The Racist Roots Of Rap On Trial | Louder Than A Riot | NPR Music

Mac the Camouflage Assassin. Boosie Badazz. Drakeo the Ruler. Mayhem Mal. Since the 1990s, police and prosecutors have used lyrics to build and try criminal cases against rap artists. It’s weak evidence and lazy prosecution that blurs the distinction between entertainment and criminal confession. And it’s only happening in hip-hop.

From the U.S. government’s policing of jazz and blues to rap lyrics on trial, NPR Music’s Rodney Carmichael and Sidney Madden trace Black music’s criminalized history and lay out the racist implications behind prosecuting hip-hop.

WHAT'S LOUDER THAN A RIOT?
Rhyme and punishment go hand in hand in America. Louder Than A Riot reveals the interconnected rise of hip-hop and mass incarceration. From Bobby Shmurda to Nipsey Hussle, each episode explores an artist's story to examine a different aspect of the criminal justice system that disproportionately impacts Black America. Hosted by NPR Music's Rodney Carmichael and Sidney Madden, this podcast is invested in power from all angles — the power the music industry wields over artists, the power of institutional forces that marginalize communities of color, the power of the prison industrial complex and the power dynamics deep-rooted in the rap game.

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