Rap videos and lyrics are increasingly being used as evidence in criminal trials in the UK - over 60 cases where “rap evidence” has been used in this way have been identified - presented by prosecutors as autobiographical confessions to crimes, threats of violence or proof of gang affiliation, rather than fictional or greatly exaggerated stories. Enter Prosecuting Rap: Criminal Justice and UK Black Youth Expressive Culture, a research project headed by Eithne Quinn, Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester, networked with other academics and legal professionals, serving as rap expert for the defense in trials, trying to differentiate the menacing musical persona in the song with the young person sitting in the dock. DJ Mag reports on the worthy collective.

London drill rapper Digga D is one of the first musicians in British history to be given a criminal behaviour order that controls his creative output, which means he says to tell the police before releasing any music or videos. If the police conclude it is "inciting or encouraging violence" they can arrest him. The new docu 'Defending Digga D' by the BBC starts on the day he is released from prison after 15 months of being incarcerated, and it follows him through trying to restart his career.

Whatever new music comes out, it’s viewed as the devil’s music. I remember when Elvis came out everybody said he was Satan. And then in the ‘60s and ‘70s he became America’s national treasure. It happens with every new wave of music. Like metal, obviously. The Christians were going mental when Sabbath came about. And then when rap came about, people were up in arms about that and certain words that rappers were using" - Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler says in a Kerrang interview. The thing is he doesn't really like 'WAP', but he, it seems so, defends Cardi B's right to write such a song: "I have to say, though, that Cardi B pisses me off with that WAP song. It’s disgusting! But there you go... Then again, I’m 71. A bloody old goat!”.

Iranian musician Mehdi Rajabian says he was arrested two weeks ago and is facing trial for working with female singers and dancers, BBC reports. His new album, which is not yet complete, is due to include female vocalists - who are effectively banned in Iran. Rajabian says a judge told him his latest project "encouraged prostitution". The 30-year-old has already been imprisoned twice on charges relating to his music.

Okay Player wrote a short history of sex talk by black women in hip-hop, starting with Salt-N-Pepa, Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Missy Elliott, and Trina, going to contemporaries like Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. "Their ministry is for those who want to hear their words, which often incites a camaraderie between free-loving ride-or-dies shaking their asses on one another while rapping along in electrifying praise".

Iranian band Arsames have fled their home country to avoid having to serve a 15-year prison sentence for playing metal music. Arsames insist they don't play satanic music, rather they sing about Persian history - "is it a crime that we love music and our country?!”. Metal is viewed as a Satanic form of music in Iran, which violates the country’s strict blasphemy laws and could result in execution, Loudwire reports.

“When you make a woman feel like she’s the baddest bitch in the room, to me, that’s female empowerment” - Cardi B says in Elle interview about the backlash she got after her latest video 'WAP'. One of the colleagues who didn't appreciate her song was CeeLo Green who first accused her of "salacious gesturing", but afterward apologized saying - "I'm an advocate of artistic freedom and expression as well as a fan of Nicki, Cardi and Megan... I would never disrespect them by any means. I acknowledge them all as powerful, beautiful and influential women… and professionals".

"Political correctness has grown to become the unhappiest religion in the world. Its once honourable attempt to reimagine our society in a more equitable way now embodies all the worst aspects that religion has to offer (and none of the beauty) — moral certainty and self-righteousness shorn even of the capacity for redemption. It has become quite literally, bad religion run amuck" - Nick Cave writes in the latest edition of his Red Hand Files blog, answering to what his idea of mercy is, and what he thinks of cancel culture. "Cancel culture’s refusal to engage with uncomfortable ideas has an asphyxiating effect on the creative soul of a society... We are a culture in transition, and it may be that we are heading toward a more equal society — I don’t know — but what essential values will we forfeit in the process?".

"Although free speech remains the fundamental bedrock of a free society, for everyone to enjoy the benefits of freedom, liberty needs to be tempered by two further dimensions: equality and accountability. Without equality, those in power will use their freedom of expression to abuse and marginalise others. Without accountability, liberty can mutate into the most dangerous of all freedoms – impunity... When reason, respect and responsibility are all under threat, accountability offers us a better foundation on which to build a cohesive society, one where everyone feels that their voice is heard" - musician and activist Billy Bragg wrote in Guardian on the issue of "cancel culture", after an open letter that is decrying cancel culture, signed by 150 academics and writers, has been published. Actor Ricky Gervais joined the discussion saying there are “outrage mobs that take everything out of context” and that "some people have lost their sense of irony". Gervais pressed that free speech was not the same as criticism-free speech - “some people think freedom of speech means, I should be able to say anything without consequences and it doesn’t mean that”.

