Nevada Rapper Faces Murder Charge After Allegedly Detailing Crime In Lyrics And Video

Kenjuan McDaniel was arrested August 29 following the release of a music video in which law enforcement believes he reenacts the details of a murder.

According to CNN, McDaniel had been a person of interest in the shooting death of Randall Wallace on September 18, 2021, due to being connected to the vehicle police believe matched the car used in the fatal incident.

However, a music video posted by the 25-year-old rapper to accompany his track, “Fadee Free,” in July 2023 served as further implication. “I be the reason why he’s dead, we still taunt him when he die, not the reason he’s dead, so celebrate the reason why his momma cry,” reads one of the lyrics named in the arrest warrant for McDaniel. “Parked the car, double back on feet, the smartest way to slide, drove in, double lock yo man, make sure you get yo bod’.”

Law enforcement found a striking resemblance between the lyrics and unreleased details of the murder.

In the music video, McDaniel displayed behaviors that police said were “consistent with evidence at the scene.”

According to CNN, the Nevada-based rapper’s lyrics as well as his video performance enact details that would not have been public knowledge. There has been national discourse on the ramifications of using artistic expression, particularly those of hip-hop artists, as evidence in the court of law.

The Restoring Artistic Protection Act was brought before the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time on June 21, 2022, and aims to limit the extent to which an artist’s “creative or artistic expression” can be admitted against a defendant in a criminal case. Rappers Drake, Jay-Z, Megan Thee Stallion, Meek Mill, and others have supported the bill. They feel the freedom of artists to reflect on their community and/or lived experiences will be stifled by those who use those reflections as evidence against them.