Art Not Evidence: IDLES, Annie Mac and more back campaign for ban on rap lyrics being used in court

IDLES, BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac and a host of MPs are backing a campaign for a ban on rap lyrics being used in court.

They have written an open letter that can be signed by anyone, with notable signatories also including lawyer Lady Chakrabarti and Labour MPs Nadia Whittome and Kim Johnson.

Whittome is due to table new legislation drafted by the Art Not Evidence group – formed last year by a group of lawyers, academics and music industry professionals – in the next parliamentary session which will call for a rigorous set of tests to determine whether prosecutors should be allowed to put rap evidence, including lyrics, recorded tracks, and music videos in front of juries.

She said via a press release: “The misuse of rap lyrics in court is a clear example of the institutional racism that blights our criminal justice system. It is a practice that relies on racist stereotypes, using young Black people’s creative expression and taste in music in an attempt to turn juries against them, and risks miscarriages of justice.”

Sign our open letter calling for law reform to keep creative and artistic expression out of court link in bio pic.twitter.com/dQnzbiLUfG

— Art Not Evidence (@artnotevidence) November 22, 2023

“The threshold to admit rap music as evidence must be far higher,” she added. “I will be working with Art Not Evidence in Parliament to bring about legislative change.”

Chakrabarti added: “To infer criminality from the consumption of culture is as racist as it is foolish. I am no more a gangster for enjoying mafia movies than I am a terrorist when I listen to rebel songs. Our justice system will be fatally flawed as long as it treats young black art as evidence.”

According to research by the University of Manchester, at least 240 people in the UK have had rap music used against them as criminal evidence in court in the last three years, including allegations of gang membership and alleged confessions of criminal activity within lyrics.

It follows a similar campaign that was launched in the US in November last year with Megan Thee Stallion, Coldplay, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige and Future among the acts urging the US legal system to restrict rap lyrics being used in trial evidence.

In September 2022, California outlawed the use of rap lyrics in trials.

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