A federal judge has ruled that rapper BG, also known as Christopher Dorsey, must submit future song lyrics to the US government before production or promotion while stopping short of outright banning content related to gun violence or murder.
The decision came after prosecutors requested restrictions on Dorsey’s artistic output as part of his supervised release from prison. While Judge Susie Morgan refused to impose a blanket ban on certain themes in Dorsey’s music, citing potential First Amendment violations, she did implement a system of oversight.
Under the new arrangement, Dorsey must provide federal authorities with copies of his songs prior to their release. If the content is deemed inconsistent with his rehabilitation goals, prosecutors can seek to modify the terms of his supervised release.
This condition has, not surprisingly, been met with a lot of concern about potential infringements on artistic expression and free speech. However, Dorsey’s attorneys David Z. Chesnoff and Billy Gibbens clarified that the condition does not mean that BG’s future lyrics would need to be court-approved before they are released.
“Mr. Dorsey is pleased that the Honorable Court found he did not violate the terms of his supervision and would not restrict his artistic work by ordering his lyrics to be controlled by the government,” the lawyers wrote in a statement . “He intends on resuming his career consistent with the court order.”
The court document’s language does not outright say it would need to approve the rapper’s future work, instead suggesting that the court will monitor the lyrics of any song he writes and reserve the right to modify conditions of his supervised release when necessary.
“To address the legitimate concerns expressed by the Government, the Court will impose a special condition that the Defendant provide the United States Probation Office with a copy of the lyrics of any song he writes, in advance of his production or promotion of such song,” according to the court order. “The Government may, if it deems necessary and appropriate, file another motion for leave to file a rule to show cause why the Defendant’s conditions of supervised release should not be modified because the Defendant’s conduct is inconsistent with the goals of rehabilitation.”
BG, a former member of the Hot Boys group alongside Lil Wayne and Juvenile, was released from prison in 2023 after serving a 14-year sentence for illegal gun possession. His sentence was reduced to time served in January, and his two-year supervised release started on February 1.
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