With the formal commencement of the murder trial of Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington —  charged in the 2002 death of Jam Master Jay — a judge has made a preliminary ruling that bars the prosecutions usage of Jordan Jr.'s rap lyrics against him.

In her 14-page order, Brooklyn Federal Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall traced the evolution of Hip-Hop over five decades, referencing tracks from over a dozen artists before ultimately finding the lyrics inadmissible.

“From the genre’s nascence as an oral tradition, rap artists have played the part of storytellers, providing a lens into their lives and those in their communities,” Hall wrote.

The prosecution sought to use lyrics like, "We aim for the head, no body shots, and we stick around just to see the body drop.”

Hall wrote of the lyrics that they, “merely contain generic references to violence that can be found in many rap songs" while also mentioning the likes of Nas, Ice Cube, and Vince Staples — along with interviews with artists like Fat Joe and Future who have publicly discussed the distance between their art and real lives.

The ruling comes in conjunction with the ongoing RICO case against Young Thug in Atlanta in which prosecutors have attempted to tie the themes of he and his label's music, with specific criminal acts. 

Hall stated, "artists should be free to create without fear that their lyrics could be unfairly used against them at a trial.”

Both men have pleaded not guilty, as has a third defendant who was charged this past May and will be tried separately.