Rap lyrics excluded from evidence in trial over the murder of Run DMC’s Jam Master Jay

A federal judge in Brooklyn barred prosecutors from citing rap lyrics written by Jam Master Jay’s alleged killer during his murder trial.

During the ruling on Tuesday, Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall decided to rule out not only the citing of lyrics, but offered a comprehensive analysis of the practice and the subsequent risks therefore.

The ruling comes amid a broader debate over the admissibility of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal trials, a contentious action that has drawn wide-sweeping backlash from musicians and further efforts by lawmakers to ban the practice.

On Tuesday, federal prosecutors attempted to introduce lyrics penned by Karl Jordan Jr. to corroborate allegations of his role in slaying the Run DMC star, prompting a response from the bench.

In a striking 14-page overview, obtained by Billboard, The Honourable DeArcy Hall wrote: “Courts should be wary of overly permissive rules allowing the use of rap lyrics and videos against criminal defendants at trial.

Music artists should be free to create without fear that their lyrics could be unfairly used against them at a trial.”

Because rappers and hip-hop artists have “played the part of storytellers, providing a lens into their lives and those in their communities,” the judge penned, their music may depict “criminal conduct” and other realities.

However, despite such depictions, Judge DeArcy Hall disagreed with the practice of using rap lyrics as criminal evidence. Citing lyrics by Nas (“two in the dome, he’s laid down”) and the drug-centric Migos track “Modern Day,” among many others, the judge highlighted a wider problem: that rappers, DJs and hip-hop artists not only have the right to tell such stories — as underscored in the the U.S. First Amendment warranting free speech — but are also deliberately incentivised “to create music about drugs and violence to gain commercial success.”

For all cases involving lyrics, Judge DeArcy Hall asserted that the central question should be whether the music in question has a “nexus to the criminal conduct.” If the prosecution is unable to prove that, then the extraction of lyrics must be eschewed.

The trial over Jam Master Jay’s murder in 2002, whereby Jordan and Ronald Washington stand accused of slaying the Run DMC star as retribution for a drug deal gone awry, commenced in a New York courthouse on Monday, with proceedings expected to continue for several weeks.