Rhymes and Crimes: Fourth Circuit Uses Rap Lyrics as Evidence in Drug Trafficking Case

The Fourth Circuit recently upheld the conviction of an Atlanta rapper Kenneth Watkins, who argued that the inclusion of his rap lyrics about drugs unfairly prejudiced the jury in his trial. The upshot is that there is now another thumb on the scale in favor of admitting the lyrics of rappers against them in court, which we’ve recently seen happen to Young Thug.

Watkins operated a recording studio called K3Soundz in Atlanta, Georgia. Steven "Ziggy" Cloud operated a rap record label in Charlotte, North Carolina. The two were allegedly involved in drug dealings. Let’s look at how prosecutors got evidence against them before diving into the appeal.

Cloud Under Investigation

Cloud was implicated in drug dealing through a series of investigative actions and evidence. Investigators suspected Cloud and others involved with his Charlotte-based record label of dealing drugs. They obtained a wiretap for Cloud's cellphone, which revealed his involvement in drug transactions. Specifically, Cloud directed couriers to travel from Charlotte to Atlanta to get pills for him. The evidence introduced at the trial included intercepted calls and the activities of couriers directed by Cloud to travel from Charlotte to Atlanta to obtain pills.

These trips were monitored, and calls intercepted during these trips linked Cloud to the drug deals. For instance, during one trip, a courier named Jonquilla Sanders traveled to Atlanta under Cloud's instructions to pick up pills. During another trip, another courier named Latisha Anderson was stopped by police on her way back to Charlotte. After a drug canine alerted the police of narcotics, they found 8,909 pills in her car inside a Versace box. The pills were later tested and found to contain the controlled substance eutylone, a synthetic drug similar to bath salts.

Watkins Gets Implicated

The wiretap for Cloud’s cellphone also revealed his association with Watkins. It showed communications between Cloud, Watkins, and the couriers, calls which linked Watkins to the drug transactions. For example, during a trip in October of 2020, calls intercepted among Sanders, Cloud, and Watkins indicated that Sanders was obtaining drugs from Watkins in Atlanta. The intercepted communications and the physical evidence found during these trips implicated Cloud in the drug trafficking operation.

At trial, couriers Sanders and Anderson testified about their trips to Atlanta to pick up pills on Cloud’s instructions. Sanders testified that she traveled to Atlanta to pick up pills and gave cash to Watkins, who then provided her with a box assumed to contain pills. The pills from Anderson’s car were later linked to Watkins through intercepted communications.

The evidence showed a pattern of transactions where couriers would travel to Atlanta, meet with Watkins, and return to Charlotte with pills. This pattern, supported by the intercepted calls and courier testimonies, implicated Watkins in the conspiracy with Cloud to distribute controlled substances. The combination of wiretap evidence, courier testimonies, and physical evidence from the drug seizures provided a comprehensive link between Watkins and Cloud in the drug trafficking operation.

Rap Lyrics Introduced as Evidence

Watkins's wife, Kizzy Childs, testified at trial about the defendant’s good character. She described him as a devout Muslim, a good father, and a hardworking individual who would not engage in drug activities. In response, the prosecution sought to challenge this portrayal by questioning Childs about specific lyrics from Watkins’s songs.

The prosecution highlighted lyrics from the song "Don’t Do It," which referenced having more money and guns than others, and from "You Know It," which included the line "I’m a doper, for real." Watkins objected to the relevance of these inquiries. Still, the district court allowed them, reasoning that Childs’s testimony had opened the door to character evidence under Federal Rules of Evidence 404 and 405. The prosecution continued to question Childs about lyrics from other songs, including "Truckloads," which contained references to drug dealing. Despite Watkins’s objections, the court permitted this line of questioning, concluding that it was relevant to rebut the character evidence presented by Childs.

Conviction and Appeal

A federal grand jury in the Western District of North Carolina issued a twenty-three-count superseding indictment naming Watkins as one of many alleged co-conspirators, including Cloud. Watkins was charged with possession of eutylone with the intent to distribute it – a crime under federal law. He pleaded not guilty and proceeded to a three-day trial.

During the trial, Watkins’s defense focused on the testimony of Anderson and other witnesses who purported to corroborate her version of events. Despite the defense’s efforts, the jury convicted Watkins. The district court sentenced Watkins to ten years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $100 fine.

Watkins moved for a judgment of acquittal two weeks after his conviction, which the district court denied. Watkins appealed the conviction to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He raised several objections on appeal, but we’ll focus on two: his challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence and to the admission of his song lyrics as evidence.

Evidence Was Sufficient

Regarding the sufficiency of the evidence, Watkins contended in his appeal that there was insufficient evidence to prove that he knew about the contents of the packages transported by couriers Sanders and Anderson from Atlanta to Charlotte.

Federal Circuit Judge Julius Richardson, who authored the court’s opinion, disagreed. He explained that a jury could infer a defendant's knowledge of a conspiracy from circumstantial evidence, such as the defendant's relationship with other conspirators, the length of association, and the nature of the conspiracy. He reasoned that the jury could reasonably infer Watkins's involvement based on the intercepted calls, the couriers' testimonies, and the pattern of transactions.

Watkins had argued on appeal that the jury should have inferred from his sending $4,500 cash to Cloud during the third trip to Atlanta that he could not have been the source of the drugs. The defendant contended that suppliers do not send cash to buyers, suggesting that this transaction undermined the prosecution's case against him.

The court dismissed this argument. It noted that the jury was not required to believe the testimony that Watkins sent cash to Cloud. Even if the jury did believe it, the court found that the exchange of cash among conspirators, (regardless of the reason) did not undermine the existence or knowledge of a conspiracy. The court emphasized that a longstanding or multifaceted relationship between conspirators can indicate a knowing agreement to distribute drugs. Additionally, the court pointed out that Watkins's argument focused narrowly on the cash transaction, ignoring the broader evidentiary context (such as Sanders's October 16-17 trip).

The judge further pointed out that Watkins's argument essentially asked the court to reweigh the evidence, which is not appropriate for an appellate court to do. He held that the jury was entitled to view the evidence in its entirety and make reasonable inferences about Watkins's involvement in the conspiracy. Ultimately, he ruled that there was sufficient evidence from which a rational jury could have convicted Watkins, and it declined to second-guess the jury's verdict.

Lyrics Admissible as Evidence

Probably the more interesting legal debate was over the admissibility of Watkins's song lyrics as evidence during his trial. On appeal, Watkins had argued that the lyrics should have been excluded as hearsay and improper character evidence. However, the appellate court found that the lyrics were not hearsay because they were Watkins’s own statements and were admissible under Rule 801(d)(2)(A).

Additionally, the appellate judge ruled that the prosecution's inquiries were permissible under Rule 405(a) as they were relevant to assessing the accuracy of Childs' character testimony. He concluded that the district court did not err in allowing the limited inquiry into Watkins's lyrics, as it was a reasonable response to the character evidence introduced by the defense. All in all, the court of appeals let the conviction stand.

This is far from the first time this question has been raised. Most famously and recently, last fall, a Georgia trial court ruled to allow Young Thug's lyrics as evidence in his criminal case, arguing they demonstrate gang affiliation and state of mind. That ruling contrasts with California's recent law limiting the use of creative works as evidence, so the debate is far from settled in the country.

Related Resources:

• What Taylor Swift Can Teach You About Copyrights (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
• Rhymes and Reason: Lyrics as Evidence in Young Thug Trial (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
• Drug Sales and Drug Dealing Charges (FindLaw's Learn About the Law)