Cortez Lyles dropped the track following an altercation on the field.
Cortez Lyles, a defensive back for the Heritage High School football team in Conyers, Georgia, was involved in a scuffle on the field earlier this year, which escalated into a larger conflict.
According to Fox5 Atlanta, the 18-year-old recorded a diss track following the altercation and shared it on Instagram. His parents had advised him not to retaliate physically against the teammate he alleges attacked him. Instead, Lyles used music to express his frustration. Nachez Lyles, Cortez’s father, insists his son is the victim in the situation.
“What do you expect him to do? Come back to school and fight?” Shandela McKnight, Cortez’s mother, asked. “We don’t teach our kids that.” She added that her son came home from school with a noticeable bruise on his forehead after the incident.
The diss track, however, contained aggressive lyrics, including threats like “beat his ass” and “get a body bag,” which led to legal trouble for Cortez. Shortly after the song’s release, the family of the teammate filed a complaint and Cortez was arrested in February on charges of making terroristic threats.
Cortez’s parents argue that the lyrics were not meant to be taken literally. Nachez Lyles compared the situation to rap feuds between artists like Kendrick Lamar and Drake, emphasizing that diss tracks are a common element of Hip-Hop culture and are typically not intended as real threats. “To interpret his words literally is egregious,” he said.
Despite their defense, Cortez now faces misdemeanor charges over the song. His parents hope to resolve the matter by engaging with the other family involved.
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