Ah ha, hush that fuss
\nEverybody move to the back of the bus
\nDo you wanna bump slump with us
\nWe the type of people make the club get crunk
\nIn September 1998, the Atlanta-based musical group OutKast released a song titled Rosa Parks which contained the above lyrics in the chorus. In Parks v. LaFace Records, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently found itself in the precarious position of deciphering those cryptic lyrics. To accomplish this task the court actually relied on a translation of the lyrics \u201cderived from various electronic \u2018dictionaries\u2019 of the \u2018rap\u2019 vernacular.\u201d The chorus was translated to mean: Be quiet and stop the commotion. OutKast is back out [with new music] so all other MCs [mic checkers, rappers, Master of Ceremonies] step aside. Do you want to ride and hang out with us? OutKast is the type of group to make the clubs get hyped-up\/excited.
\nAt stake in the case was Rosa Parks\u2019 right to protect her celebrated name and OutKast\u2019s right to use her name as the title to its song; but in a larger sense, the expressive rights of all artists were at stake. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution8 protects this artistic expression, and the judicial system should act to enforce this right of artistic freedom. However, the outcome of this case and other recent legislation show that the judicial system is not only failing to enforce this right, but is stifling artistic expression.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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