hop is judged unlike any other genre just like Black people are judged unlike any other people." That's the quote from Killer Mike featured in the upcoming ABC News documentary, Rap Trap: Hip-Hop On Trial, set to air on Hulu this month.
The documentary is focused on the Young Thug and Gunna's YSL RICO case —both rappers were arrested on RICO charges back in May 2022. It also features commentary from 300 Entertainment CEO Kevin Liles, Fat Joe, Young Thug's ex-girlfriend Jerrika Karlae, Atlanta journalist Jewel Wicker, and more. Former No Limit rapper McKinley “Mac” Phipps Jr., who was released from prison last year after serving 21 years for a crime he said he didn't commit, will also be featured in the documentary. The case was explored in-depth in the NPR podcast, Louder Than A Riot featuring journalists Rodney Carmichael and Sidney Madden back in 2020.
Last September, Gov. Gavin Newsome signed The Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act, which restricts the use of rap lyrics as evidence in court in California. Killer Mike, Meek Mill, Too $hort, YG, Ty Dolla $ign, Tyga joined the signing ceremony celebrating the moment. The Black Music Action Coalition called the bill a “crucial step in the right direction."
On the federal level, the Restoring Artistic Protection Act (RAP Act), which seeks to protect artists from the use of their lyrics being used against them as evidence in criminal and civil proceedings, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, this year.
“Prosecutors, judges, and juries have decided that rap lyrics are autobiographical, they're like diaries,” Erik Nielson, co-author of Rap Lyrics on Trial told Rock The Bells earlier this year. “No other fictional artform is treated that way. And there are plenty of other genres that are replete with violence, whether it's gangster movies, novels, hardcore punk, or horror. It’s not hard for us to understand that these are fictionalized. What you see with rap music is that it is isolated because it's a combination of people believing that rap is real, or young Black men, who are the primary producers of it, are incapable of creative thought. Unfortunately, it maps to stereotypes that many people still have about young Black and Hispanic men.”
Rap Trap: Hip-Hop on Trial airs on Feb. 23 on Hulu. Watch the trailer below.
