But in the UK, most instances go unreported, and there could be many more than those uncovered here. High-profile trials like the one currently involving US chart-topping rapper Young Thug draw attention to this issue Jay-Z is among the artists behind a prominent campaign for rap lyrics not to be admissible as evidence in the US. Young Thug performing in 2021 – the US rapper is being tried for numerous alleged crimes, with his lyrics being used by the prosecution. But in a 2020 analysis of earlier use of rap evidence in UK courts, Dr Abenaa Owusu-Bempah, an associate professor of law at the London School of Economics, found just one instance in which the use of such evidence was successfully appealed. In James’s case, his mere presence in a video was seemingly enough to colour his character for the court.įollowing a successful appeal based on the original judge’s mishandling of the modern slavery defence, James’s convictions were quashed. Those who oppose the use of the practice say that, more often, rap is introduced as a sprinkle of prejudice across proceedings. ![]() ![]() But even in these cases, it remains a stretch to prove that such wordplay directly results in violence. In drill rap, performers taunting others and referring in verses, often callously, to specific instances of real-world violence is not unheard of. Children and young adults are being drawn into rap-fuelled group charges in which there is often one principal offence committed by one individual.” She’s particularly worried by “the young age and high average number of defendants in cases in which rap is sought to be used. This increased appearance of rap in courtrooms suggests authorities have latched on to the approach as one that can secure convictions with juries – seemingly without concern for the possibly prejudicial nature of such evidence.įor UK police and prosecutors today, “music helps open a pathway to conviction”, says Eithne Quinn, professor of cultural studies at the University of Manchester and lead on the Prosecuting Rap project. Previous research spanning a period five times as long, between 20, uncovered 67 cases. New research, conducted in partnership with the University of Manchester’s Prosecuting Rap project, has identified more than 70 trials from 2020-2023 in which rap evidence including lyrics, music videos and audio recordings has been used by police and prosecutors to build their cases. When contacted by the Guardian, the Crown Prosecution Service says that it “has never prosecuted anybody solely on the basis of their involvement with drill/rap music” but that “drill/rap music may be of specific relevance to the case against a suspect, in which case it may be used as evidence.” Drill/rap music may be of specific relevance to the case against a suspect, in which case it may be used as evidence Crown Prosecution Service Rap materials making their way into UK courtrooms can be professionally recorded tracks, but often consist of little more than throwaway lyrics in iPhone notes or derivative scribbles in teenagers’ notebooks – still enough for prosecutors to win convictions. ![]() James is just one of more than 240 people in the UK – almost all young, black men – whose fate in court over the past three years has been decided in part by their taste in rap music. He said he’d joined in with the filming because he thought it would be fun. This proved, the prosecuting barrister argued, that the boy was a willing associate of the gang. The court had been shown a rap video in which James could be seen dancing while alleged Mali Boys members traded verses over a brooding drill beat. The two other teenagers were acquitted, but James’s defence was rejected by the prosecution. He and two other young men admitted to selling drugs in Brighton, but claimed in their defence that they were victims of modern slavery – exploited by the Mali Boys to distribute its drugs and collect the proceeds. His lawyers suggested this would have made him more susceptible to being drawn into criminality by these gangs. He’d been arrested in the past, and had moved and sold drugs for other gangs from north London, venturing as far as Norfolk with their packages. ![]() James (not his real name) had been placed into care early in his teens, the court had heard, and subjected to abuse in the years before that.
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