Kevron Evans is currently sitting in jail after a raid of his East Baltimore home turned up 160 heroin gel caps, according to police. The Baltimore Sun reports that to get the warrant, Det. Daniel Hersl described YouTube music videos that feature Evans rapping as Young Moose and include Evans and others carrying guns. Hersl also included a reference to Young Moose’s lyrics which, the detective wrote, are “about distributing narcotics, violence and using a firearm to commit violence.” Sounds like a lot of rap lyrics I know.
Rap lyrics are increasingly being used in criminal prosecutions across the country, and it’s a contentious issue everywhere. In 2003, lyrics were used to prosecute Ronell Wilson, who was found guilty of murdering two undercover detectives. Whereas, in August, Vonte Skinner saw his attempted murder conviction overturned by the New Jersey Supreme Court because the court found that Skinner’s rap lyrics should never have been used in the trial, as they constituted “highly prejudicial evidence.”
Since Evans’s arrest, fans have been commiserating and anticipating his release with the hashtags #freemoose and #freeyoungmoose.
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It seems like the lyrics are enough to justify a search warrant when coupled with the YouTube. If I produced a rap about bombing the Inner Harbor, and then had videos of me with bomb material, I’m sure I could expect a raid on my house. Right? What is the civil liberty issue?
Hell if the cops are locking up rappers based on lyrics & videos every rapper out there should be in jail right now
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