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Research<\/h1>\n
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Explore reports and scholarship on the criminalisation of rap and of young Black people, mainly focused on the UK. Learn more about Prosecuting Rap project events.<\/p>\n
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Scholarship<\/h2>\n
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- Addo, F. (2022), ‘Resisting the Criminalisation of Rap’,\u00a0Popular Music\u00a0<\/em>41.4\u00a0<\/li>\n
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Bakkali, Y. (2025), \u2018Liquid Racism and Road Culture(s)\u2019, in N. Errigan, D. Breen and Y. Bakkali, Liquid Racism: Brexit, Education and Road Culture <\/em>(Bristol University Press), ch. 6<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Bakkali, Y. (2022), Road capitals: Reconceptualising street capital, value production and exchange in the context of road life in the UK,\u00a0Current Sociology<\/em>\u00a070, 419-435<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Bramwell, R. and Butterworth, J. (2020), \u2018Beyond the Street: The Institutional Life of Rap\u2019<\/a>, Popular Music<\/em> 40.3<\/li>\n
- Clarke, R. and Williams, P. (2020), \u2018(Re)producing Guilt in Suspect Communities: The Centrality of Racialisation in Joint Enterprise Prosecutions\u2019, International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy<\/em> 9<\/li>\n
- Elliott-Cooper, A. (2021), Black Resistance to British Policing<\/em>. Manchester University Press<\/li>\n
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Fatsis, L. (2026), Policing the beats: Black music, racism and criminal injustice <\/em>(Manchester University Press)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fatsis, L. (2019), \u2018Grime: Criminal Subculture or Public Counterculture? A Critical Investigation into the Criminalisation of Black Musical Subcultures in the UK\u2019, Crime, Media, Culture<\/em> 15<\/li>\n
- Hallsworth, S. and Young, T. (2008), \u2018Gang Talk and Gang Talkers: A Critique\u2019, Crime, Media, Culture<\/em> 4.2<\/li>\n
- Gunter, A. (2017), Race, Gangs and Youth Violence: Policy, Prevention and Policing. Policy Press<\/em><\/li>\n
- Ilan, J. (2020), \u2018Digital Street Culture Decoded: Why Criminalising Drill Music is Street Illiterate and Counterproductive\u2019, British Journal of Criminology<\/em> 60<\/li>\n
- Jalloh, T. O. (2022), ‘Does the Critical Scrutiny of Drill Constitute an Epistemic Injustice?’,\u00a0British Journal of Aesthetics<\/em> 62.4<\/li>\n
- Keenan, M. and Paul, S., \u2018The criminalisation of drill music: Should beats and bars be used as evidence in court?\u2019 (2021),\u00a0Entertainment Law Review<\/em>\u00a032.7<\/li>\n
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Kubrin, C., I. Winnen and R. Rogers (2024) \u2018Rap Rhyme, Prison Time: How Prosecutors Use Rap Evidence in Gang Cases\u2019, Chapman Law Review<\/em>, vol. 27<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- MacLeod, N. (2021), \u2018Art vs Craft\u2019: Expert Evidence in the England and Wales Justice System\u2019, Language and Law<\/em> 8.1<\/li>\n
- Monteith, K. and Quinn, E. et al (2022),\u00a0Racial Bias and the Bench: A response to the Judicial Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (2020-25),\u00a0<\/em>University of Manchester<\/li>\n
- Monteith, K. (2022), ‘Ban rap lyrics in the courtroom’,\u00a0Popular Music\u00a0<\/em>41.4\u00a0<\/li>\n
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Nielson, E. and A. Dennis (2019), <\/span>Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics and Guilt in America <\/em>(New Press)\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Oliver, A. (2023),\u00a0Deeping It: Colonialism, Culture and Criminalisation of UK<\/em> Drill, Inklings<\/li>\n
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Owusu-Bempah, A. (2026), \u2018Prejudicial but not unduly so? Addressing the epistemic and non-epistemic dangers of rap evidence\u2019, Journal of Law and Society<\/em> 53, 335-358<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Owusu-Bempah, A. (2022), \u2018The Irrelevance of Rap\u2019, Criminal Law Review<\/em> 2<\/li>\n
- Owusu-Bempah, A. (2022), ‘Prosecuting Rap: What does the case law tell us?’,\u00a0Popular Music\u00a0<\/em>41.4<\/li>\n
- Quinn, E. (2024), ‘Racist inferences and flawed data: drill rap lyrics as criminal evidence in group prosecutions’, Race & Class\u00a0<\/b><\/em>65.4<\/li>\n
