Professor Naomi Waltham-Smith is part of the leadership team for A New Hearing for Rap: A Network for Tackling Racial Injustice’s Impact on Cultural Participation; a project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) through the Locally Unlocking Culture through Inclusive Access (LUCIA) programme.
Rap music plays an important, if complex, role in the lives of young people in urban communities marginalized by race and class. Its use in criminal prosecutions currently faces heightened scrutiny by policymakers. This collaboration between Naomi Waltham-Smith, Emma Snell (JUSTICE), Justin Finlayson (United Borders), Dr Lambros Fatsis (City St George), Dr Yusef Bakkali (De Monfort) and Adèle Oliver, in partnership with the CPS and Clifford Chance, tackles the adverse impacts of rap’s criminalization. As well as miscarriages of justice and perpetuating stereotypes, it risks undermining the value of musical participation as an outlet for contending with socio-economic suffering.
Young participants will be empowered to lead research with their peers and use creative storytelling to communicate findings to diverse audiences. Workshops with legal professionals will transform attitudes by deepening musical knowledge and cultural-aesthetic appreciation of the genre.
“This collaboration,” notes the CPS, “has the potential to enable prosecutors and judges to approach this kind of evidence with greater clarity and confidence,” aligning with its goal of reducing racial inequalities in decision-making. The hope, for United Borders, is “to centre the voices of young people in shaping more inclusive legal and cultural frameworks.”
The project builds on earlier seed funding from the Oxford Policy Engagement Network (OPEN) and forms part of the wider LUCIA programme, which brings together community voices, researchers and policymakers to address urban challenges and position culture as a driver for urban innovation and growth.
Find out more about the new LUCIA cohort on LinkedIn.
