Attorneys for a Black man scheduled to be executed in Texas say the introduction of rap lyrics he wrote biased an almost all-white jury when they decided to sentence him to death. Using rap lyrics in court is not an uncommon practice. Researchers found that rap lyrics have featured in hundreds of court cases in more than 40 states over the past 50 years, but judges often exclude other forms of creative expression from being used as evidence. Experts say treating rap lyrics as diary entries minimizes their artistic value while playing on negative racial stereotypes to influence jurors. James Broadnax's execution is scheduled for April 30.

A spokesperson for the rapper Offset says the former member of the hip-hop trio Migos was shot outside a Florida casino and is in stable condition at a hospital. The Seminole Police Department says a shooting happened Monday evening at a valet area outside Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida. Police say a fight preceded the shooting. Officers arrested Tione Jayden Merritt, a rapper known as Lil Tjay, related to the altercation that occurred before the shooting. He was charged with disorderly conduct. Merritt's lawyer said that Lil Tjay was not charged in the shooting and did not have a gun.

The British government has blocked the rapper formerly known as Kanye West from entering the U.K. as the controversy over his antisemitic statements led to calls for planned headline performances at a major music festival to be canceled. Ye had been expected to perform in front of around 150,000 revelers July 10-12 at the open-air Wireless Festival in London. Following the government ban on his entry to the country, the event organizers said it had been canceled. The ban on Ye comes after U.K. officials and Jewish leaders condemned his history of antisemitic remarks.

Federal prosecutors have accused rapper Pooh Shiesty and eight others of robbing three men at gunpoint and kidnapping them in Texas following a contract dispute in January involving rapper Gucci Mane’s record label. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Dallas declined to name the victims Thursday and an affidavit only refers to them by their initials. One victim, R.D., is described as the owner of 1017 Records, the label belonging to Gucci Mane, whose legal name is Radric Delantic Davis. Pooh Shiesty, whose legal is name Lontrell Williams Jr., did not immediately return an emailed request for comment.