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A notebook filled with rap lyrics, personal thoughts, and even job leads, penned by James Broadnax at 19, became crucial evidence in his capital murder trial. Prosecutors selectively presented lyrics with alleged references to gang affiliation and shootings, successfully arguing for the death penalty over life imprisonment for Broadnax, who is Black. His legal team contends this tactic biased the predominantly white jury.<\/p>\n
This controversial practice extends beyond Broadnax and Texas\u2019s death row. Researchers have documented rap lyrics being introduced in hundreds of court cases across more than 40 US states over the past five decades. This stands in stark contrast to how judges often exclude other forms of creative expression from being used as evidence. Experts warn that treating rap lyrics as literal diary entries not only minimises their artistic value but also exploits negative racial stereotypes to sway jurors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt denies rap music the status of art. It is characterized as autobiography,\u201d said Erik Nielson, co-author of the book \u201cRap on Trial.\u201d \u201cIt really does speak to underlying assumptions that some people have about young men of color \u2014 and that\u2019s almost exclusively who this practice targets \u2014 that they aren\u2019t sophisticated enough to engage in various literary devices. That there isn\u2019t metaphor here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rap lyrics are commonly used in racketeering or gang-related cases. Prosecutors try to establish the defendant\u2019s involvement in an underlying crime by introducing lyrics as evidence, Nielson said. If someone is charged with a shooting, for example, prosecutors look for lyrics that mention a shooting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the lyrics were written before the alleged crime, the prosecutors will say this is evidence of motive,\u201d Nielson said. \u201cIf they\u2019re written afterward, they\u2019re characterized as a straight-up confession.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rap Lyrics on Trial (Local Library)<\/p>\n
Broadnax and his cousin were charged with murder for the 2008 shooting deaths of two men outside a suburban Dallas<\/a> music studio. After more than a decade on death row, he is scheduled to be executed April 30.<\/p>\n In their pending appeal asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt Broadnax\u2019s execution, his attorneys argue that a judge should have considered the potential for racial bias and instructed the jury that his lyrics should not be viewed as autobiographical.<\/p>\n \u201cThe emphasis on the rap lyrics was a key element in this racially charged narrative,\u201d Broadnax\u2019s attorneys wrote. \u201cWorse, the record in this case confirms that the jury delivered a death sentence based on the racial stereotypes invoked by the rap lyrics.\u201d<\/p>\n Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music<\/p>\n Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.<\/p>\n Try for free<\/a><\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.<\/p>\n Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music<\/p>\n Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.<\/p>\n Try for free<\/a><\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.<\/p>\n Kemba, a rapper featured in the documentary \u201cAs We Speak: Rap Music on Trial,\u201d told The Associated Press that introducing rap lyrics is particularly effective with juries because of innate prejudices \u2014 and because prosecutors want convictions.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of people that don\u2019t see rap or Black music as artistic expression,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd when you\u2019re in a court case, there\u2019s already an assumption that you\u2019ve done something (wrong).\u201d<\/p>\n The defendants in these cases are \u201calmost exclusively young men of color, often with very limited resources,\u201d and many can\u2019t afford a private attorney, Nielson said.<\/p>\n But some high-profile rappers have had their songs introduced in court, like Young Thug<\/a>, whose lyrics were used as evidence at his trial on gang and racketeering charges. He pleaded guilty to those charges and was released from custody in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cThe criminalization and the targeting of hip-hop has been going on for all 50 years of the culture,\u201d said Nielson, who noted the use of rap lyrics in court ramped up in the early 1990s.<\/p>\n The monitoring of Black artistic expression dates back to the antebellum South, he said, though that intensified as rap music became more critical of power structures, like N.W.A.\u2019s 1989 song \u201cF— the Police<\/a>,\u201d which condemns police brutality.<\/p>\n In 2022, The New York Times<\/a>\u2019 Jaeah Lee looked for non-rap examples of lyrics used at trial from 1950 onward and found only four. Three cases were thrown out and one led to a conviction that was overturned. In that same time period, Nielson found roughly 700 examples of rap lyrics used in court cases, including lyrics that someone rapped but didn\u2019t even write.<\/p>\n Another study conducted by University of Nevada assistant professor Adam Dunbar examined stereotypes of rap. He presented people with lyrics, saying they were from rap, country or metal music. When it came to rap, respondents overwhelmingly considered the lyrics to be autobiographical.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if they\u2019re given the same lyrics and told that those are country or heavy metal lyrics, they say, ‘No, it\u2019s just art,\u2019\u201d said J.M. Harper, director of \u201cAs We Speak.\u201d<\/p>\n Some rappers have begun directly attesting to the fictional nature of their music. The year before he was fatally stabbed in 2021, Drakeo the Ruler released the song \u201cFictional\u201d from behind bars because his lyrics were being treated as nonfiction. In 2023, 21 Savage described his raps as \u201cfiction as hell.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt in my mind that they are doing this for fear of prosecution,\u201d Nielson said.<\/p>\n A number of A-list rappers, including Travis Scott<\/a>, T.I. and Killer Mike<\/a>, have filed briefs at the Supreme Court in support of Broadnax, cautioning against considering rap lyrics autobiographical. <\/p>\n Prosecutors in the case said Texas<\/a> law allows evidence relevant to a defendant\u2019s reputation at sentencing and contend the court shouldn\u2019t consider the argument against the lyrics because Broadnax failed to raise concerns in previous appeals. State courts have ruled against other appeals by Broadnax\u2019s attorneys.<\/p>\n![\"Amazon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amazon_Music.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Rap_Lyrics_on_Trial_87363.jpg\")
This combination of photos show rappers Killer Mike, from left, Travis Scott and T.I. (AP Photo) (Local Library)<\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Rap_Lyrics_on_Trial_78555.jpg\")
This image released by Paramount+ shows Kemba in a scene from the documentary \u2018As We Speak: Rap Music on Trial.\u2019 (\u00a9 2024 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved.)<\/p>\n