Rap lyrics excluded from evidence in Jam Master Jay murder trial

BROOKLYN (CN) — Rap lyrics and videos from one of the men accused of killing Run-DMC member Jam Master Jay will not be permitted into evidence, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

Federal prosecutors asked the court for permission to include two songs — “Aim for the Head” and “Silver Spoon” — performed by Karl Jordan Jr. under his stage name “Yadi” or “Young Yadi.”

Jordan is accused alongside Ronald Washington of conspiring to kill Jason “Jay” Mizell, or Jam Master Jay, after being cut out of a drug deal. Another man, Jay Bryant, was also charged in connection with the murder last year but will be tried separately.

On Oct. 30, 2002, Mizell was found dead with a gunshot wound in the back of his head. Another man, Tony Rincon, had been shot in the leg and was found curled up on the couch when police arrived at the scene.

U.S. District Judge LeShann DeArcy Hall, a Barack Obama appointee, denied the request for the inclusion of the two songs Tuesday, warning that courts should be wary of “overly permissive rules” allowing rap lyrics and videos to be used against criminal defendants at trial.

“Some of the themes of violence and criminality have become so prevalent within the genre that they have little, if any, probative value at trial,” Hall said in her order. “Music artists should be free to create without fear that their lyrics could be unfairly used against them at a trial.”

While Hall said rap lyrics are sometimes permitted as evidence in court, she added it’s important to consider the balance between its value as evidence and the danger of unfair prejudice.

“Of particular relevance here, rap artists have become increasingly incentivized to create music about drugs and violence to gain commercial success and will exaggerate or fabricate the contents of their music in pursuit of that success,” Hall said.

She pointed to the artist Future, who continues to portray himself as a drug abuser through his lyrics after announcing his sobriety.

Prosecutors argued that the lyrics in Jordan’s songs should be used because they directly address issues in this case.

In “Aim for the Head,” prosecutors point to the lyrics: “I aim for the head, I ain’t a body shooter” and “we aim for the head, no body shots, and we stick around just to see the body drop.”

But Hall aren’t specific enough to warrant their inclusion at trial.  

“Jordan’s lyrics do not mention Mizell, the recording studio in which Mizell was killed, the other shooting victim, or any alleged accomplices,” Hall said in her order.

In “Silver Spoon”, Jordan raps about “breaking down bricks,” which prosecutors say references his drug distribution activities.

In dispute, Hall said the term “breaking down bricks” is often used in rap songs, in reference to repackaging kilograms of drugs to distribute in smaller quantities. She pointed to the rap group Migos, who uses the term throughout their song “Modern Day.”

The lyrics the federal government requested to include as evidence, Hall concluded, don’t include a “factual nexus” between the content of rap music and claims made against Jordan.

“Juries, too, should not be placed in the unenviable position of divining a defendant’s guilt, in whole or in part, from a musical exposition with only a tenuous relationship to the criminal conduct alleged,” Hall said.

John Diaz, an attorney for Jordan, praised Hall’s decision Tuesday.

“It’s a great decision. It’s a great ruling,” Diaz told Courthouse News. “I think the judge did a really great job in putting the issue in cultural context.”

William Eagan, who worked for the New York City Police Department’s Street Narcotics Engagement Unit, was also called to the stand Tuesday. As the first officer on the scene the night of Mizell’s murder, he described what he saw when first entering the Queens recording studio where the hip-hop legend was shot.

When he first walked in, Eagan said he saw Mizell’s body on the floor in front of a green couch where Rincon was curled up with a gunshot wound in his leg. He also noted the TV had the “John Madden” football video game playing.

After first assessing the scene, he said he ruled out the witnesses as potential suspects.

“It just didn’t seem like anyone was a threat,” Eagan said.

Michael Houston, an attorney for Jordan, asked Eagan on cross-examination if he remembers asking Rincon where the shooters had gone.

When pressed on if he asked Rincon about where they had gone, Eagan continued to say he didn’t remember.

“You’re the first officer on the scene,” Houston said. “Where they’d gone to, you didn’t try to get that information?”

The defendants face a minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum of life in prison. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York will not seek the death penalty, as directed by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.

Follow @NikaSchoonover

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