- Quinn, E., Street, J., and White, J., eds (2022), \u2018Prosecuting & Policing Rap\u2019, special issue of Popular Music<\/em> 41.4<\/li>\n
- Quinn, E. (2024) \u2018Propagating gang discourses via rap videos: Institutional racism in joint enterprise criminal trials\u2019,\u00a0British Journal of Criminology\u00a0<\/em>(forthcoming)<\/li>\n
- Reisner, L. and Rymajdo K. (2022), ‘The 0161 rap gap: the marginalisation of Black rap musicians in Manchester’s live music scene’,\u00a0Popular Music<\/em> 41.4<\/li>\n
- Scott, C. D. (2020), \u2018Policing Black Sound: Performing UK Grime and Rap music under routinised surveillance\u2019,\u00a0Soundings<\/em>\u00a075<\/li>\n
- Street, J. (2012), \u2018From Gigs to Giggs: Politics, law and live music\u2019, Social Semiotics<\/em> 22.5<\/li>\n
- Thapar, C. (2021), Cut Short: Youth Violence, Loss and Hope in the City<\/em>. Penguin<\/li>\n
- Ward, T. and Fouladvand, S. (2021), \u2018Bodies of Knowledge and Robes of Expertise: Expert Evidence about Drugs, Gangs and Human Trafficking\u2019, Criminal Law Review<\/em> 6<\/li>\n
- Williams, P. (2015), \u2018Criminalising the Other: Challenging the race-gang nexus\u2019, Race & Class<\/em> 56.3<\/li>\n
- White J. (2017), \u2018Controlling the Flow: How Urban Music Videos Allow Creative Scope and Permit Social Restriction\u2019, Young<\/em> 25.4<\/li>\n
- White, J. (2020), Terraformed: Young Black Lives in the Inner City<\/em>, Repeater<\/li>\n
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Young, T and S. Hulley (2024), <\/span>\u2018\u201cIt\u2019s tantalising evidence .\u2004.\u2004. . but you\u2019ve got to look at the wider picture\u201d: Rap music as evidence in joint enterprise cases\u2019, Crime, Media, Culture <\/em>21<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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<\/p>\nEvents<\/h2>\n
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- Explore some of our featured events from the Prosecuting Rap project.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Reports<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nCompound Injustice: A review of cases involving rap music evidence in England and Wales<\/h3>\n
Eithne Quinn, Erica Kane and Will Pritchard, 2024<\/p>\n
A review of 68 cases involving 252 defendants between 2020-23 in which rap evidence was sought to be used by prosecutors. Key findings on race, age, Joint Enterprise and gang discourses together pointing to legal processes of \u2018compound injustice\u2019.<\/p>\n
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- Read the report<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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<\/p>\nTackling Racial Injustice: Children and the Youth Justice System<\/h3>\n
A Report by JUSTICE, 2021<\/p>\n
52% of those in custody aged 10-17 are from a minority ethnic background, compared to 18% of the general population. This report identifies misunderstanding and misuse of Drill music as a factor that feeds the over-representation of Black children in the criminal justice system and makes recommendations to regulate its use as evidence.<\/p>\n
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- Read the report<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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<\/p>\nDangerous Associations: Joint enterprise, gangs and racism<\/h3>\n
Patrick Williams and Becky Clarke, 2016<\/p>\n
This groundbreaking report on the use of gang discourses in the creation of joint enterprise prosecutions includes case-study material on rap evidence. Rap evidence is used by prosecutors, in the place of facts, to produce a sense of racialized \u2018dangerous network\u2019 that opens pathways to conviction of alleged secondary offenders.<\/p>\n
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- Read the report<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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<\/p>\nTrapped in the Gangs Matrix<\/h3>\n
Amnesty International (2018)<\/p>\n
“In reality the Matrix overwhelmingly targets young Black men. They are often labelled as suspected gang members based on weak indicators \u2013 sometimes simply because they\u2019ve been victims of gang violence themselves. Or for reasons as trivial as the music they listen to and the videos they watch online.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
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- Read the report<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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