Religion is an important aspect in life today because it is a specific system of belief about a deity that usually involves rituals, code of morals, and how to understand the meaning and purpose of life in the world, yet everyone has their own belief. Religion is being incorporated into many things, especially in music and there is a big topic about hip-hop music incorporating religious language and themes.
The article “what’s behind hip-hop’s religious revival” by Matt Sayles talks about hip-hop artists are now singing about their religious views. Sayles is talking about a religion that many hip-hop artists are focusing on this world and he states, “Rap got religious in 2016.” Before hip-hop music started getting religious many artists sang
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/ That means guns, sex, lies, videotapes/ But if I talk about God my record won’t get played, huh?” Considering that hip-hop music was more mainstream and popular music for background music at parties.
Throughout the article, Kanye west, Chance the Rapper, and Kendrick Lamar are mentioned because these artists have incorporated prayers or use divine lyrics and Gospel examples into their songs. For example, In the beginning of the article, Sayles talks about the show Saturday Night Live, which that day the show was altered into a Sunday morning at a Baptist church because Kanye West was performing a song from his forthcoming album “The Life of Pablo”, which had special appearances of a gospel choir, R&B singer Kelly Price, Pastor Kirk Franklin, and Chance the Rapper. Kanye West starts singing a short phrase from the Prayer of St. Francis, which says “Deliver us serenity, Deliver us peace, Deliver us loving, We know we need it.”, which is a Christian prayer. Sayles mentioned Kayne West album “The Life of Pablo” is named in
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Everyone has their own view and meaning of life. Sayles stated, “that the church is called to bring people to Jesus by attraction and accompaniment…”, which Kanye, Lamar, and Chance the Rapper decide to rap about how they manage their feelings and suffering, and many people now a day can relate to their problems, and with that attraction it leads them to the religious aspect. Modern religion still has belief of God but some believe in no “heaven or hell”, but many turn to religion to find help on how to cope with certain problems, which leads to an individual religious experience, and they could many different aspects on religion. For example, on what to believe or what rituals or prayers to follow. Traditional religion has certain aspects, rituals, and prayers to follow. In Christianity, Sayles mentioned “building up the Christian community, devotional, faith-based art has always been about moving the heart.” Traditional Christianity has some social teachings of “Jesus”. For example, Love God and forgiveness between human beings and the
one's spiritual life and even though we now have Christian rapper's, rap still seems to
In 21st century North America, there is a strange, seemingly-unanimous idea that, to fit the norm, one must be white, Christian and male. While, over the course of the latter 20th century and in the past decade, this has changed, the norm is very much still Christian and male; African-Americans now fit into the “All-American” stereotype, for the most part. However, there are, of course, outliers – deviants from the standard norm; these outliers make one wonder what the norm truly is, why it is so, how did it get to be that way, and what the norm will be in the future. Kanye West's 2004 single titled “Jesus Walks” is written as a ode to Jesus helping him and every other Christian through hard times in their life. Sampling the same beat and background vocals, Lupe Fiasco customizes West's song to fit his own spirituality, in “Muhammad Walks.” Finally, Matisyahu employs his gift of verse and beat-boxing to distribute a rap about his religion, Judaism, over the airwaves and on television. Both Matisyahu and Lupe Fiasco challenge the societal norm of Christianity, while Kanye West solidifies the claim that Christianity is a syncretic religion.
Hip-hop started out in the Bronx in New York City with DJ Clive “Cool Herc” Campbell. A man of Jamaica, he essentially birthed the new genre of music by carrying over the Jamaican tradition of Toasting, which “is boastful poetry or over a melody provided by a deejay.” (ROOTS ‘n’ RAP, rice.edu) Its creation can be accredited to the record spinning DJ’s of the clubs of the 1970s. From this, the Master of Ceremonies (MC) was created. He would come up with creative rhymed phrases that could be delivered over a beat or acapella at dance clubs. They consisted of boasts, insults, “uptown throw downs”, and political commentary. From there, hip-hop only grew more and more popular. Being that it was created in a dominantly African American neighborhood, it became a tool for blacks to express their problems with society and be heard by the rest of the country. Though it was a microphone for African Americans to express themselves to the rest of the country, there were some other things that happened within the black community through hip-hop as well. One of these things was a diss track.
“When done correctly, there may not be another genre in all of music with more substance within its texture.” This line was said by Colin McGuire, a blogger who wrote a blog on his Top 10 Lyricists in the history of hip-hop. Lyricists? Isn’t hip-hop that music genre where rappers talk bout fast cars, women and money over energetic, bass-heavy beats? The average listener may ask this. Hip-hop lyrics are widely misunderstood because people aren’t educated on the genre, some people are prejudice and it’s just “black” music to them, and the radio only plays the energetic, bass-heavy party songs.
