It looks like prosecutors in the Lil Boosie trial are going to have a tough time getting a conviction.  Without any DNA evidence or witnesses that can tie Boosie to the murder of Terry Boyd on October 21, 2009, they are instead resting their case on the confession of Michael “Marlo Mike” Louding that he was paid by Boosie to commit the murder.  The problem is that Marlo Mike has since recanted, insisting that his confession was essentially coerced.  Based on the coverage I’ve read of the case, Louding’s explanation does at least seem plausible.

And so without any real evidence, prosecutors have decided to introduce the lyrics to the songs “187” and “Body Bag.”  Their approach here is interesting–they brought in a forensics expert to testify that Boosie actually recorded lines for the songs just before and after the murder was taking place, which I guess is supposed to show that Boosie was sitting in the studio, writing and recording his lyrics in real time as he learned of events related to the murder. That’s a pretty unlikely scenario, and in fact Boosie’s lawyers have claimed that some of those lyrics were recorded long before the night of the murder and that Boosie was simply reusing (or “resampling”) them.  That sounds a lot more like it.  I suppose it’s possible that a rapper could use studio time to take visits or phone calls that would, in the moment, be turned into lyrics that would, the next moment, get recorded, but that’s a pretty interesting compositional process.

Perhaps that’s why Kenneth M. Willis, a Louisiana attorney, told the Los Angeles Times, “Right now, rap is on trial, Boosie’s rap music is on trial, and to me, it looks like a long shot that he’ll be convicted.”  Apparently the defense team agrees–they just rested their case without calling a single witness.  Closing arguments are scheduled for tomorrow.