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24 J. Gender Race & Just. 207 (2021)
Bars behind Bars: Rap Lyrics, Character Evidence, and State v. Skinner

handle is hein.journals/jgrj24 and id is 215 raw text is: Bars Behind Bars Bars Behind Bars: Rap Lyrics, Character Evidence, and State v. Skinner Vidhaath Srnpathi I. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................. 207 II. BACKGROUND .............................................................................................. 209 A. History and Development of Rap Music in Popular Culture ..... 210 1. Origins of Rap and Hip-Hop Music ....................................... 211 2. Gangsta Rap and Hip-Hop's Commercial Success................ 213 3. Censorship of Rap M usic....................................................... 214 4. Rap as Mainstream-The Most Popular Genre in the Country .................................................................................. 216 5. Existing Racial and Cultural Perceptions of Rap Music ........ 218 B. Character Evidence: Rule 404 of the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) ............................................................................ 219 1. History and Purpose of the Character Evidence Rules .......... 219 2. Applying the Character Evidence Rules to Rap Music.......... 221 a. Prejudicial effect of rap music on juries ......................... 222 b. Judicial approaches ........................................................ 223 C. Criminal Justice Issues in Iowa and Their Impact on Rap Lyrics as Character Evidence ...................................................... 226 1. Racial Disparity in the Iowa Criminal Justice System........... 226 2. Iowa and the Use of Rap Lyrics as Character Evidence ........ 228 III. ANALYSIS ................................................................................................... 229 A. Iowa's Current Approach is Limited............................................ 230 B. Iowa's Legislature Should Amend Rule 404(b) to Reflect State v. Skinner...................................................................................... 231 C. Impact of Amended Iowa Rule 5.404(b) on Iowa Jurisp rudence ............................................................................... 233 IV. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 234 I. INTRODUCTION In the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ah- maud Arbery, the Black Lives Matter movement inspired a global reckoning over racial injustice and mobilized one of the largest civil rights actions in 207

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