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WATCH WHAT YOU SAY:
WHAT IF YOU COULD BE CHARGED FOR
THE CRIMES IN YOUR RHYMES???
Back in the days of On The Go Magazine, we held a mock trial in the magazine for all the crimes NWA spit in their rhymes. It was a fun even hilarious editorial but now not that far fetched since they did receive a letter from the FBI almost 20 years ago for the lyrics in F*** Tha Police, which was what originally gave us the idea. That letter then and now proved one thing, they were listening and responded to what they saw as a threat.
Now in the days of Homeland Security and the infamous Hip-Hop Task Force, in every major city, I wondered what would happen if you could be charged for the crimes in your rhymes. The crimes you claim you’ve committed in an effort for street cred and platinum plaques in this keepin’-it-real-era of Hip-Hop. What’s even scarier, what if your recorded raps could be offered into evidence of a rapper on trial, to show his long documented disregard for the law.
The sad part of this whole hypothetical scenario is most have never or will never do half of what they claim in their lyrics. But because you are playing a role and are so convincing in your lyrics one day you may hear an officer of the law say: You Had The Right To Remain Silent, Now Anything You Say or Have Said in Your Rhymes Can Be Used Against You In a Court Of Law.
Just because we stack paper and we ball outrageous Them alphabet boys got us under surveillance
Soul Survivor- Young Jeezy
Think about the lyrics of the most popular records that held a stranglehold over the airwaves that have be released over the last decade of so. How many of these songs lyrics would hold up in a court of law. Look what affect a simple print out of the lyrics to Cop Killer by Ice T’s rock group Body Count did in 1992. The stockholders who just wanted to make a few extra bucks off the music biz, got spooked and several artists were dropped from Warner Brothers Records and all the labels they distribute. The same stockholders make up many of the juries in courts all over America. People outside of our community that don’t know, understand and sometimes even care about the climate and situations that create some of these attitudes spit on wax.
That being said we have to more careful in what we say, especially since these records and music videos are the only real interaction others have with us. We have already seen how reputation alone can convict you when you may be innocent of the charges in cases of Mike Tyson and Tupac. I actually believe both were innocent of the charges the were committed of but their reputation and long history of run-ins with the law convicted them and made the current charges even more believable.
In the history of this country, laws have been changed quite frequently to lock us up and shut us down. And again while this may seem far-fetched right now, don’t sleep. It could take 10 years but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the day. Lastly there is no statue of limitations for some crimes like murder.
So what’s the moral of this story boys and girls: Watch What You Say. You never know whose listening and more importantly when and where your words will come back to haunt ya.
WHAT IF YOU COULD BE CHARGED FOR
THE CRIMES IN YOUR RHYMES???
Back in the days of On The Go Magazine, we held a mock trial in the magazine for all the crimes NWA spit in their rhymes. It was a fun even hilarious editorial but now not that far fetched since they did receive a letter from the FBI almost 20 years ago for the lyrics in F*** Tha Police, which was what originally gave us the idea. That letter then and now proved one thing, they were listening and responded to what they saw as a threat.
Now in the days of Homeland Security and the infamous Hip-Hop Task Force, in every major city, I wondered what would happen if you could be charged for the crimes in your rhymes. The crimes you claim you’ve committed in an effort for street cred and platinum plaques in this keepin’-it-real-era of Hip-Hop. What’s even scarier, what if your recorded raps could be offered into evidence of a rapper on trial, to show his long documented disregard for the law.
The sad part of this whole hypothetical scenario is most have never or will never do half of what they claim in their lyrics. But because you are playing a role and are so convincing in your lyrics one day you may hear an officer of the law say: You Had The Right To Remain Silent, Now Anything You Say or Have Said in Your Rhymes Can Be Used Against You In a Court Of Law.
Just because we stack paper and we ball outrageous Them alphabet boys got us under surveillance
Soul Survivor- Young Jeezy
Think about the lyrics of the most popular records that held a stranglehold over the airwaves that have be released over the last decade of so. How many of these songs lyrics would hold up in a court of law. Look what affect a simple print out of the lyrics to Cop Killer by Ice T’s rock group Body Count did in 1992. The stockholders who just wanted to make a few extra bucks off the music biz, got spooked and several artists were dropped from Warner Brothers Records and all the labels they distribute. The same stockholders make up many of the juries in courts all over America. People outside of our community that don’t know, understand and sometimes even care about the climate and situations that create some of these attitudes spit on wax.
That being said we have to more careful in what we say, especially since these records and music videos are the only real interaction others have with us. We have already seen how reputation alone can convict you when you may be innocent of the charges in cases of Mike Tyson and Tupac. I actually believe both were innocent of the charges the were committed of but their reputation and long history of run-ins with the law convicted them and made the current charges even more believable.
In the history of this country, laws have been changed quite frequently to lock us up and shut us down. And again while this may seem far-fetched right now, don’t sleep. It could take 10 years but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the day. Lastly there is no statue of limitations for some crimes like murder.
So what’s the moral of this story boys and girls: Watch What You Say. You never know whose listening and more importantly when and where your words will come back to haunt ya.
3 comments:
love it.
yours,
maniatv.com
if "emcees" could be convicted of crimes in their rhymes, then maybe "mainstream" wouldnt exist. its only a select few of cats (in my opinion) who are for a lack of a better word "legit."
peace
G.A. Brown
Great article that speaks volume. There are several cases that went before the court that involved rappers lyrics. In fact, a rapper from the West Coast violated his parole for lyrics that promoted gang violence. According to the stipulation of the parole board he could not speak to gang members or have any affiliation.
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