Giving rap a chance: the cultural policing and consequences of the suppression of rap music in England in the twenty-first century

Abstract

This article questions whether the twenty-first-century policing of rap music in England can be legitimized by reference to crime, or whether it is instead better interpreted as the policing of Black culture. Section 2 outlines the origins of rap and its policing, going on to explain why rap music should be interpreted as an art form. In Section 3, the policing of rap in England is chronicled, focusing mainly on grime and drill, but also on rap outside London and in the United States. Section 4 asks whether rap music causes crime; having established that the evidence does not support this conclusion, the article determines that the policing of rap in England amounts to cultural policing underpinned by an ideological state response to social insecurity. Finally, Section 5 considers the consequences of the policing of rap for Black communities, leading to a call for the state to reinterpret rap and recognize its value in informing policy and as a fixture within educational curricula. Throughout, the lyrics of rappers themselves take centre stage as a form of critical thought.