Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Hugh McIntyre covers music, with a focus on the global charts. Hip-hop is bigger than ever, as it’s the most-consumed genre of ...

The nonprofit organization Free Our Art is partnering with elected officials, educators, and music industry organizations to combat the criminalization of rap. Together, they’re advocating for the ...

No one believes that country music legend Johnny Cash shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die. When Cash in 1968 released “Folsom Prison Blues,” a ballad about shooting and killing a man for no ...

"The portrayal of rap lyrics as literal expressions of criminal intent ignores the longstanding tradition of adopting personas, exaggeration, and hyperbole for artistic effect," writes the NJLJ Young ...

WHAT EVIDENCE IS ALLOWED IN COURT. THE DECRIMINALIZING ARTISTIC EXPRESSION ACT WAS PASSED INTO LAW IN 2022. IT LIMITS THE USE OF RAP LYRICS IN CRIMINAL PROSECUTION AND GIVES ARTISTS NEW TOOLS TO ...