Today, Thursday 2nd October, marks National Poetry Day in the UK; a celebration of words, performance and the power of language to transform lives. Yet for many young people, particularly young Black men, the same creative expression that is being celebrated on stages and in schools is also being criminalised in courtrooms.
Last week in Canary Wharf, lawyers, creatives, academics, journalists, youth workers, music industry professionals and human rights campaigners came together with one shared purpose: to challenge the use of rap lyrics as evidence in British criminal trials. The event was hosted by Art Not Evidence, a coalition campaigning against a practice that many argue is both discriminatory and dangerous. Rap lyrics, often fictional and rooted in performance, are being admitted as ‘evidence’ in cases that bear no relation to the songs themselves. The concern is that juries, influenced by stereotypes that conflate rap with criminality, may unfairly view defendants as guilty based on their art rather than facts.
The dangers of this practice are starkly illustrated by the case of Ademola Adedeji, an 18-year-old convicted in 2022 of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm. One of the key pieces of evidence against him was a nine-second drill video in which police claimed he appeared in. Adedeji consistently denied he was the person in the video, and during his appeal another man came forward to confirm that he was the one filmed, not Adedeji. The Court of Appeal ruled that the police identification was wrong, and because it had been used to construct so-called “bad character” evidence, his conviction was deemed unsafe and overturned in early 2025. His case shows how easily artistic or cultural expression can be misread in court, feeding into racial bias and leading to life-altering miscarriages of justice.
At Clifford Chance, voices rose in response to this growing threat. Professor Erik Nielson, author of Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics, and Guilt in America, drew attention to the long history of such practices and their racial implications. Spoken word poet Ty’ron Haughton performed a searing piece on the criminalisation of creativity, while Adedeji himself shared his experience of being wrongly convicted, making tangible the risks of treating art as evidence.
The contrast with National Poetry Day could not be sharper.
On one side, Britain will celebrate the power of words to empower and connect. On the other, those same words, when shaped into rap or drill, are still being twisted into ‘evidence’ of criminality.
For Art Not Evidence, the stakes go beyond the courtroom. Campaigners warn that this practice not only weaponises racial prejudice but also threatens freedom of expression. If rap can be rebranded as evidence, they argue, then artistic creation itself is at risk of being curtailed.
The fundraiser marks a significant step in raising awareness, but the campaign is only just beginning. With the support of voices across the legal, creative, and activist communities, Art Not Evidence is working to ensure that rap remains recognised for what it is: art, not evidence, something truly worth celebrating this National Poetry Day.
Enjoyed this story? Help keep independent queer-led publishing alive and unlock the BRICKS Learner Platform, full of resources for emerging and aspiring creatives sent to you every week via newsletter. Start your 30-day free trial now.