Behemoth bandleader Adam "Nergal" Darski was in court this week to defend his band's "The Republic of the Unfaithful" logo, which takes its inspiration from the white eagle on Poland's coat of arms. Nergal explains - "They think that copyrights of white eagle is solely owned by Poland and every other interpretation of the bird is a blasphemy. My antagonists seem to be sooo desperate to nail their favorite scapegoat to their rotten moral cross that they missed all the common sense in the narrative".

In recognition of National Gun Violence Awareness Day, Pearl Jam released the uncensored version of their 1992 video for 'Jeremy', one of their most chilling and affecting, and popular songs, based on the real-life suicide of high school student Jeremy Wade Delle, who shot himself in front of his classmates in January 1991. The uncensored version includes the haunting final scene with Jeremy putting a gun in his mouth. “The increase in gun violence since the debut of ‘Jeremy’ is staggering” Pearl Jam wrote in an accompanying social media post, adding - “We can prevent gun deaths whether mass shootings, deaths of despair, law enforcement, or accidental,” the band added".

Lana Del Rey called out fellow female stars Doja Cat, Ariana Grande, Camila Cabello, Cardi B, Kehlani, Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé, who "have had number ones with songs about being sexy, wearing no clothes, f---ing, cheating, etc". On her Instagram post headlined "Questions for the future" she then asked if she can continue singing about her own dark past "without being crucified or saying that I’m glamorizing abuse?”. Del Rey added she liked those singers, and would like to "have some of the same freedom of expression without judgement of hysteria". After being accused of racism, she further explained - "there are certain women that culture doesn’t want to have a voice it may not have to do with race I don’t know what it has to do with".

Spain’s Constitutional Court overturned a previous verdict by the country's Supreme Court that found rapper César Strawberry guilty of exalting terrorism and humiliating victims of attacks in tweets. César Montana Lehmann of the Def Con Dos rock band had been sentenced to one year in prison for a series of tweets in 2013 and 2014 in which he talked about sending a cake bomb to former King Juan Carlos I on his birthday and said that some politicians made him long for a former armed leftist group. César was also banned from holding any public position for more than six years. The Constitutional Court said Tuesday that the guilty ruling violated the singer’s free speech rights.

Turkish authorities in Istanbul have detained Amir Tataloo, real name Amirhossein Maghsoudloo after he was flagged as a wanted person by Interpol. A popular but controversial figure in Iran, the rapper is known for his outspoken criticism of the country's government. Police said Iran's judicial authorities had made the request for Tataloo's arrest "for encouraging citizens, especially young people, to use drugs, especially psychotropic drugs, and for spreading corruption."

Moroccan rapper Gnawi was handed a one-year prison sentence Monday by a judge for insulting the police and the king in an unusually outspoken video exposing their country's problems with migration and drugs, Reuters reports. Moroccan authorities have said Gnawi's arrest was prompted by an earlier video in which he insulted the police, a crime […]

19 Turkish musicians got together and made a rap epic 'Susamam' (stands for "I Can’t Stay Silent"), a 14-verse manifesto about social issues, ranging from domestic violence to animal rights and police brutality. One of the authors of the song Şanişer told the Guardian - “I’m a ‘white Turk’, we’re the people who had the […]

London drill rapper Rico Racks has been jailed for three years for drug offences and issued with an order that forbids him from rapping words such as bandoe, trapping, Booj, connect, shotting, whipping and Kitty - all colloquial terms associated with dealing drugs. It also bans him from possessing articles linked to drug dealing and […]

Atlanta country band Confederate Railroad were supposed to perform at the Du Quoin State Fair in Illinois, as part of “90s Country ReLoaded Day,” but after people started to question their name they were removed from the lineup, Brooklyn Vegan reports. Du Quoin State Fair manager Josh Gross said - "While every artist has a right to […]

British punk band Killdren have been kicked out of Glastonbury after criticism of their song 'Kill Tory Scum', which includes the lyric: "Tory genocide is the perfect outcome". The two-piece rave-punk band defended the song as a "crude" satire, and have accused Glastonbury of "buckling under pressure from the right-wing media". The band explains the […]