The Criminalisation of Rap and Drill Music

This exciting session will explore how the treatment of rap music by the criminal legal system is linked to processes of racialised criminalisation. Criminal behaviour orders have been used to silence rap musicians by imposing conditions such as bans on recording or performing music without police permission, and prohibitions of writing certain lyrics. In criminal proceedings, rap music has been admitted as bad character evidence to show propensity to commit offences, disprove a defence, or establish an element of the offence, such as motive or intention. The dangers of admitting rap music as character evidence are demonstrated by plenty of research which makes this an exciting topic to look further into. Rap and drill are genres that rely upon fictional accounts, bragging and symbolism, yet judges seem keen to admit rap lyrics into evidence despite the danger of juries taking them literally. This results in miscarriages of justice, such as the Manchester 10 case. If you are interested in criminal law, human rights and freedom of expression, then this is an event for you.