Fulton County judge to decide if lyrics can be used as evidence in YSL trial

ATLANTA — Rap itself took center stage Monday afternoon, as a judge decides if lyrics can be evidence of crimes or just art.

Channel 2’s Michael Seiden was at the Fulton County courthouse.

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Dr. Adam Dunbar, a college professor who conducted several studies on rap lyrics and the potential impact they could have on a jury took the stand, testifying about some of the findings he’s made in recent years.

“I told participants, ‘Look you’re going to read a set of lyrics and then you’re going to have to make some judgments about the author of those lyrics’,” Dubar explained. “Participants were randomly assigned to learn that the lyrics were either rap, country, or heavy metal.”

Defense attorneys for rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, have argued rap music is on trial. Essentially claiming that prosecutors took portions of Young Thug’s songs to help build their case against him and his alleged associates.

But prosecutors say the songs support their allegations and that Young Thug was the head of YSL, an alleged criminal street gang accused of committing violent crimes across the city.

Defense attorneys call those claims baseless and claim YSL stands for Young Stoner Life, Williams record label.

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Monday in court, prosecutors criticized the professor’s research methods.

“So, you didn’t feel for studies about rap, you needed to include more than 4%, of Black people,” Betsey Weintraub asked. “Why? Why not go to a different platform to find more people? Different platforms aren’t necessarily better with balancing racial demographics.”

The defense is expected to call several other witnesses, most of whom are considered experts in hip-hop lyrics.

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