Rapper's lyrics may be used against him in drug case

By The Associated Press

05.23.02

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POTTSTOWN, Pa. — A Montgomery County rapper charged with drug trafficking could have his own lyrics used against him in court, prosecutors said.

Karim Ali Howard, 20, of Worcester, was being held in Montgomery County Correctional Facility on $125,000 bail, according to court records.

On May 5, detectives seized cocaine, drug packing materials, drug records and $94,000 from the home Howard shared with his mother, Jewel Howard, police said.

Officials also confiscated compact discs and alleged recordings by Howard, who told authorities he is a self-employed rapper, said Risa Vetri Ferman, first assistant district attorney.

"I'm going to sell coke until you call me pope, do dirt until the lord tries to stop me. It's gonna take hundreds of bullets just to drop me," Howard allegedly raps on one track, according to prosecutors.

The lyrics on the compact discs show Howard's intent and could be used as evidence against him, said Kevin Steele, deputy district attorney.

"When he's writing such lyrics, it would indicate to me that he's a drug dealer," Steele said.

The phone number for Karim Howard and his mother was unlisted; neither could be reached for comment Wednesday. It could not be determined if Howard had an attorney.

But if the rap lyrics are used against Howard in court, that could be a violation of his right to free speech, according to Daniel Dodson, a spokesman for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Washington, D.C.

"It also seems that the prosecution is reaching," Dodson said. "It would certainly seem to impact what anyone would say in a song or a poem or prose."

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