Rap Rhyme, Prison Time: How Prosecutors Use Rap Evidence in Gang Case

In this Article, we call for greater nuance and careful treatment of rap-related evidence in the courtroom, which includes recognizing rap’s history, conventions, and practices generally, and acknowledging rap’s complicated and complex intersection with gangs specifically. Greater nuance and more careful treatment will enable courtroom members, including judges and jurors, to make better informed evaluations regarding whether rap evidence, despite being prejudicial, is sufficiently probative and if so, what relevance it may have to the case. We preface this argument with a review of punitive policies and practices associated with gangs in the criminal justice system, and with a discussion of how prosecutors use rap evidence in actual gang-related rap on trial cases. We conclude with recommendations. While gang affiliation through rap misrepresentation is prevalent throughout the United States, its epicenter is California—our focus in this Article.