*Bobby Shmurda wants the newly passed “Rap Music on Trial” bill in New York to be adopted throughout the nation.
New York’s state Senate passed the bill that would limit the use of “creative expression” as evidence of a crime in court. The bill, however, will not ban song lyrics from being used as evidence, BET reports.
According to Pitchfork, Senate Bill S7527 which was sponsored by senators Jamaal Bailey and Brad Hoylman, “would not ban prosecutors from presenting lyrics or other material to a jury, but would require them to show that the work is “literal, rather than figurative or fictional.”
Bobby Shmurda joins Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Killer Mike, Fat Joe, Robin Thicke, and several other artists who have each publicly supported the bill.
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The bill now makes it harder for prosecutors to use rapper’s lyrics about violence and committing murders in criminal cases related to RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) and more, Uproxx reports.
“I’m grateful for it,” Bobby Shmurda said of the newly passed law in an interview with TMZ. “I feel like it needs to happen all over the country, especially with what’s going on in Atlanta right now. I feel like rap is targeted the most. Rap is expression you know? If you look at movies, everything is expression, so rap is an expression. I feel sometimes like it shouldn’t be said in court or anything.”
Bobby’s lyrics were used in court during a gun-related case that saw him spend seven years in prison for weapons and murder conspiracy charges. He was released last year.
“I feel like it limits art, it limits what it does. When they say that the rap can be used against you, it limits your art because sometimes people just want to be free,” the rapper continued.
You can listen to Bobby’s comments in the video here.
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