AS WE SPEAK: RAP MUSIC ON TRIAL is a feature documentary that explores the weaponization of rap lyrics in the United States criminal justice system and abroad. For the last 30 years, law enforcement have quietly used rap artist’s creations as evidence in criminal cases — even as the music industry encourages and profits from violent lyrics. Prosecutors ask jurors to suspend the distinction between reality and fiction and to read lyrics as literal confessions of guilt. No other genre of music is treated like this in court, and the trial tactic relies on racist stereotypes about rap music and the young men of color who are its primary creators. The documentary follows Bronx rap artist, Kemba, as he journeys through today’s meccas of hip-hop, investigating the plight of lyrics via conversations with fellow rap artists, legal experts, politicians and music industry executives.