Judge Rules BG Must Have Lyrics Approved By Government

by Cedric ‘BIG CED’ Thornton

July 3, 2024

Prosecutors wanted to prohibit the rapper “from promoting and glorifying future gun violence/murder” in songs and at performances, but judge issues different decision

New Orleans native recording artist BG, known for his hit recordings at the onset of Cash Money Records in the 1990s when he was a member of the Hot Boys, has to have lyrics to future songs approved by the government, a judge recently ruled.

According to The Guardian, prosecutors wanted to prohibit the rapper “from promoting and glorifying future gun violence/murder” in songs and at performances while he is on supervised release from prison. U.S. District Court Judge Susie Morgan disagreed with that provision and ruled that doing so could violate his constitutional right to free speech. Yet, she did state that going forward, BG must give the government copies of any future writings before he produces and promotes the song. This way, if the government feels that the lyrics written are not meeting the goals of his rehabilitation, prosecutors can alter the terms of his supervised release.

This ruling happened several months after he was arrested following a show where he performed with other convicted felons, Gucci Mane and Boosie Bad Azz, in Las Vegas. He was charged with violating the conditions of his probation.

Another condition of his release is getting permission from the court to be associated with anyone who was previously convicted of any felony charges. Boosie and Gucci Mane are both convicted felons. Gucci Mane pled guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon back in 2014. Boosie was arrested last June by federal agents for allegedly possessing a gun as a felon.

BG is required to get permission from the court to associate with convicted felons, and did not do so before he performed with the two recording artists in February.

Rolling Stone reported that BG was serving 12 years of a 14-year sentence when he was released in September. He pleaded guilty to federal weapons charges after being arrested in 2009. He was stopped, along with two others, by police officers in New Orleans at the time. There were allegedly three guns and a loaded magazine discovered in the car, which was also reported stolen.

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