Judge: No rap lyrics can be used against suspect in Jam Master Jay murder
Pedestrians pass a mural, by artist Art1Airbrush, of rap pioneer Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, on Aug. 18, 2020, in the Queens borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
(WISH) — Rap lyrics cannot be used against the man accused in the murder of a legendary DJ, a judge has ruled.
According to The Associated Press, the man accused of killing Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay can’t have his rap lyrics used against him at trial, a Brooklyn judge decided Tuesday in a ruling that doubled as a history-filled paean to hip-hop as “a platform for expression to many who had largely been voiceless.”
The ruling came in response to an attempt by federal prosecutors to introduce lyrics penned by Karl Jordan Jr. as evidence of his role in gunning down Jay, a pioneering artist whose birth name was Jason Mizell. His 2002 death remains one of rap’s most infamous slayings.
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