Rapper Must Have All Songs Approved by US Government

In what AV Club calls a "bizarre" court ruling, a US rapper has been ordered to submit his future songs for approval by the federal government before they are released, at least until his sentence in a criminal case has been served. The situation revolves around rapper BG (short for "Baby Gangsta"), born Christopher Dorsey and a former member of the Cash Money Records group Hot Boys along with fellow New Orleans rappers Lil Wayne and Juvenile. Dorsey was in 2012 sentenced to 14 years on illegal gun possession charges, and is currently on supervised release. Prosecutors wanted Dorsey to be barred "from promoting and glorifying future gun violence/murder" in his songs or at his shows while he is on supervised release, but the judge denied that request in a mixed ruling, the Guardian reports.

The judge ruled that such a ban could violate Dorsey's free speech rights, but he did order the rapper to submit his songs to the government moving forward. If the lyrics are found to be inconsistent with Dorsey's rehabilitation goals, prosecutors could request that the terms of the rapper's supervised release be made more strict. Dorsey was arrested in March after performing at a concert in Las Vegas, where he currently lives, alongside Boosie and Gucci Mane, who have felony convictions—one typical condition of supervised release is no unnecessary association with felons. Dorsey was released after his attorneys pointed out that halfway house monitors had given him permission, but prosecutors then made their request that he be barred from glorifying violence in the future, prompting his return to court. The case has big implications for the movement against using rap lyrics as evidence in criminal trials; more on that here. (More rapper stories.)