A New York man was just put in jail for rap lyrics he allegedly wrote as a teen
LatestSean Chung, a 20-year-old from Queens, New York, was arrested in late February for posting a YouTube video wherein he rapped allegedly threatening lyrics about Richard Brown, the District Attorney for Queens County.
In the video titled “KAR” posted in November, Chung rapped the line, “Tell the judge to get off my cock/put the DA in a box.” Chung was already out on bail for murder and conspiracy charges from 2014; following the video. he was remanded to Rikers Island.
Chung’s lawyer, Audrey Thomas, told the New York Daily News that Chung wrote the lyrics to the song two years, when Chung was just 18.
“The song predates his arrest. He’s been rapping since he was 15, he was arrested at 18,” Thomas, who is planning to appeal the arrest on Monday, told the Daily News. “Whatever happened to the First Amendment?”
Back in 2014, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that rap lyrics couldn’t be used as evidence unless they bore a strong connection to details of the accused crime.
Gothamist reports Chung still faces up to 25 years for the aforementioned murder and conspiracy charges.
Michael Rosen is a reporter for Fusion based out of Oakland.