One main artist that comes to mind is Kurtis Blow. Kurtis is from Harlem, New York. The motherlands of hip hop itself. “Blow” is the first rapper to be signed by a major label. Blow’s number 1 album that got him to where he is today is called Christmas Rapping. “I’ve recorded over two hundred songs and I have never used profanity and I always thought that was just me trying to have some dignity” (Kurtis Blow Biography). This quote represents to me the description of what Hip Hop really is. Although hip hop is filled with passion and emotion, curse words can still be avoided. When you put curse words into rap, I feel that to society, it degrades that song. Hip hop is a way how people express themselves. Putting cursing into a song also limits your listeners and can be a big impact on getting your name out globally. What Kurtis Blow did was open up an alley for the African American community to get their voices heard. Putting curse words into you rhymes may sound bad and inappropriate for everybody to hear. But according to a certain west side group, they thought otherwise on the subject. A hip hop rap group, from the hood of Compton, California, named NWA (Niggaz Wit Attitudes) is known for bringing cursing and gangster violence into their songs. NWA changed the game of hip hop in multiple ways, all the way down to the fashion of their era. According to the article NWA, it states “the double-platinum album Straight Outta Compton, N.W.A brought gangsta rap into the mainstream. The record was among the first to offer an insider's perspective of the violence and brutality of gang-ridden South Central L.A. With songs like "Fuck tha Police" and "Gangsta Gangsta" set in a chaotic swirl of siren and gunshot sounds, it also foreshadowed the 1992 L.A. riots” (Simon & Schuster
Hip-hop began in the undergrounds in Bronx New York in the early 1970s and has gradually grown to become mainstream music. According to Lori Selke a professional writer for Global post, “hip-hop is the term that refers to more than just a musical genre; it includes culture, dance, art, and even fashion” (Selke). Since it originated in the 1970’s, hip-hop has had profound influence on society, and has grown into the lives of listeners worldwide; hip-hop’s influential power is astonishing. Within the last decade, hip-hop artist like Jay-Z, Nas, and Young Jeezy helped to increase voting in the 2008 presidential campaign by informing a hip hop audience consisting of a majority of African Americans on soon to be 44th President of the United States, by using their voice and lyrics as their tool to encouraging people to stand up for a change by voting. According to Emmett Price in his book Hip Hop Culture (2006), “in the early years prior to the rise of recorded rap music via Sugar Hill Gang’s controversial “Rapper’s Delight” (1979) hip-hop was a growing culture driven by self-determination, a love for life, and a desire to have fun [through entertaining fans and expressing themself].” (Price) Although artists today accomplish the same things, the focus of the lyrics has changed consisting of “extolling violence, drug and alcohol use, and detailing sexual exploits” (Selke). If one were to observe the most popular music from artist in the 80’s until now, they would notice a definitive change in its overall message. If hip-hop continues on its current route it will become a musical genre known solely for its references to sex, drugs, and violence.
Hip-Hop became characterized by an aggressive tone marked by graphic descriptions of the harshness and diversity of inner-city life. Primarily a medium of popular entertainment, hip-hop also conveys the more serious voices of youth in the black community. Though the approaches of rappers became more varied in the latter half of the 1980s, message hip-hop remained a viable form for addressing the problems faced by the black community and means to solve those problems. The voices of "message" hip...
While the genre of hip-hop came about in the 1980s, a division was set between the blacks and the whites. African American youths would be discriminated, yet they would suppress their anger and empower self-perception. This would result by an African American speaking openly about the struggles in the streets and the bond that they share with their home community . The authenticity of the hip-hop culture was simply an artist representing the truth through their lyrics about community, moral values, and self-expression . If an artist did not represent any truth in their lyrics, their music
Prophets of the Hood is the most detailed and a brilliantly original study to date of hip hop as complicated and innovative literary story form. It is written with a refreshing harmonious combination savvy significance rigor as well as brave and creative narrative verve. Imani Perry’s research is an interesting analysis of late twentieth century in American great culture. Prophet of the hood is an excellent and unique book. It draws up a clear division between the negatives and positives involved in hip hop. She takes the discussions of rap to a deeper and greater levels with an insightful analysis of the poetic and political features of the art form. Being a fan and a scholar, Perry is aware the art, tradition of hip hop through an analysis of the song lyrics.
