The drill rap music community has been facing a lot of heat in the eyes of authorities for quite some time already. This is because most drill rappers are linked to suspicious and illegal gang-related activities in their respective areas.
A large chunk of arrests, indictments, and prosecutions made against drill rappers is based largely, if not solely, on their music, lyrics, and even social media posts.
In the United States, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has launched an attack on the rap subgenre because of the spike in gang-related violence that resulted in deaths in the Big Apple.
Meanwhile, the New York State Senate, thru the help of Jay-Z, Meek Mill, and Fat Joe, among others, has passed the "Rap Music on Trial Bill" - if fully enacted into law, it would limit authorities and courts from using "creative expression" as evidence of a crime.
However, over in the United Kingdom, the courts decided otherwise.
UK Decides Music Videos Can Be Used As Evidence In Court
Very recently, the Crown Prosecution Services in the United Kingdom ruled that music videos can now be submitted as "admissible evidence for a jury to consider" if they can link gang-affiliated suspects to crimes. (via NME)
The CPS believes that these materials can be used as evidence if it would help the prosecution to prove the "modus operandi" of the violent cases, including gang attacks.
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"Drill music, by its nature, is supposed to shock, but it is not a crime and you have to put proper weight on that. What police officers, if anything, are [telling the court] is, 'I've listened to it many times over, I can tell you what is being said; I can make a suggestion to what drug is being referred to," CPS Public Prosecutions Director Max Hill said in a statement.
Earlier this year, the CPS opened the idea to the public by reviewing its guidelines on using lyrics as evidence in court. However, at the time, there were still no cases where drill music had been wrongly used as evidence.
Most recently, in the US, rapper Young Thug and Gunna was included in a sweeping indictment that used their song lyrics as the basis for their arrests.
Experts pointed out that this predicament on drill rap music as evidence in favor of prosecution is "unprecedented racism."
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