As the genre grew, the assault on rap shifted from public condemnation to criminal prosecutions. In the 1990s, prosecutors began using rap lyrics as evidence of criminality against Black artists.

The Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act restricts the use of rap lyrics during criminal trials in the state Brenton Blanchet is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. He has been working at PEOPLE since ...

Henley was the leader of a nonprofit known as Developing Options, which was marketed as a youth program that offered teens alternative choices to gang violence, drugs, and other criminal activity.