Abstract
Intellectual property law reaches every aspect of the world, society, and creativity. Sometimes, creative expression is at the very crux of societal conflict and change. Through its history, rap music has demonstrated passionate creative expression, exploding with emotion and truths. Now the most popular musical genre in America, rap has always shared—and consistently critiqued—disproportionate effects of the criminal legal system on Black communities. The world is increasingly hearing these tunes with special acuity and paying more attention to the lyrics. Virtually every music recording artist would consider the following numbers a major career achievement: 500 percent increase; 222 percent growth; 25 percent market share. But these are not recorded music sales or revenue numbers. Rather, they are statistics that make the U.S. number one in the world in incarceration.
Repository Citation
Andrea L. Dennis,
The Music of Mass Incarceration
Landslide 14
(2020),
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/fac_artchop/1391