Home - Rap on Trial, Rap lyrics are turning up as evidence in courtrooms across the country with alarming regularity. As I argue in my paper, “Rap on Trial,” rather than treat rap music as an art form whose primary purpose is to entertain, prosecutors have become adept at convincing judges and juries alike that the lyrics are either autobiographical confessions of illegal behavior or evidence of defendant’s knowledge, motive or identity with respect to the alleged crime. Yet putting rap on trial has significant &hel.