Hip hop has multiple branches of style and is a culture of these. This essay will examine Hip Hop from the point of view of the following three popular music scholars, Johnson, Jeffries and Smitherman. It will delve deeper into their understanding of what hip hop is and its relation to the different people that identify with its message and contents. It will also identify the history of Hip hop and its transition into popular music. In particular this essay will focus on what hip hop represents in the black community and how it can be used as a social movement against inequalities faced by them. This will then open up the discussion for the how this has influenced society, and the impact it has had in terms of race issues which hip hop itself often represents through music.
Hip Hop was, at its inception, a means for African Americans to tell their unaltered story. Towards the mid-’90s however, the genre began to be way more salse conscious than it ever was before. Artists, such as Nas for example, began to stray from their genuine and authentic selves to start making music about drugs, violence, and sex because that was what pushed their sales to the corporate level. This album was Lauryn Hill coming to re-educate the people in an attempt to bring them back to the root of Hip Hop. This poem focuses on many different themes, however this focuses on religion. In the poem Mystery of Iniquity the writer Lauryn Hill examines religion to illustrate racial discrimination, corrupting and crooked
Kovacs' essay on the origins of TLLC and Lee's conversion reveals her support of rap music being another form of worship to God. While Lee's journey is quite an eye-opener for the genre performed like other Christian musicians, the evidence to support her stance and argument (or pseudo-argument) aren't exactly expanded on and lost some potential to persuade some to try rap music. Even so, she was able to peek interest in rap music for young Adventists to experiment with and surely does succeed in doing
Black culture in our society has come to the point where it is allied with pop culture. The most popular music genres, slang terms, to dance forms it all comes from black culture. Hip hop emerged from black culture, becoming the soul of it that is seen in the media. Hip hop helped the black community by creating new ways of expressing themselves, from breakdance, graffiti, rap and other music, to slang. This culture was rooted in their tradition and created from something new. Hip hop created a new form of music that required the use of turn tables, ‘cuts’, loops, rhythm, rhyme, stories, and deep-rooted emotions, but also incorporated black oral forms of storytelling using communal authors.
The lyrics in today’s hip hop music are completely pointless. An example of this is 2Chainz “Birthday Song,” in which the rapper says, “She got a big booty so I call her Big Booty,” the song continues with “I’m in the kitchen, yams everywhere.” The majority of hip hop songs on the radio involve three main themes: money, drugs, and women. Rappers brag about the massive amount of money they have, along with their intake of drugs. Hip hop also sexually degrades women by labeling them with offensive words, and overall all being very misogynistic towards women. The message that the new hip hop today is sending is incredibly negative for the audience as well. The negative message that the music is sending poses a large effect on the young listeners. Young listeners are influenced by the antagonistic lyrics in these hip hop songs that they are listening to. Unlike today’s hip hop, old school rap music had meaningful lyrics and when hip hop went to the mainstream media the message was destroyed. Old school rap music has lyrical significance. Rappers wrote lyrics about important subjects such as racial inequality, politics, life struggles, and police brutality. An example of a lyric with actual meaning is N.W.A.’s “Express Yourself,” “I’m expressing with my full capabilities. And now I’m living in correctional facilities.” This lyric explains how the very act communicating their beliefs will cause trouble and could possibly lead to
Hip hop has permeated popular culture in an unprecedented fashion. Because of its crossover appeal, it is a great unifier of diverse populations. Although created by black youth on the streets, hip hop's influence has become well received by a number of different races in this country. A large number of the rap and hip hop audience is non-black. It has gone from the fringes, to the suburbs, and into the corporate boardrooms. Because it has become the fastest growing music genre in the U.S., companies and corporate giants have used its appeal to capitalize on it. Although critics of rap music and hip hop seem to be fixated on the messages of sex, violence, and harsh language, this genre offers a new paradigm of what can be (Lewis, 1998.) The potential of this art form to mend ethnic relations is substantial. Hip hop has challenged the system in ways that have unified individuals across a rich ethnic spectrum. This art form was once considered a fad has kept going strong for more than three decades. Generations consisting of Blacks, Whites, Latinos, and Asians have grown up immersed in hip-hop. Hip hop represents a realignment of America?s cultural aesthetics. Rap songs deliver a message, again and again, to keep it real. It has influenced young people of all races to search for excitement, artistic fulfillment, and a sense of identity by exploring the black underclass (Foreman, 2002). Though it is music, many people do not realize that it is much more than that. Hip hop is a form of art and culture, style, and language, and extension of commerce, and for many, a natural means of living. The purpose of this paper is to examine hip hop and its effect on American culture. Different aspects of hip hop will also be examined to shed some light that helps readers to what hip hop actually is. In order to see hip hop as a cultural influence we need to take a look at its history.