Erik Nielson (academic) explained

Erik Nielson is Professor of Liberal Arts at the University of Richmond who has become well known as an expert in the use of rap music as evidence in criminal trials.^{[1] [2] [3]} His book Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics, and Guilt in America, with co-author Andrea Dennis, was published in November 2019 and received the Hugh Hefner Foundation First Amendment Award in October 2020.^{[4] [5]} He was a consulting producer and interviewed for the documentary As We Speak: Rap Music on Trial, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024 and distributed by Paramount + starting on February 27, 2024.^{[6] [7]} He has served as an expert in court cases, and his testimony has been cited to exclude rap lyric evidence.^[8]

Nielson's research focuses on the relationship between African-American culture and policing, as well as the relationship between hip hop and politics.^{[9] [10] [11]} He has written for the New York Times and other mainstream news outlets on these issues.^{[12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]} He was the lead author of three amicus briefs with the US Supreme Court, two of which were jointly submitted with his frequent collaborator, Killer Mike.^{[19] [20] [21]} Nielson and Travis L. Gosa edited The Hip Hop & Obama Reader. ^[22] Nielson was a featured participant in WRIC News' series Richmond and Race, a discussion among community leaders about race relations and police accountability in Richmond, VA.

Notes and References

1. Web site: RAP ON TRIAL . 2024-02-29 . RAP ON TRIAL . en-US.
2. Web site: Prosecutors would rather read rap as a threat than as art. Washington Post. 2017-11-12.
3. News: "A murder that involves a choking, a shooting, then a roping?": Why rap lyrics shouldn't be.... 2017-09-28. en.
4. Web site: Rap on Trial. The New Press. en. 2019-05-14.
5. Web site: 2020 PRESS RELEASE. 2020-09-29. HMH Foundation. en.
6. Web site: Program Guide 2024 Sundance Film Festival . 2024-01-26 . festival.sundance.org.
7. Web site: Welk . Brian . 2024-01-24 . Rap Lyrics Criminalization Doc ‘As We Speak’ to Premiere on Paramount+ in February Amid Young Thug Trial — Watch the First Trailer . 2024-01-26 . IndieWire . en-US.
8. Web site: Federal judge rejects use of rap lyrics as evidence Erik Nielson . 2024-02-29 . blog.richmond.edu.
9. News: How hip-hop fell out of love with Obama. Nielson. Erik. 2012-08-23. The Guardian. 2017-11-12. en-GB. 0261-3077.
10. Web site: Obama and hip-hop: a breakup song. Washington Post. 2017-11-12.
11. News: The Hip-Hop Professor. Pacific Standard. 2017-09-28. en.
12. News: Opinion If We Silence Hate Speech, Will We Silence Resistance?. Nielson. Erik. 2018-08-09. The New York Times. 2019-05-14. en-US. 0362-4331.
13. News: Opinion Rap Lyrics on Trial. Nielson. Erik. 2014. The New York Times. 2017-11-12. Kubrin. Charis E.. en-US. 0362-4331.
14. News: Art or evidence? After appeal, court rules violent rap lyrics not a confession. PBS NewsHour. 2017-09-28. en-US.
15. News: How States Can Bring African-Americans Into the Marijuana Industry. Rolling Stone. 2017-09-28.
16. News: Where Did All The Female Rappers Go?. NPR.org. 2017-09-28. en.
17. News: Did the Decline of Sampling Cause the Decline of Political Hip Hop?. Nielson. Erik. The Atlantic. 2017-09-28. en-US.
18. News: Rap's poetic (In)justice: Flashback. USA TODAY. 2017-09-28. en.
19. News: Hip-Hop Artists Give the Supreme Court a Primer on Rap Music. Liptak. Adam. 2019-03-06. The New York Times. 2019-05-14. en-US. 0362-4331.
20. Web site: Erik Nielson University of Richmond - Academia.edu. richmond.academia.edu. en. 2017-09-28.
21. News: Killer Mike's Supreme Court Brief. Edelman. Gilad. 2015-12-28. The New Yorker. 2017-11-12. 0028-792X.
22. Book: The Hip Hop & Obama Reader. Gosa. Travis L.. Nielson. Erik. 2015. Oxford University Press. 9780199341801. en.