Irish DJ Annie Mac backs campaign to ban rap lyrics being used in court

A campaign for a ban on rap lyrics being used in court in the UK, called 'Art not Evidence' has received signatories from Irish DJ Annie Mac,  Bristol rock band IDLES and a host of British MPs, solicitors, barristers, and academics.

The open letter has also notably been signed by high profile lawyer and human rights activist Lady Chakrabarti and numerous Labour MPs including Nadia Whittome and Diane Abbot.

Also noteworthy, is that the letter was signed by UCD academic, Jonathan Ilan - Assistant Professor in Criminology, and English PEN chairperson Ruth Borthwick. PEN - one of the world's oldest human rights organisations, standing for Poets, Essayist, and Novelists, is an organisation whose goal is to protect freedom of expression.

Labour MP Laura Whittome is due to table the 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 British 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.

According to the campaign, rap music was presented as evidence in to judges and juries in at least 70 criminal trials between 2020-2023. These trials involved over 240 people. The campaign asserts that these are just the cases we know about, and that this will set legal precedent for future cases.

The campaign also maintains that the prosecution make use the help of a police officer to interpret and explain rap lyrics and videos, saying 'no other genre of music or form of creative expression is treated this way'.

The open letter released by Art Not Evidence reads: "In many cases, these creative expressions have no connection to the serious crimes alleged, and are used to paint a misleading and prejudicial picture, conflating art with evidence" the letter also calls this legal practice "an agent of institutional racism".

The letter also makes reference to a similar campaign in the US in November of last year where artists urged the US legal system to restrict the use of rap lyrics in criminal courts as trial evidence. This campaign was supported by the likes of Coldplay and Megan Thee Stallion.

California, which outlawed the use of rap lyrics in court in September 2022, was praised in the letter saying:"We applaud law reform campaigns in the USA, including the enactment of legislation in California, and urge judges, lawyers and legislators in the UK to follow suit".

Art Not Evidence's open letter concludes condemning the practice of using rap lyrics as evidence in court: "The indiscriminate use of creative expression as evidence in court risks miscarriages of justice, perpetuates harmful racist stereotypes, and contributes to a racially discriminatory criminal justice system that stifles creativity and freedom of expression".