GRETNA, La. — A rapper under house arrest can be photographed at his home but cannot give interviews to promote his latest album, says the judge supervising his case.

Interviews would violate a gag order imposed to keep pretrial publicity to a minimum, State District Judge Martha Sassone told Corey Miller, who used the stage name C-Murder before his arrest on a second-degree murder charge

"I guess the music will have to speak for itself," she said. "Capitol Records will have to find another way to advertise it."

She has ordered Miller, 35, to stay at his house in Kenner until his trial, scheduled Feb. 26, on a charge accusing him of killing Steve Thomas, 16, on Jan. 12, 2002, at a now-closed club in Harvey.

Miller was convicted of second-degree murder but won a new trial in March when the state Supreme Court affirmed Sassone's ruling that prosecutors withheld criminal background information on their witnesses from Miller's defense attorneys.

House arrest is a condition of Miller's $500,000 bond.

Attorney Ron Rakosky asked Sassone on Monday for permission to promote the album, which he did not identify by title.

Miller depends on his music to support his three children, pay for his legal defense and renovate his grandmother's New Orleans home, flooded by Hurricane Katrina, Rakosky said.

Assistant District Attorney Roger Jordan objected that the judge let Miller out on bond only to help prepare his defense.

Miller is seeking a change of venue for his trial because of pretrial reports about his case. Video, photography sessions and interviews would only intensify that, and Thomas' family and the community would find it improper, Jordan said.

"I don't have a problem with the photographs" if they're done at Miller's home, Rakosky is present and she knows in advance the photographer's name, Sassone said.

"There'll be no interviews, no music videos," she said.

Sassone also agreed to let Miller, under orders to stay inside his house, into his backyard to play with his children. "I would like for him to spend time with his kids," she said.