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The Racist Roots Of Rap On Trial

March 16, 2021 • Since the 1990s, police and prosecutors have used lyrics to build criminal cases against rap artists. It's a practice that blurs the distinction between entertainment and criminal confession.

With A Long-Awaited Shot At Freedom, Mac Phipps Has His Eyes On The Future

Mac Phipps, the rapper formerly signed to No Limit Records, has been granted clemency after 21 years in prison. Dale Edwin Murray for NPR hide caption

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Dale Edwin Murray for NPR

With A Long-Awaited Shot At Freedom, Mac Phipps Has His Eyes On The Future

March 12, 2021 • Last month, the rapper was recommended for clemency after serving 21 years in prison for a crime he says he did not commit. Now he tells NPR about his time behind bars and his hope for life outside.

21 Years and 1 Day: Mac Phipps (Exclusive)

Mac Phipps Dale Edwin Murray for NPR hide caption

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Dale Edwin Murray for NPR

21 Years and 1 Day: Mac Phipps (Exclusive)

March 12, 2021 • After 21 years in prison, Mac Phipps has been recommended for clemency, which could mean early release. As we reported in our first season, Mac was convicted in 2001 of manslaughter, for a crime he has always said he did not commit. Now, we follow the former No Limit rapper as he navigates the clemency process — and for the first time, we get to talk with Mac himself. What does justice mean after he's spent half his life in prison? And does he plan to ever return to the stage?

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Rapper Mac Phipps, After 20 Years In Prison, Is One Step Closer To Freedom

McKinley "Mac" Phipps at Lousiana's Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in 2011. Courtesy of the Phipps family hide caption

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Courtesy of the Phipps family

Rapper Mac Phipps, After 20 Years In Prison, Is One Step Closer To Freedom

February 25, 2021 • In 2001, a rising No Limit Records artist was sentenced to 30 years for a crime he maintains he didn't commit. The hosts of Louder Than A Riot explain how a new development could spell early release.

Rapper Mac Phipps, After 20 Years In Prison, Is One Step Closer To Freedom

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Mac Phipps, Lyrics On Trial And A Legacy Of Injustice In Louisiana

Before he was a teenager, Mac Phipps already had a record deal. By the time he was 20 he was signed to No Limit Records, the biggest independent label in the country. At 24, he was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 30 years in prison following the shooting death of a man at one of his concerts, a crime of which he maintains he did not commit. Sheila Phipps hide caption

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Sheila Phipps

Louder Than A Riot

Mac Phipps, Lyrics On Trial And A Legacy Of Injustice In Louisiana

October 23, 2020 • Mac Phipps was a rising star of New Orleans rap when he was convicted of a killing he insists he did not commit. Two decades later, he is still fighting for his freedom and his art.

Outsmarting The Devil: Mac Phipps (Pt 3)

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Louder Than A Riot

Outsmarting The Devil: Mac Phipps (Pt 3)

October 22, 2020 • Exploitation of prisoners. Sexual assault allegations. A Supreme Court ruling that could hold the keys to freedom. In the third and final installment of Mac's story, we follow the ripples of Mac's case two decades after the verdict was handed down. What do the roadblocks in Mac's fight for exoneration say about liberty and justice for all? And how does his imprisonment affect the loved ones he's left behind?

Outsmarting The Devil: Mac Phipps (Pt 3)

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Louder Than A Riot

Lyrics On Trial: Mac Phipps (Pt 2)

October 15, 2020 • "A bullet in your brain." What right does the justice system have to decide whether a rapper's words are imagination or intent to kill? In this continuation of Mac Phipps' story, police pressure witnesses, while prosecutors use the artist's own lyrics to build a murder case against him. And Mac isn't the first: From a century-old folk tune to Ice-T's "Cop Killer," we examine the history of policing Black creativity to reveal a phenomenon that's become common practice in courtrooms — using lyrics as Exhibit A.

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The Camouflage Assassin: Mac Phipps (Pt 1)

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Louder Than A Riot

The Camouflage Assassin: Mac Phipps (Pt 1)

October 8, 2020 • When New Orleans rap phenom Mac Phipps signed with Master P's No Limit Records, he knew his dream of hip-hop stardom was within reach. But in February 2000, Mac was accused of murder and the dream became a nightmare. Over the next three episodes, we investigate this story of race, corruption and rap lyrics on trial.

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