As justices may not understand the parameters of the musical genre and its culture, the coalition decided to help them out.

Rap snitches, telling all their business, won't have to sit in court and be their own star witness. At least not in New York state. The Rap Music on Trial bill, sponsored by state Sen. Brad ...

Killer Mike, T.I., Young Thug, Fat Joe, and more also filed a brief arguing that the lyrics were used to “stoke racial and anti-rap bias” ...

House Democrats are pushing a new bill that would make it illegal for prosecutors to use violent lyrics by rap artists against them in court if they commit crimes, citing First Amendment protections.

Rap lyrics have been used by prosecutors in the U.S. for decades as alleged evidence in criminal cases, helping put rappers behind bars. But it wasn't until lyrics were used in the indictment of ...

In 2001, St. Tammany Parish prosecutors turned to rap lyrics as part of their attempt to paint McKinley “Mac” Phipps Jr. as capable of first-degree murder. Their reasoning: Phipps writes music with ...

He is considered one of the most influential names in modern rap. But the Grammy-winning Atlanta-based artist is at the center of a racketeering or "RICO" trial. Jeffrey Lamar Williams, known ...

Editor's note: All opinions, columns and letters reflect the views of the individual writer and not necessarily those of the IDS or its staffers. At long last, rapper ...