Posted by 
New Orleans rapper BG, one of the stars of Cash Money Records’ huge run in the late ’90s and early ’00s, has been ordered to submit all future music to the federal government before any of it is produced or promoted. It’s a condition of his parole, and it’s actually a significant step down from the restrictions that prosecutors wanted to impose on him. Still, it’s hard for someone who’s not versed in the legal system to see how this kind of thing can possibly be constitutional.
BG, whose real name is Christopher Noel Dorsey, was arrested for weapon possession in a 2009 traffic stop in New Orleans. In 2012, he was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. BG was released and transferred to a halfway house last year, after serving 11 of those 14 years. As of February, as The Guardian reports, BG began a two-year period of living under federal supervision outside of his halfway house. A month later, federal prosecutors had him arrested.
BG has come out with two albums since his release from prison, including last year’s Choppers & Bricks, a collaborative album with Gucci Mane. He’s currently living in Las Vegas, where he recently performed alongside fellow Louisiana rapper Lil Boosie. Since both Gucci and Boosie have felony convictions, prosecutors argued that BG has been fraternizing with felons without necessary clearance, though his lawyers established that he got permission from his halfway house supervisors.
Last week, as The Guardian reports, BG had to return to New Orleans, as prosecutors requested that a federal judge prohibit him from “promoting and glorifying future gun violence/murder” in his lyrics. Judge Susie Morgan denied that request, saying that it could restrict his free speech, but she ordered BG to turn any future music over to the authorities ahead of release. If that music is found to be “inconsistent with the goals of rehabilitation,” prosecutors will be able to request modifications in BG’s terms of release.
I don’t really understand the parole system, but I can’t see how any of these restrictions could be remotely constitutional. As we’ve been seeing lately, though, constitutional rights are whatever the courts say they are.