MIKEY GOES TO D.C.

Rappers Brief SCOTUS on Free Speech

Killer Mike, Big Boi, and T.I. defend suspended teen.

Hip-hop stars Killer Mike, T.I., and Big Boi filed an amicus brief Monday requesting the Supreme Court hear the case of a student who was suspended from his Mississippi high school for recording a song that alleged two coaches had engaged in sexual misconduct with female students. The teenage rapper Taylor Bell, who goes by stage name T-Bizzle, was suspended from school in 2011 for the song. Killer Mike and the other rappers, with assistance from free-speech lawyers and professors, will attempt to give the Supreme Court some context on hip-hop in advance of hearing the case. “I see a kid who saw wrong happening and was outraged about it,” Killer Mike said of controversial tune. “Following a long line of rappers before him, Bell saw an opportunity to confront injustice.”