Admitting rap lyrics as evidence of criminality should be the exception rather than the norm in court cases, says UWindsor law professor David Tanovich, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

His research on the phenomenon of putting rap on trial was considered by a Toronto judge to exclude lyrics by drill rapper Top 5, who was charged in 2021 with first degree murder. The Crown’s case rested largely on his rap lyrics which they say supported their theory that the killing was gang related and involved Top 5. Prosecutors suspended their case after the judge would not allow the rap videos to be used as evidence.

In his 2016 article, “Rethinking the Admissibility of Rap Lyrics in Criminal Cases”, Prof. Tanovich warned of the dangers of assuming that rap lyrics, which are often grounded in an attempt to be “authentic” or to document life on the streets, are autobiographical. He also warned of the dangers of wrongful convictions and unfair trials given that rap lyrics are likely to be over-valued by a jury and they may trigger or reinforce stereotypical assumptions about Black men given the systemic nature of anti-Black racism in Canada.

Commenting on the case this past weekend in a Toronto Star feature on the issue, Tanovich noted that the recent decision did not alter the legal landscape as it relates to the admissibility of rap lyrics. What he says is significant about the decision is the care the trial judge took in assessing the relevance of the evidence and the sensitivity he showed in giving effect to the inherent prejudicial effect of admitting rap lyrics as evidence.

According to Tanovich, Top 5’s case is one of the unfortunately rare cases where rap lyrics have been excluded in criminal cases.

“All too often in Canada and the United States, this evidence receives insufficient scrutiny at the admissibility stage,” says Tanovich. “Admissibility should be the exception not the norm. My hope is that the decision will begin the much needed process of bringing an end to rap on trial.”