Marking his first publication
November 2, 2026
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Graduate student Kevin Crandall’s paper titled “Evidentiary Interpretation, Discursive Injustice, and Rap on Trial” was recently published in Philosophy & Public Affairs, marking Crandall’s first publication.
The paper explores Rap on Trial cases, where lyrics to rap and hip-hop songs are used as inculpatory evidence in trial. He argues that interpretive ambiguity in rap lyrics is exploited in Rap on Trial cases and theorizes a new form of discursive injustice.
Crandall investigates how a harmful interpretation of rap lyrics get picked up as evidence during a trial and reveals a crucial moment where “injustice seeps into the courtroom.”