Democrats Jamaal Brown(New York) and Hank Johnson(Georgia) introduced a bill called the RAP Act (Restoring Artistic Protection) to ban the use of lyrics as evidence in court. The bill comes directly on the heels of the arrests of Young Thug and Gunna in a RICO case that swept through Atlanta a few months ago.

Rep. Bowman made a statement saying, “Our judicial system disparately criminalizes Black and brown lives, including Black and brown creativity.” He continued, “We cannot imprison our talented artists for expressing their experiences nor will we let their creativity be suppressed.” The RAP Act will suppress prosecutors and lawyers’ ability to use song lyrics to incriminate artists.

Rep. Johnson also said, “Freedom of speech is the constitutional foundation the framers thought necessary to enable a new and free society to craft not only its own destiny through commerce and innovations, but through culture, expression, and art.”