Having street credibility has always been something that can lead to success in the rap industry. It now seems that having any affiliation to the streets as an artist can do more harm than good. There is a war against rappers and a blurred line has formed. Separating an artist from their art has become increasingly more difficult in today’s social climate. Many artists claim that their songs are meant to portray a certain lifestyle in order to uphold their brand and image. However, most district attorneys just view incriminating lyrics as self-snitching.

A prime example of a rapper’s art being used against them can be seen in Young Thug. As most people know by now, Young Thug is currently in jail on a R.I.C.O. charge. In the indictment, it can be seen that the district attorney has entered several of Thug’s songs into evidence. A similar thing happened in 2019 to Drakeo the Ruler. While awaiting trial for a murder charge, the Los Angeles district attorney entered lyrics into evidence from his diss song, “Flex Freestyle.” Drakeo the Ruler eventually beat all his charges, but it is not guaranteed that Thugger will have the same fate. An infamous example of an artist’s lyrics being used against them in court was seen in the prosecution of Tay-K when his song, “The Race”, was used to put him in prison on a 55 year sentence. Another artist who served significant time in prison with the help of their lyrics was Bobby Shmurda. Lyrics from his breakout hit song, “Hot N***a” help lead to a police raid that inevitably put Bobby away for over 6 years.

The idea of an artist’s art being used against them to put them in prison raises the question: What about the First Amendment of the Constitution? Freedom of speech and freedom of expression is supposed to protect artists from facing legal consequences for their lyrics, but it appears the First Amendment does not apply to rappers in every county. Being a successful rapper is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, and it only becomes more dangerous when the rapper’s bars are being used to put them behind bars.