“When we start criminalizing the First Amendment, you no longer have a democracy, and democracy is already hanging by a thread,” US Rep. Many decry the legal system’s attack on Young Thug as well as other hip-hop artists nationwide as a fight over artistic expression for young Black men who have been unjustly targeted for their creative output.

(Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign the legislation as soon as next week.) A similar bill failed in New York after passing that state’s senate.Ītlanta Rap Star Young Thug Arrested in Sweeping Bust of ‘Slime Life’ Street GangĪnd many in the industry are actively lobbying for federal legislation, particularly the Restoring Artistic Protection Act - or RAP Act - that is currently making its way through the US Congress after being introduced last month. On Monday, the California state assembly unanimously passed a bill, AB 2799, which would restrict prosecutors from using a musician’s lyrics against them as evidence in criminal or civil cases. The targeting of rappers over their creative content sparked other artists, recording executives and politicians to mobilize.

That’s in part because of a controversial step by prosecutors to cite Young Thug’s lyrics, music videos and social media posts as part of “an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.” Young Thug lyrics like “I killed his man in front of his momma” and other verses in songs by Nicki Minaj and other artists were suddenly being used as evidence against the rapper, who’s accused of racketeering spanning over nearly a decade.

Limbo lyrics