On September 30th, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act, which, per the LA Times, “limits the ways an artist’s lyrics can be used against them as evidence in criminal cases.”⁠ ⁠ ⁠ What it means is lyrics can’t just be used as evidence: prosecutors need to prove a lyric’s relevance: Does it show “factual details” about the crime that was committed? Was it written around the same time the crime took place? This is a huge win for rap and hip-hop artists who have been unfairly targeted for their lyrics.