It was a rather sunny day as I traveled down I-40E toward Raleigh. For the record, anytime I go anywhere the music is usually on full blast (I’m not a big fan of the sound of rubber on asphalt).
And on this trip in particular I was listening to an album from Kendrick Lamar, “good kid, m.A.A.d city.”1 The m.A.A.d standing for “my angry adolescent divided,”2 and the album tells Kendrick’s story of a “good kid” and his struggles with a variety of negative influences in his home city of Compton, California. The album itself plays out like chapters in a book, with each chapter breaking down Kendrick’s ‘good kid’ view, mixing it with peer and environmental pressures and concluding with some sort of very real result.
One of the tracks on the album is entitled, “The Art of Peer Pressure.” The backdrop is a group of teens riding around their city looking for trouble. This starting point serves as the backdrop to a number of cases heard in District, Superior and Federal Court in North Carolina on a day-to-day basis. Luckily, for Kendrick and his friends their transgressions would stay out of the system because they managed to escape without being caught in what Kendrick refers to as, “one lucky night with the homies.”3 This track features a systematic breakdown of how a ‘good kid’ besieged by a multitude of pressures, despite his best efforts and ‘good nature’ still falls prey to the negative influence of his community and peers.
Rarely in music do I hear criminal activity referenced as anything but intentional. Every song seems to be a further proclamation of ‘I’m a thug, and here’s why.’ (If you don’t believe me please rewind to Trick Daddy’s, “I’m a Thug”…great song, but by all means, a proclamation). Our airwaves are being utilized as a modern-day “I’m a Thug” version of Martin Luther’s ‘Ninety-Five Theses’ on only a slightly smaller scale. Kendrick’s ‘The Art of Peer Pressure’ however, goes against that grain. It steadily breaks down the struggle. It shows the want and necessitates the need to be good. And what separates this track is the true fallibility of the narrator and the honesty with which his struggle is presented.
So many situations in the criminal justice system boil down to differentiating a ‘good kid’ case from an “I’m a Thug” case. The problem though is the fact patterns in these situations are identical in almost every way. And when you’re dealing with names in black and white on a warrant or a police report, it’s very easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees. But as a system, it’s our obligation to not only understand these differences but to contextualize and adjudicate with this frame of reference in mind.
Kendrick’s mid-day venture on the streets of Compton starts off with four friends in a white Toyota, with a “quarter tank of gas and orange soda.”4 There’s a gun in the car, and they start smoking joints to which Kendrick reminds the listener that, “I’m usually drug free, but I’m with the homies.”5
The peer-pressure concept starts in the first verse and only continues to gain steam with the group breaking into a house and stealing various electronics, until the end of the song where they jump a guy because he’s wearing the wrong colors, but again Kendrick explains, “I’ve never been violent, until I’m with the homies.”6
Nothing excuses criminal activity. But it’s important to note that there are bad actors and then there are BAD ACTORS and this necessitates the importance of discerning between agitators and followers.
So often the criminal justice system is confronted with a situation whereby a “good kid” first time offender is charged with a number of different felonies. Unfortunately, being charged is most likely the first time this “good kid” comprehends the reality of punishment and the extent of that punishment. The issue is what do we do with these “good kid, m.A.A.d city” defendants?
Most would go along with the logic of, “if you commit the crime, you serve the time” methodology.
Others would argue that they must be punished in some way because of the effect this crime has had on the victims. While some would look at the long-term effect of a conviction and argue the “good kid” should by all means be able to seek retribution for their wrongs through some type of deferral program, to give them a second chance. But the issue really in the end is more a systematic one.
Our system, unfortunately, is a breeding ground for more crime. Once convicted the percentages are staggering for reoffending. The North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission found that after a conviction 36% of offenders were rearrested within two years.7 The question then becomes why is this rate so high? Some follow the logic of once a criminal always a criminal, and those that reoffend do so because they have a criminal mind and they’re not going to change. Or is it possible, that there is a gross percentage of offenders who were “good kids” that were convicted and became permanent fixtures in our system because they had nowhere else to turn?
