“Kanye West is one of the most controversial artists out. From his political views to his current religious conversion. I looked up a few different opinions that stem from critics believing he’s a joke and mocking christanity to those that argue Kanye West is a great example of God’s walk of life from sinning to forgiveness and living righteous. Personally I know Kanye has always had some sort of openness about believing in God. One of his popular songs that can also be played in clubs was “Jesus Walks” back in 2004 where he raps about being told he can’t discuss God or his records won’t be played but he goes against those threats.
His recent social uproar was his performance at Harris County Jail for 200 selected male prisoners. “”Now that I’m in service to Christ, my job is to spread the gospel, to let people know what Jesus has done for me,” West said during a nearly two-hour conversation. At this point I think it’s up to personal opinion whether or not he is a true believer of Christ or another show being put on for his ego and antics. “
“I personally never grew up with religion. I’ve only been to church on a handful of occasions, and all I’ve learned about religion was through school, from those who practice and discuss their beliefs, and through music. Despite my lack of a religious background or past, though I’ve never really connected with such beliefs expressed in such music to begin with, I still find myself able to enjoy hip hop music influenced by or focused on religion. I think I’m often drawn to it more in the sense that the subject matter is less abrasive at times and the instrumentals creatively differ in terms of mainstream hip hop. I find the sound of gospel music and choir vocals to be quite beautiful on their own, so I think the gospel-inspired and integrated hip hop tends to peak my interests more than songs that don’t. I chose to look into current religious hip hop music and artists as a means to both learn more about such music I listen to and the similarities and differences between the artists that make it. I found that their reasons behind doing so ranged greatly. Kanye wanted to share his beliefs through music and create a new experience of religion and hip hop to the extent of creating a Sunday Service. Kendrick Lamar is more subtle with his odes to religion, more so in terms of asking for forgiveness or highlighting the comparisons and contrasts between mainstream hip hop and religious beliefs. Everyone’s experience with the music, both the makers and audiences, is different yet the set of beliefs and practices that seem to oppose or drastically differ from the music culture of hip hop have come together to create something unexpectedly complementary.”
“Throughout the 1980’s all kinds of hip hop exploded. Including Christian, Islamic, and Jewish hop hop. Most Christian hip hop was originally created with the intent of spreading the Christian message. Today, most Christian rappers identify as musicians, who are open about their religion and focus their music more so on secular life. Christian music often has a stigma because of it’s religious content and modern rappers want to avoid such an image. Some known Christian rappers are Kayne West and Chance the Rapper. Some groups from the past that were focused on religious content were JC&The Boyz, and P.I.D. (Preachers in Disguise). Islamic hip hop started in New York City and was majorly influenced by the Five Percent Nation. Clarence13X was former member of the Nation of Islam and developed the Five Percent Nation as a way of life, acknowledging the truth and commitment to enlightening the public. Common references to the Five Percent Nation are “dropping science” and “word is bond”. In Ramik’s song “My Melody” he says, “I drop science like a scientist/My melodies in code.” Some rappers more tied to the Nation of Islam are Ice Cube, Q-Tip and Busta Rhymes. Ice Cube’s 1991 album Death Certificate samples a speech made by Khalid Muhammad. Another group is Jewish rappers. In the 1980’s not a lot of Jewish rappers were making music about being Jewish, or the teachings of Judaism. But big names appeared as managers, CEO’s and producers in the industry. One of the most well-known Jewish hip hop crews were the Beastie Boys. Josh Norek once said, “Before Eminem, pretty much the only white rappers were Jewish.” In the 1990’s hip hop emerged in Israel. Orthodox and Hasidic rappers came in to the light, such as Matisyahu, and later in 2015 Rinat Gutman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSlY8lENW2M&t=80s Rinat Gutman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wEawSeQf6g&list=PL1C646DFBB630C2A1 Matisyahu”
“Throughout The Get Down, there’s a kind of “hierarchy” of music within the Cruz family: Ramon values Gospel over Disco, and Mylene values Disco over Hip Hop. In an effort to merge both her love for Disco, and appease her father’s restrictions, Zeke uses his abilities as a wordsmith, or MC, to create a religious hit. In a great twist of irony, Mylene’s single doesn’t become nationally popular until it is made popular in queer communities, something that her Pentecostal family certainly doesn’t approve of.
Part 2, Episode 2, Ramon is explaining the future of Mylene in relation to her music and her “duty” to the church. What I found intriguing was the language Ramon used, making Mylene an object for the church to exploit rather than a voice with a say in her career. The question I pose then is this: how is Ramon any better than Marakesh record producer Roy Asheton, who wants to use Mylene as a sex symbol to make money?
We’ve talked a lot about the way sex does or doesn’t sell, and the many ways female identifying artists choose to either utilize sexualized images in their work or not. My question (which can be answered at the end) is whether or not religion can pose the same capacity to create pawns in a capitalist system- or maybe, how does the patriarchal foundations in Westernized religions decide who becomes those pawns? I think for Mylene, she is being faced with the virgin/whore dichotomy while also not being allowed to make that decision because of the men in her life that have decided to remove her agency over the situation. As Mylene is a tool of religion created by the people controlling her, do you think other artists (like Kanye) are using religion as a tool to make money?”
” It is no secret that black bodies have historically been used and exploited by governments and institutions with ulterior motives. When cries of outrage are silenced with claims of delusion and accusations of crackpot conspiracy, only to be proven right years later through the release of government documents and the confessions of dying politicians and bureaucrats, people seek answers to how something so clearly unjust is possible. With the popularity of Hip-Hop culture, particularly rap music, continuing to gain popularity in the nineties, more and more artists used the platform as a soapbox to voice their political frustrations. However of the many people, businesses, and entities attributed to contributing to the continued disenfranchisement of black bodies, one regularly bought up in rap lyrics and hip hop imagery both historically and in contemporary is the Illuminati.
Originally a secret society created in 1776 by Adam Wieshaup, a Bavarian professor who seeked to plant his allies in positions of political power in order to pull power away from the Roman Catholic Church, the illuminati was officially disbanded only a decade later. Despite this, rumours of the groups continued existence and influence have persisted for centuries and permeated its way into hip hop culture through Prodigy’s famous opening to his verse in “I Shot Ya”. Since then the illuminati ironically has become a household name, being featured in countless other lyrics, as well as featuring prominently in graffiti, album art, music videos. However, going on into the 2000s as more rap artists experienced massive amounts of financial success, the tables seemingly turned and the accusations began to be levied against the artists themselves. With many of the examples of modern lyrics mentioning the elusive society deflecting these varied accusations, such as in Jay-Z’s Magna Carta “Conspiracy theorists yelling illuminati/ Can’t believe this much skill is in the human body”.
In other words, the presence of the illuminati in hip hop is a direct effort to put a name to the face of unjust reality black and brown folk face in society. When discussing and understanding abstract concepts such as the prison industrial complex, gentrification, and the commodification of black culture and bodies, it is much easier to fully grasp when the curtain holding the puppeteer is seemingly pulled back. Considering hip hop is a common platform for these discussions it is no wonder the illuminati has continued to maintain a relevant presence.”
