Bobby Shmurda praised the approval of a New York bill preventing prosecutors from using lyrics in court. The legislation is a victory for Hip-Hop artists like Shmurda, whose hit song “Hot N*gga” played a role in his 2015 arrest.
The law, labeled the “Rap Music on Trial” bill, received support from rappers such as Jay-Z, Meek Mill and Big Sean. Following its passing, Bobby Shmurda spoke to TMZ about the progress being made. However, he also feels that a similar bill should be passed nationwide.
“I’m grateful for it,” the rapper said. “I feel like it needs to happen all around the country, especially [with] what’s going on in Atlanta right now. I feel like rap is targeted the most, and you know, rap is expression. If you look at movies, everything, it’s expression. Rap is just expression, so I feel like it should not be said in court or anything.”
Shmurda is of course referring to the ongoing RICO case against Atlanta rappers Young Thug and Gunna. Some of the evidence used against the two include lyrics from their songs. Bobby Shmurda also argued that male rappers face more scrutiny than female artists when it comes to their lyrics.
“You hear Nicki Minaj, she raps all types of stuff, but nobody gonna point at Nick Minaj or Cardi B because they’re females. But as a young Black male from a neighborhood, he spits this, it feels like, ‘Oh it could be true! This man probably went to college and everything! 2 Chainz went to college!”
He also added that “You should have the freedom to rap anything that you see in your neighborhood, because you’re giving the world things that they don’t see.”
Bobby Shmurda reveals new music
On the music side of things, Bobby revealed that he has two new projects on the way. The first is an EP dropping next month, followed by his album Ready to Live which will release in two months.
The Brooklyn rapper got the hype going with “They Don’t Know,” his first independent release since leaving Epic Records.
Written by Olan Bryant
