James Broadnax was a teenager when a jury convicted him of capital murder, with his rap lyrics presented as evidence he posed a threat of ‘future dangerousness’

By the time of Broadnax’s trial in 2009, “gangsta rap” had effectively ceased to exist. It had fragmented into regional versions, from trap music in the south-east to drill in Chicago. Yet it was still powerfully invoked at the sentencing stage of Broadnax’s trial. Meanwhile, the number of cases recorded in the Rap on Trial database continues to grow. Since 2010 there has been an uptick, fueled by social media, which offers detectives an easy route to surveil rappers through their posted videos. “Prosecutors definitely don’t care what the music is labeled or depicted as,” Nielson said. “If the lyrics suit their purposes, they will use them.”