Appeals Court Upholds Rapper's Conviction, Allows Lyrics as Evidence
An appeals court affirmed Bankroll Freddie's drug trafficking and gun possession conviction, keeping his 12-and-a-half-year prison sentence intact. The court ruled that his rap lyrics, including lines from 'The Last Real Trap Rapper' and 'Hot,' were relevant evidence at trial. Freddie's attorneys had argued the lyrics reflected an artistic persona, but the court disagreed.
The Eighth Circuit panel noted that only specific lyric excerpts tied to drug terminology were admitted at trial, not full songs, and that the clips contained no irrelevant or inflammatory material. The conviction also rested on wiretapped phone calls and evidence seized during a traffic stop, which prosecutors used alongside the rap verses to establish knowledge of drug-related language.
The ruling underscores a divide between state and federal courts on this issue. Several states have restricted or banned lyric evidence in local prosecutions, but federal cases like Gladney's—and Lil Durk's ongoing murder-for-hire trial—continue to allow it. The RAP Act, which would prohibit the practice nationwide, has repeatedly stalled in Congress.
This ruling could shape how federal prosecutors approach artistic expression in future cases, potentially discouraging rappers from writing candidly about street life for fear of legal consequences. It may also intensify concerns about racial bias in the justice system, since hip-hop lyrics face scrutiny that other genres rarely encounter. Artists and civil liberties advocates could respond by pushing harder for legislative protections or challenging such evidence on broader constitutional grounds.