The Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act was introduced in the House this week — a step toward further protecting the First Amendment rights of artists.
On Wed. July 27th, Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) introduced the Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act into the House of Representatives in an effort to protect the First Amendment rights of artists nationwide by putting a stop to the use of an artist's lyrics as evidence in criminal and civil proceedings.
Upon the bill's introduction, Rep. Johnson and Rep. Bowman released a joint statement outlining the importance of passing this legislation.
As they pointed out, "The First Amendment guarantees the right to freedom of expression. But freedom of expression is stifled when safeguards are not in place to ensure that an artist's art is not wrongfully used as evidence against that artist. The RAP Act puts those safeguards in place to ensure that First Amendment protection is a reality for all artists in America."
While this issue has been taken up in various states — including efforts supported by the Recording Academy like AB 2799, the Decrimializing Artistic Expression Act, in California — the RAP Act is the first of its kind at the federal level, and one necessary to upholding every creator's right to artistic expression.
As of 2020, there have been more than 500 instances of prosecutors using lyrics against an artist during trial. Most recently, GRAMMY winner and four-time nominee Young Thug and two-time GRAMMY nominee Gunna have come under the microscope for the use of their lyrics in criminal charges filed against them.
Recording Academy CEO, Harvey Mason jr., and Chair of the Recording Academy's Black Music Collective, Rico Love, released a statement in support of this monumental bill:
"Today's introduction of the RAP Act in the House of Representatives is a crucial step forward in the ongoing battle to stop the weaponization of creative expression as a prosecution tactic," they stated. The bias against rap music has been present in our judicial system for far too long, and it's time we put an end to this unconstitutional practice.
"We extend our gratitude to Representatives Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) for their leadership on this issue," they continued, "and we will continue to work closely with them to advance the protections in this bill that ensure all artists can create freely without fear of their work being criminalized."
