Can music cause violence? A new report finds that lyrics and music videos have been used to imprison hundreds of young Black men. It has sparked debate about rap, crime and racism.
X
Next
Rap and drill 'used to send young men to jail'
Can music cause violence? A new report finds that lyrics and music videos have been used to imprison hundreds of young Black men. It has sparked debate about rap, crime and racism.
X
PreviousNext
In 2001, a man named McKinley Phipps went on trial in the USA. Phipps was a hip-hop artist, and he was accused of killing a 19-year-old at a club where he was performing.
There was no weapon linking him to the crime and no physical evidence. Another man had already confessed. The only proof they had against Phipps was a handful of eyewitnesses claiming to have seen him with a gun - and his music.
The prosecution pointed to lyrics from his songs like "Murder, murder, kill, kill" and "pull the trigger". That was enough to get him sentenced to 30 years in prison.
After 20 years, he was granted clemencyLeniency or mercy. and released. But in that time, the use of music to convict people has only grown more common.
In the last few years, music - specifically rapA type of music in which the words are spoken rhythmically rather than sung. , grime'Grime' emerged in the early 2000s from the East End of London, from a marriage American-influenced hip-hop to genres more popular in Britain, such as garage and dancehall. Grime remained 'underground' for a long time, but eventually broke into the mainstream with artists like Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Strider. and drillA subgenre of hip hop music that emerged in the 2010s. It is known for its violent lyrics. - has played a part in the trials of more than 240 people in the UK, mostly Black men, nearly half of them under 18 years old.1
Prosecutors insist they often need to use music videos to show that suspects know each other. And they say gangs who are caught with illegal weapons sometimes use drill as an excuse, claiming they are using them as props to make the videos.
Their critics counter that using the music in court is just a way of stirring up racial prejudice against Black defendantsPeople who are accused in a court. by associating them with gang violence. They say it is tantamountVirtually the same as. to criminalising music.
But is there a link between drill and violence?
There is a long tradition of using music to tell dark stories. For centuries, folk musicians sang "murder balladsSlow songs that tell a story. " which narrated terrible crimes from a first-person perspective.
These ballads have modern descendants. Eminem's 2000 hit Stan is written from the perspective of an obsessive superfan who kills his girlfriend and then himself. Just two years ago Taylor Swift and Haim released "No Body, No Crime", whose narrator murders her friend's husband.
Drill, its defenders argue, should be understood as part of this tradition. People have always liked songs full of grit and violence, and drill is a modern way of scratching that itch.
They say that when drill artists sing about killing and maiming, they are simply documenting their own lived experiences. It is a way of processing, and turning hardship into art.
But drill's detractors say it is not just documenting violence: it is glamourising it. They think drill encourages young people to get tangled in gang activity.
The data is contested. A 2021 report found that more than a third of gang-related homicides in London were "linked" with drill - meaning either perpetrator or victim was an aspiring drill artist, or drill music videos were used as evidence.2
But critics think this does not prove much. In deprived communities where gang violence is more common, drill offers a way out. Many of the young people in these places aspire to be drill musicians, regardless of how involved they really are in the scene.
And the decision to use drill in trials rests with the legal system, not with the people on trial.
X
Previous
Can music cause violence?
Yes: Music boasting about committing terrible crimes makes gang violence seem edgy and glamorous. It encourages young people to get involved in gangs so they have something to make music about.
No: Drill is a product of gang violence, not a cause. And the link here is not between music and violence but between music and racism. White men are not criminalised for listening to rap.
Or... The links between music and gangs are complex. There is no question drill is sometimes used as a cover for crime, even if it is not a cause. But the focus has to be on ending violence, not on prosecuting music.
Keywords
Clemency - Leniency or mercy.
Rap - A type of music in which the words are spoken rhythmically rather than sung.
Grime - 'Grime' emerged in the early 2000s from the East End of London, from a marriage American-influenced hip-hop to genres more popular in Britain, such as garage and dancehall. Grime remained 'underground' for a long time, but eventually broke into the mainstream with artists like Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Strider.
Drill - A subgenre of hip hop music that emerged in the 2010s. It is known for its violent lyrics.
Defendants - People who are accused in a court.
Tantamount - Virtually the same as.
Ballads - Slow songs that tell a story.
Rap and drill ‘used to send young men to jail’
On trial: A criminal behaviour order allows the police to vet the lyrics of drill superstar Digga D. Glossary
Clemency - Leniency or mercy.
Rap - A type of music in which the words are spoken rhythmically rather than sung.
Grime - 'Grime' emerged in the early 2000s from the East End of London, from a marriage American-influenced hip-hop to genres more popular in Britain, such as garage and dancehall. Grime remained 'underground' for a long time, but eventually broke into the mainstream with artists like Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Strider.
Drill - A subgenre of hip hop music that emerged in the 2010s. It is known for its violent lyrics.
Defendants - People who are accused in a court.
Tantamount - Virtually the same as.
Ballads - Slow songs that tell a story.