A criminal conviction is the Scarlet Letter of our day. Hawthorne had Hester Prynne roaming the streets with a Scarlet A during the 1600’s and now our system has those convicted roaming with a Scarlet C. And I know this isn’t news to anyone, but it’s almost impossible to find a job with a criminal conviction. And I know, the response is, “and whose fault is that?” But this is why it is so vitally important that an offender with a clean record keep it that way. Because once the “C” is attached, you can’t find work and you inevitably go back to crime. You reoffend…you become a statistic. The “good kid” becomes a BAD ACTOR, but again, I know, “and whose fault is that?”
It always comes back to the offender, but as a system in our pursuit of the “interest of justice,” it is imperative that we offer/prevent/avoid a first conviction if we can do so. Prosecutors seek out and offer ways to avoid a first conviction, Defense Attorneys do everything in their power to prevent a first conviction, and Judges sentence in ways to keep a clean record, “clean.” The Defense Attorney has an obligation in these circumstances as well to educate and “counsel” the client. Criminal Defense is not just about defending a case, we are attorneys AND counselors at law after all, and it is our job to connect with our clients on a personal level, so we can understand and help prevent offenses in the future. Kendrick’s “good kid” in “The Art of Peer Pressure” said, “I’m usually a true firm believer of bad karma, consequences from evil will make your past haunt you.”8 And for those convicted the past can truly be haunting indeed…just look at the reoffending statistics.
As the album develops, Kendrick manages to avoid a conviction and his character matures. He has a “rebirth” so to speak through his faith and family. His “good kid” survives and becomes both a successful and productive member of his community, utilizing his lyrics as a way to be a positive role-model urging his community not to fall victim to the pressure of their community and peers, much in the way he had. Kendrick’s, “good kid, m.A.A.d city” is a testament to what can happen to an offender if that first conviction is prevented.
Our system is overflowing with offenders and re-offenders. New jails are being built across the state and probation and parole are underfunded and understaffed. But a lot of this comes back to the fork in the road between a first conviction and an opportunity to keep a record clean. 90-96 programs are excellent programs for those charged with drug offenses, but what do we do with first offenders with other types of crimes? The same opportunities should be available pursuant to statute to prevent “good kids” from receiving their first conviction.
There are a lot of “good kids” in “m.A.A.d cities” out there. As a matter of fact, in every courthouse across the state you can walk the halls and see once “good kids” venturing courtroom to courtroom now hardened BAD ACTORS. It falls on the system, to find constructive ways to keep these “good kids” from receiving their first conviction. Defense Attorneys must advocate, educate and counsel, Prosecutors must offer, and Judges must keep a clean record, “clean.” Because as we see on a day-to-day basis, for the “good kid,” a first conviction may very well be the difference between becoming a positive role-model and a life sentence in the criminal justice system. •
End Notes
1. Kendrick Lamar, The Art of Peer Pressure, (good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012).
2. Legend, Kendrick Lamar Reveals Meaning Of “m.A.A.d city” Acronym From Album Title, (October 19, 2012), http://www.globeeducationnetwork.com/library/media/files/bluebook.pdf/.
3. Kendrick Lamar, The Art of Peer Pressure, (good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012).
4. Kendrick Lamar, The Art of Peer Pressure, (good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012).
5. Kendrick Lamar, The Art of Peer Pressure, (good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012).
6. Kendrick Lamar, The Art of Peer Pressure, (good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012).
7. North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission, Correctional Program Evaluation: Offenders Placed On Probation Or Released From Prison In Fiscal Year 2008/09, (April 15, 2012), http://www.nccourts.org/Courts/CRS/Councils/spac/Documents/recidivism_2012.pdf/.
8. Kendrick Lamar, The Art of Peer Pressure, (good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012).
Jason Aycoth practices with Garrett, Walker & Aycoth, PLLC in Greensboro, NC.
