Travis Scott Tells Supreme Court Use of Rap Lyrics in Death Sentence Was Unconstitutional

Courts and Crimes Travis Scott Tells Supreme Court Use of Rap Lyrics in Death Sentence Was Unconstitutional Killer Mike, T.I., Young Thug, Fat Joe, and more also filed a brief arguing that the lyrics were used to "stoke racial and anti-rap bias" By Kory Grow , Charisma Madarang March 9, 2026 Some of rap music’s biggest names have come out in support of a Black man, whose rap lyrics were cited during his sentencing in Texas. He is on death row. In 2009, a nearly all-white jury convicted James Garfield Broadnax of killing two men during a robbery the previous year near Garland, Texas. Prosecutors had eliminated all prospective jurors who were Black. After Broadnax was convicted, prosecutors introduced his lyrics when a determination was being made on whether he should be put to death. During deliberations, the jury asked to review 40 pages of Broadnax’s handwritten lyrics two times, according to The New York Times . Broadnax’s lawyers last month asked the Supreme Court to halt his execution, which is set for next month, and to review his case. One “amici curae” brief was filed on behalf of Killer Mike , T.I., Young Thug, Fat Joe, N.O.R.E., and other artists, music scholars, and arts organizations in support of Broadnax. Travis Scott ‘s legal team filed its own amicus brief with the Supreme Court the same day. Both argued that the use of rap lyrics in the trial was unconstitutional. “The prosecutors argued Mr. Broadnax was likely to be dangerous in the future simply because he engaged in ‘gangster rap,'” read Scott’s brief. “Such an argument functionally operates as a categorical and straightforwardly unconstitutional content-based penalty on rap music as a form of expression.” Moreover, the filing argues, “At a certain level of abstraction, the reality is even more problematic: taking rap music out of context subjects the entire genre to prosecution.” Scott’s brief also argues that rap music, which is “primarily created by and historically associated with minority art...