Ludacris just finished a huge legal battle. According to People, he won custody over his 13-month old daughter Cai. On Monday, Judge Dorothy Downs awarded Ludacris full-custody over Cai, ending his court room clash with Cai's mother, Tamika Fuller. During the case, Fuller also sought for an increase in child support payments, prompting her lawyer to effectively put Ludacris' lyrics on trial.
In arguing that Ludacris wouldn't provide an appropriate environment for Cai, Fuller's lawyer honed in on Luda's "Dancin Dirty," a track featuring Chris Brown that was on his IDGAF mixtape. While examining Ludacris on the stand, she read the second verse to "Dancin Dirty" aloud:
Throw it, throw it like you know it
These girls be actin' shy but you just ain't afraid to show it
I got all this money and I'm damn sure fin' to blow it
Cuz she asked me for a drink and I'm damn sure fin' to po' it
I'm a, make it strong, she said she like it fruity
In another 30 minutes I'll be feelin' on her booty
An hour after that I'll have her twisted like a cyclone
Legs wrapped around me til she squeeze me like a python
I call that slizzer we both been gone off that liquor
She let down all her defenses and yes I give her the business
With the quickness she came to her senses, while I'm tappin' and snappin' pictures
Relentless but so persistent now she said it's just Ludacris'
She followed her verse with this series of questions for Ludacris:
You're talking about date rape there aren't you?
No ma'am.
What are you talking about?
I'm just talking about partying and having fun.
Would you like for Cai to have this experience with a young man?
When Cai becomes an adult, if she wants to have a good time, then that's her right as an adult.
Ludacris won out in the end, but this line of examination continues a troubling trend on how rap lyrics are treated in a court of law. Moreover, it connects to the issue of how lyrics are being used to persecute their own writers. Just recently, the Supreme Court began deliberations on whether rap lyrics should be permissible in court, with Chief Justice John Roberts quoting Eminem's "97 Bonnie and Clyde" in his argument. This follows the November story of a San Diego rapper who's facing an attempted murder charge based on the content of his latest album. A ruling from the Supreme Court is due within the next few months. For the IRL sake of rappers everywhere, hopefully the Supreme Court comes to a reasonable decision.
[via CLATL]
