Art or threat? Rappers weigh in on song that led to criminal charges against high schooler

A teenager faces criminal charges for a rap video he allegedly posted to YouTube threatening his teacher. Rappers say he messed up but likely didn't know any better.

The 15-year-old from Gray faces a charge of public Intimidation, R.S. 14:122, for the song "[Expletive] Central Lafourche," a diss track that is described by some as a mumble rap song. The singer says he cannot receive an education at the high school because teachers give him failing grades, and he airs his grievances by insulting each one by name, as well as instances where law enforcement allege amount to threats of violence. The song has since been removed from YouTube.

The instances where he alludes to violence range from shooting, smacking, using his penis, and using his "blick" to hit one.

"…Instead of givin' me an A, that [expletive] she live across the street, you know I got you dead. That [expletive] you know you're always giving me F's, you fixin' to take my hands. Now [expletive] I'm fixin' to catch you lackin', shoot you up under the [indecipherable]," The rap song said. "[Expletive] all the teachers, I swear that I'ma beat ya… I'ma hit ya with this blick that's in my pants."

According to the Urban Dictionary, a blick could refer to a gun or a penis. Urban Dictionary provides examples of each.

The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office has formally charged the high schooler. The charges will go to the Lafourche Parish District Attorney's Office, who will decide the next step. This includes pursuing the current charges, amending the charges or dismissing the charges altogether.

Houma-based rappers Jalen Quinn and Cody "1200 Slim" Robinson agreed that the teen shouldn't have named the teachers so specifically but said he's young and likely didn't know any better.

Both rappers said the history of diss tracks was about publicly mocking another person — often a fellow rapper — and showing that the singer was more talented than the target of his or her ridicule. Some diss tracks would result in non-violent back-and-forth, like the famous "No Vaseline" by Ice Cube, while others became much more personal and took a darker turn — "Truth" by Gucci Mane, for example.

The reality, Quinn said, is that the teen probably didn't mean it as a real threat, but at 15, he could have a firearm.

"That's just a kid that wasn't thinking, for real," Quinn said. "Anybody hearing their name, followed by something crazy, is going to feel a certain way… and to anybody who don't know what a diss song is, they might take that as a threat."

About 29 other songs were uploaded to the YouTube channel that hosted [Expletive] Central Lafourche within the past week, and one of the album covers had a picture of a handgun with an extended ammunition magazine.

Jackson listened to the song, and some of the others on the account, and said the songs he heard came off as unrefined freestyles — songs made up in the moment. According to Jackson, what this incident shows is how technology has changed things because now a teen can publish music just like anyone else. Adults should consider that before coming to any conclusions, he said.

"I mean, he's 15. Think about it, any one of us could have been 15 years old, what we would have said if we would've had our microphone and going to school. You feel what I'm saying?" he said.

The thrust of the teen's song was that he wanted a better education, Jackson said, and then added that he hoped the teen wouldn't be put in a juvenile detention center because he would be denied the education he sought.

"He's not talking about dropping out, he's talking about switching schools," Jackson added. "He ain't saying he's about to drop out to be a gangsta. He's saying, 'Man, I'm about to switch schools because y'all trash.'"

Rap as a genre has been increasingly showing up in legal cases and Jackson said he worried that the genre itself would be used against the teen. The musical genre is an art form, and as such is granted many protections under the First Amendment. But the law does recognize limitations, Louisiana State University Criminal Law Professor Ken Levy explained.

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According to Levy, this case has similarities with Elonis vs. United States, where Anthony "Tone Dougie" Elonis posted a rap song to his Facebook page that his ex-wife considered a threat. The case became an intent-versus-interpretation argument.

Levy said there are important distinctions, such as this is state law, not federal law, and also that the Supreme Court has made a ruling since that lowered the burden of proof to recklessness.

"Recklessness is a conscious disregard — in this case — of a risk of causing somebody to be scared, frightened, or intimidated," he said. "The question is going to be, in this case, do these lyrics qualify as a true threat."

Levy said the defense would likely try to make the case that the song was art and it wasn't meant as a real threat, and prosecutors would argue he really did intend it or that he recklessly scared the teacher. Levy said external evidence would likely be needed to show the context of the alleged threats.

"True threats are not protected by the First Amendment but artistic expression is," Levy said. "So this is right at the intersection of that. Given the trend, my sense is that courts following the Supreme Court are going to treat this as a true threat rather than protected art."

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Art or threat? Song results in criminal charges against teenager