ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A bill safeguarding creative expression for artists in court has passed both chambers and is awaiting the signature of Governor Wes Moore.
The PACE (Protecting Artists' Creative Expression) Act, also known as House Bill 687, prohibits lyrics from being admitted against artists unless the court makes specified findings.
Those findings include:
• the defendant or respondent intended the creative expression to be literal, rather than figurative or fictional, or if the creative expression is derivative, the defendant intended to adopt the literal meaning of the creative expression as their own;
• there is a close temporal and factual nexus between the creative expression and the alleged offense;
• the creative expression is relevant to a disputed issue of fact; and
• the probative value of the creative expression outweighs its prejudicial effect.
The legislation is seen as a hallmark bill for artists, specifically rappers, in Maryland who have been seeking these protections.
The use of lyrics as evidence in court has become even more prevalent in recent years, especially in hip-hop cases.
Recent instances include the RICO case against rapper Young Thug, who is also known as Jeffrey Lamar Williams.
According to ABC News, Williams was charged in May 2022 with one count each of conspiring to violate the state of Georgia's RICO Act and participating in criminal street gang activity.
Prosecutors alleged that Williams was the co-founder and "proclaimed leader" of the alleged criminal street gang "Young Slime Life," or YSL.
Evidence used to further the prosecution's case came from Williams' lyrics, which sparked national outrage from First Amendment advocates and hip-hop artists and producers.
Williams would eventually plead guilty to gang-related charges in October 2024, being sentenced to 15 years of probation.
Another instance stemmed from the high-profile rap battle between rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
Drake sued Universal Music Group in January 2025 for defamation, stating that the label intentionally published and promoted Lamar's diss record "Not Like Us," knowing it contained "false and defamatory insinuations" about Drake having alleged sexual relations with minors.
According to ABC News, a judge ruled that the record was an opinion that "would not incline the reasonable listener to believe that 'Not Like Us' imparts verifiable facts about the plaintiff."
"'Not Like Us' is replete with profanity, trash-talking, threats of violence, and figurative and hyperbolic language, all of which are indicia of opinion," the judge wrote at the time. "A rap diss track would not create more of an expectation in the average listener that the lyrics state sober facts instead of opinion than the statements at issue in those cases."
Drake's case was later dismissed on October 9, which he subsequently appealed.
With the legislation now awaiting Governor Moore's signature, Maryland would become the third state to protect artists' lyrics.
