Art Not Evidence

What we are NOT campaigning for: A complete ban on the use of rap music - or any kind of creative expression - as evidence in court. What we ARE campaigning for: New safeguards in the law that would stop the misuse of irrelevant music lyrics and videos as evidence by introducing racial stereotypes Listen to our co-founder Elli walk you through the facts of the matter 🫡💛 #rapontrial #artnotevidence #rap #drill #grime

Allow us to reintroduce ourselves 🔊🔊🔊 @artnotevidence are approaching our 2nd birthday and we wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us on our journey to keep the unfair use of rap music as evidence out of courtrooms. We’ve also enjoyed a groundswell of new support so we wanted to take this chance to let our new followers know who we are and why we do what we do. Support Art Not Evidence by signing our open letter at artnotevidence.org

Calling all lawyers! 🚨 If you are working on a case that includes rap music, we implore you to instruct an expert witness. The prosecution regularly rely on police officers as rap “experts”. Without a genuine expert for the defence, juries may too readily believe biased and uninformed police opinions on rap lyrics and culture. The Prosecuting Rap website includes a list of excellent reliable independent experts, along with many more resources. Find the 🔗 in our bio.

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS ‼️ The stage is set for the Legacy Unity Cup 2026 this Saturday. Hosted by Freedom Through Fitness. In partnership with @tsp.world @houseofvox @artnotevidence @zf.legalconsultancy @maryscharityyouthwork @majesticcareservices_cic @jfjfoundation Twelve teams. One purpose. One community. This is more than football. This is unity in motion. Organisations from across London stepping onto one pitch to represent something bigger than themselves. Each team carries a story, a mission, and a commitment to creating real change through community, culture and connection. From grassroots movements to established organisations, every name on this lineup reflects the power of people coming together with intention. This is what it looks like when purpose meets platform. Physiotherapy for players by @serenitehm In honour of Stephen Lawrence’s legacy @sldayfdn , we bring competition and community into the same space. Energy, pride and purpose will be felt in every match, every moment and every interaction on the day. Who will rise. Who will represent. Who will take the cup. April 18th. It’s bigger than a game. Ticket link in bio 📲 #fyp #unity #legacy #football #community

Art Not Evidence is proud to be part of the Legacy Unity Cup 2026 on 18 April at #MerkyFC HQ, Dagnall Park, SE25 5PH. This is a day being held in honour of Stephen Lawrence’s legacy, bringing together football, music, spoken word and community. There’ll be a 7-a-side tournament, DJs, performances, great food and a brilliant mix of people and organisations coming together for something positive, powerful and needed. We’re proud to be involved because this is exactly the kind of space that matters - one grounded in community, connection and showing up. Alongside the football, the day is also about bringing people together around the issues affecting too many young people and communities, and creating room for conversation, support and solidarity in a way that feels real. Art Not Evidence will be there with a team, so please come down and support us, support the other teams, and be part of what promises to be a really positive day. We’ll be there alongside @freedomthroughfitness_ , @houseofvox , @zf.legalconsultancy , The Spartan Project @tsp.world , Mary’s Charity, @jfjfoundation , @majesticcareservices_cic & the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation @sldayfdn If you can come along, please do. Buy tickets now - you know where the 🔗 is!

BOOK LAUNCH: POLICING THE BEATS: Lambros Fatsis in conversation with Adèle Oliver Wednesday April 15 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm Housmans welcomes Lambros Fatsis to discuss the criminalizing of black culture, music and youth, alongside Adèle Oliver (@legendofeleda ) author of ‘Deeping it: Colonialism, Culture and Criminalisation of UK Drill’, to interview Lambros about his work. Policing The Beats is a bold analysis that exposes the racist policing of Black music. The emergence of UK drill music made headline news, portraying it as a criminal enterprise instead of recognising it as an art form. This new rap subgenre, however, is neither the first nor the only Black music to be targeted this way. This original and readable book offers the first in-depth account of the policing of Black music in Britain, highlighting the relationship between politics, culture and criminal (in)justice and inviting music lovers, scholars and activists to tune in. Lambros and Adèle will talk for around 45 minutes to an hour, followed by a q&a. Ticket link you know where, tickets are priced on a sliding scale. If you are unable to pay for a ticket please do not hesitate to contact [email protected], and a free ticket will be made available. Doors Open at 6:45pm, Event Starts 7:00 #booklaunch #housmans #books #drill #rap

