A Toronto-based rapper, known as Top 5, was released after a murder charge against him disintegrated.
On Monday, Hassan Ali—alias Top 5—walked free. He had been accused of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Hashim Omar Hashi, a 20-year-old accounting student.
On January 31, 2021, around 9 p.m., Hashi was shot multiple times as he tried to enter a parking garage near Jane Street and Falstaff Avenue. Hashi died at the scene. His family and friends remembered him as “humble, kind, and hardworking.”
Two weeks after the incident, Ali was arrested in Windsor, Ontario. He spent nearly three years in custody awaiting trial before the charge was dropped in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
The Crown halted its case after the judge ruled that Ali’s music videos and social media posts could not be used as evidence. The prosecution had claimed that Ali belonged to a gang that rivaled another group operating where Hashi was killed, suggesting gang rivalry as a motive.
Outside a Toronto courthouse, Ali applauded his defense lawyer, Gary Grill, and compared his release to a baseball superstar getting out of jail. Ali declared his innocence and emphasized his wish for the real perpetrator to be found.
When asked about gang affiliation, Ali responded, “No, I’m a businessman” and expressed a desire to unite communities and promote positivity to curb violence.
Evidence ‘Entirely Circumstantial’
Grill remarked that the decision to stay the murder charge was apt, considering the evidence against Ali was “entirely circumstantial” and weak. He further emphasized that they had always been confident about Ali’s eventual release but noted the timing of the decision came as a surprise.
Grill explained that Ali’s drill rap persona, lyrics, and videos were unfairly used against him. “Drill rap is all about projecting the image of being the toughest,” he explained. “Prosecuting artists based on their fictional personas undermines the artistic expression and commercial nature of their work.”
The Crown had initially charged Ali with accessory after the fact to murder. In March 2021, Ali was released on house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor. However, in May, the charge was intensified to first-degree murder. Following this change, Ali allegedly removed his ankle monitor and fled, only to be arrested in Los Angeles in October 2021.
Victim Had ‘Promising Future,’ Police Say
GoFundMe described Hashim Omar Hashi as a second-year Humber College student with a bright future in accounting. Police confirmed at a February 2021 news conference that Hashi had no gang ties and was a hardworking student with a part-time job at the airport.
Jabari Evans, an assistant professor at the University of South Carolina, underscored the problematic nature of using drill rap lyrics as evidence in court. “Drill rap, emerging from Chicago’s south side in the 2010s, relies on a persona of toughness. This is a form of creative expression, not a factual representation,” he said, emphasizing that criminalizing artistic personas is both unfair and detrimental to the artists’ livelihoods and freedoms.
