Law school plans discussion of ‘Rap on Trial’

The School of Law will host a discussion of the recently published book Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics and Guilt in America, which was co-authored by Andrea L. Dennis, the holder of the law school’s John Byrd Martin Chair of Law. The discussion will be held Jan. 30 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Larry Walker Room of Dean Rusk Hall. The event is open free to the public.

Speakers will include Dennis and Bettina L. Love with UGA’s College of Education.

Published by The New Press, Rap on Trial examines the use of “rap lyrics as criminal evidence to convict and incarcerate young men of color” based on hundreds of court cases from across the country.

“The work of other creators—such as musicians in other genres, crime novelists, radical poets and horror film screenwriters—is not seen as a reflection of their real lives, contrary to what is happening with rap artists,” Dennis said.

Rap on Trial explores the breadth of rap lyrics being used in criminal prosecutions and the problems raised by the practice, and proposes solutions to achieve change.