@artnotevidence recently coordinated a letter to the UK justice secretary calling for restrictions on the use of artistic expression as evidence in criminal trials – signed by more than 60 figures from music, culture and law. Among the signatories was Dr Lambros Fatsis, author of ‘Policing the Beats: Black Music, Racism and Criminal Injustice’. Here, Fatsis outlines how drill is stripped of its artistic context and misread as literal, autobiographical testimony by police, prosecutors and judges. Through a fictionalised but fact-based scenario, he shows how young rappers can be surveilled, added to gangs databases, subjected to court orders and ultimately prosecuted, with lyrics and videos used as drill ‘evidence’ to sway juries. Legal and penal measures that would be unthinkable in any other context are often treated as acceptable when applied to rap and rappers. This reflects a much longer history of Black and Afrodiasporic music being policed and criminalised. Read the full piece via the link in bio.

Our third In Conversation for Transmission Archive features Elli Brazzill from Art Not Evidence. Join us on 21.03.26 at Renae as part of MOBØRIGINS for the MOBO Fringe. Art Not Evidence is a campaign challenging the use of lyrics and creative expression as evidence in criminal trials. Their work speaks directly to the policing of music scenes such as UK drill, where young Black men have been disproportionately affected by the criminal justice system. At Transmission Archive, we want to hold space for conversations around music, culture and justice. This session will explore artistic freedom and the wider impact these issues have on artists and communities. 📍 Renae, Manchester. 5:45pm.

This week in the UK House of Lords, Baroness Chakrabarti again tabled an amendment addressing the use of creative expression – including rap and drill music – as evidence in criminal trials. While the amendment was not adopted, the debate marked an important moment as, for the first time, theGovernment formally acknowledged concerns that music can be used in ways that risk unfair prejudice, including through the negative stereotyping of young Black men. The Crown Prosecution Service has now committed to producing legal guidance on the use of rap and drill music in prosecutions. The CPS will also convene a national scrutiny panel examining the use of drill and rap music in prosecutions, bringing together third sector representatives, legal professionals, and academic experts to review past cases and inform future practice. This is progress. While we welcome progress, we don’t believe this is enough. We will continue working with parliamentarians, lawyers, artists, and campaigners to have our bill made into law to provide a clear, proportionate legal safeguard to ensure that creative expression is admitted only when it is genuinely relevant, reliable and necessary. Most importantly, we thank Baroness Chakrabarti for all her work and support to help us reach this milestone. #artnotevidence #rapontrial #houseoflords #ukrap #drill

Manchester!!! We’re really happy to be involved in MOBØRIGINS as part of the MOBO Awards Fringe 2026 💛 Our co-founder @cometobrazzill will be in conversation with @empireofamelia alongside an incredible line-up celebrating music of Black origin and Manchester’s Black creative community. Come down to Renae on Saturday 21st March. We hear there’s live music, DJs, a marketplace and chats across two floors ‼️ @melophile.uk @54.agency @transmission.archive @mobofringe @moboawards

We’re very excited to be partnering with Sonic Rebellions on their 2026 season! Sonic Rebellions is an international network of artists, activists and researchers exploring the relationship between sound and social justice. Every two years contributors come together to share ideas and work in a friendly and collaborative space. This year it will be at Newcastle University on 22, 23, 24 July and the theme is Policing, Criminalisation, Sound and Music. Sonic Rebellions are particularly proud of supporting early career researchers and ‘non-academic’ contributors to participate in our events and publications. This might include people who haven’t spoken at a university before and we encourage those who have, to consider creative and experiential ways of sharing their ideas. They welcome unconventional approaches to presentations, whether including an interactive component or workshop, multi-media format, or under-represented topics. Past examples including soundwalks, DJ and sampling workshops, film screenings, music-based lectures, performance art and creative workshops. We truly encourage any interested supporters to submit a proposal before the deadline on 19th March - link in bio to submit a proposal ! Any questions drop us a line [email protected]

‘I was locked in my cell 23 hours a day, and I had no choice but to do what I loved. I wasn’t going to let the system take my creativity from me.’ Today in #PENTransmissions, Hannah Branston and Ade Adedeji on art and activism – part of our series, Young Voices, showcasing Gen Z writers. 🔗 Read now at the link in our bio.