No. 15-666 __________________________________________ In the Supreme Court of the United States _____ ____ TAYLOR BELL, Petitioner, V. ITAWAMBA COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, Respondent. _____ ____ On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court Of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ______ ___ AMICI CURIAE BRIEF OF ERIK NIELSON, CHARIS E. KUBRIN, TRAVIS L. GOSA, MICHAEL RENDER (AKA “KILLER MIKE”) AND OTHER SCHOLARS AND ARTISTS IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER _____ ____ CHARLES “CHAD” BARUCH Counsel of Record COYT RANDAL JOHNSTON JR. JOHNSTON TOBEY BARUCH 3308 Oak Grove Avenue Dallas, Texas 75204 (214) 741-6260
[email protected] Counsel for Amici Curiae __________________________________________ LEGAL PRINTERS LLC, Washington DC ! 202-747-2400 ! legalprinters.com i TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ........................................................ i Table of Authorities ................................................... ii Interests of Amici Curiae ........................................... 1 Summary of Argument .............................................. 3 Argument .................................................................... 6 A. “Fight the power”: The politics of hip hop .......... 6 B. “Put my Glock away, I got a stronger weapon that never runs out of ammunition”: The non- literal rhetoric of hip hop .................................. 12 C. “They ain’t scared of rap music—they scared of us”: Rap’s bad rap .............................................. 19 Conclusion ...............................................................