Rappers vs The Supreme Court

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Rappers Killer Mike, Chance the Rapper, 21 Savage, and Meek Mill is contributing to an amicus brief (which is when a non involved party in a case submits information relative to the case) that is being submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of Jamal Knox. For those of you who do not know, Pittsburgh rapper Jamal Knox was sentenced to 2 years in prison in 2014 for criminal charges based on the lyrics of his song called "Fuck the Police". In this brief, the rappers advocated for their fellow rapper's First Amendment rights.

Knox' recorded "Fuck the Police" after being arrested in 2012 for gun and drug charges. He was then charged for counts of terroristic threats and witness intimidation for his lyrics about the police in his song. Knox was convicted on all accounts and soon appealed the decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

In the brief submitted by Killer Mike, Chance the Rapper, 21 Savage, and Meek Mill, they declare that Knox's song is a "work of poetry". The rappers claim that this song created by Knox is the perspective of a character in the style of rap music, which can sometimes be portrayed in an exaggerated or violent rhetoric and should not be taken literally.
Killer Mike claims that the use of "rap lyrics" in the Supreme Court is racial profiling. Killer Mike stated "And I can tell you that the lyrics are dark and brutal when Johnny Cash describes shooting a man in Reno just to watch him die and when Ice Cube rapped about a drive-by shooting early in his career”. These rappers claimed that the court, whose average age consisted of 66, is unaware of popular music generally, specifically rap music.
However, the First Amendment does not protect all speech. There are exceptions for libel, incitement, obscenity, fighting words, and "true threats". Officers testified against Knox claiming they felt nervous and fearful for their lives after hearing the lyrics. These exceptions of the First Amendment stated before might be an issue for Knox's in his case.
You can find the brief submitted by famous rappers Killer Mike, Chance the Rapper, 21 Savage, and Meek Mill here. 

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