Opening statements in the long-awaited US gang conspiracy trial targeting rapper Young Thug are due next week -- and the prosecution controversially will be allowed to present rap lyrics as evidence.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act into law on Friday. The bill will limit the use of lyrics as evidence in legal proceedings. Advocates of the bill say using lyrics ...

Since its early days, rap lyrics have been used by prosecutors to build narratives with criminal trials. With the genre's popularity booming, this trend continues to affect aspiring artists and A-list ...

NPR's Adrian Florido speaks with attorney Alexandra Kazarian about the ways in which rap lyrics are used in the criminal justice system. Should the government have the right to police a musician's ...

No one believes that country music legend Johnny Cash shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die. When Cash in 1968 released “Folsom Prison Blues,” a ballad about shooting and killing a man for no ...

Young Thug performs onstage during the 2022 SXSW Conference at Waterloo Park in Austin on March 17, 2022. Young Thug performs onstage during the 2022 SXSW Conference at Waterloo Park in Austin on ...

In Florida, rapper YNW Melly’s double murder retrial looms in 2024. Meanwhile, in Georgia, Young Thug is the latest high-profile hip hop artist to have his lyrics dissected in court. Prior to Melly’s ...