Another Rapper Has His Own Rap Lyrics Used Against Him
You may have heard about the charges that have been brought against rapper Tiny Doo (real name Brandon Duncan) in San Diego, Calif. Duncan is accused of promoting murders carried out by a criminal street gang in his album "No Safety," which features a picture of a gun and bullets on the cover. From the LA Times:
Prosecutors say that shows that Duncan fits the legal definition of a gang member who "willfully promotes, furthers, or assists in any felonious criminal conduct by members of that gang."
Duncan's lawyer, Brian Watkins, disagrees:
The evidence against Duncan, Watkins said, consists of his rap album and pictures on a social media page of him and several other defendants. The latter is not surprising, he said, given the fact Duncan grew up in San Diego in a neighborhood with gang members.
Duncan's album does not encourage violence, Watkins said.
"It's no different than Snoop Dogg or Tupac," he said. "It's telling the story of street life," with gritty details and obscenity-filled language.
Duncan is just the latest rapper to have his music used against him in a criminal proceeding, a troubling trend that only seems to be increasing across the country. Reason TV featured the story of Deandre Mitchell (Rap name is Laz Tha Boy) and the grand jury proceeding that featured three of his rap videos and no physical evidence he had committed two acts of attempted murder. For more watch Artist or Killer? Why Rap is on Trial.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?