The Use of Rap Lyrics in Legal Proceedings

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Charis Kubrin is a professor of criminology at University of California Irvine whose extensive analysis of rap lyrics has provided the basis for her expert testimony in cases around the U.S. in which an artist’s work has been used against them as criminal evidence. Professor Kubrin joins us to explain what brought her to this subject, the history of “rap on trial,” and her ongoing work with the defense bar to push back against this problematic and almost inevitably racist practice.

• Charis E. Kubrin’s faculty bio at the UCI School of Social Ecology

• Rap on Trial Legal Guide (2nd Edition), Jack Lerner & Charis Kubrin

• the Rap on Trial website

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