SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Friday that bars prosecutors from using rap lyrics and other forms of creative art as evidence in court, a measure intended to prevent attorneys from creating bias against defendants.
The law by Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, became known in the Capitol as the “rap lyrics” bill because of the long history of hip-hop artists facing scrutiny in court over their music.
Sacramento rap artists X-Raided and Lavish D each faced criminal trials in which prosecutors used their music to depict them as gang leaders. X-Raided spent 26 years prison after being convicted in the killing of a Meadowview community activist in 1994. Lavish D in 2015 was sentenced to six years in prison on gun charges.
