Underground Rap As Religion

Underground rap is largely a subversive, grassroots, and revolutionary movement in underground hip-hop, tending to privilege creative freedom as well as progressive and liberating thoughts and actions. This book contends that many practitioners of underground rap have absorbed religious traditions and ideas, and implement, critique, or abandon them in their writings. This in turn creates processural mutations of God that coincide with and speak to the particular context from which they originate. Utilising the work of scholars like Monica Miller and Alfred North Whitehead, Gill uses a secular religious methodology to put forward an aesthetic philosophy of religion for the rap portion of underground hip-hop. Drawing from Whiteheadian process thought, a theopoetic argument is made. Namely, that it is not simply the case that is God the "poet of the world", but rather rap can, in fact, be the poet (creator) of its own form of quasi-religion. This is a unique look at the religious workings and implications of underground rap and hip hop. As such, it will be of keen interest to scholars of Religious Studies, Hip-Hop Studies and Process Philosophy and Theology.

The second edition of The Bloomsbury Handbook of Religion and Popular Music provides an updated, state-of-the-art analysis of the most important themes and concepts in the field, combining research in religious studies, theology, critical musicology, cultural analysis, and sociology. It comprises 30 updated essays and six new chapters covering the following areas: · Popular Music, Religion, and Performance · Musicological Perspectives · Popular Music and Religious Syncretism · Atheism and Popular Music · Industrial Music and Noise · K-pop The Handbook continues to provide a guide to methodology, key genres and popular music subcultures, as well as an extensive updated bibliography. It remains the essential tool for anyone with an interest in popular culture generally and religion and popular music in particular.

Based on the categories of mainstream philosophy of religion, we must ask the question if said categories are adequate to describe the conceptual frameworks of traditions not philosophically dependent on Western theistic understandings, such as religious traditions and philosophies of life emerging from the continent of Africa and appearing in the United States, the Caribbean, North, Central, and South America, and Europe. This book host students from Pomona College and Pitzer College (Claremont Colleges, Claremont, California) who have analyzed the field of philosophy of religion as it stands to determine which of its insights can be applied to Afro-diasporic and Afrofuturist notions of "religion" and which ones cannot. Their reflections in these chapters will ask: how do we define Afro-diasporic religion, what would a robust philosophy of religion of Afro-diasporic and Afrofuturist religions draw from, what categories would/should it contain, how would we construct such a non-Western methodology of philosophy of religion, and what sources would we use to construct such a philosophy of religion? In an attempt to aesthetically experience what Afro-diasporic and Afrofuturist philosophies of religion are/could be, the text will rely heavily on fiction novels, poetry, music, movies, and texts written by Afro-diasporic people from various social locations and perspectives on some African notions of religion, among other centers of reflection.

Kendrick Lamar has established himself at the forefront of contemporary hip-hop culture. Artistically adventurous and socially conscious, he has been unapologetic in using his art form, rap music, to address issues affecting black lives while also exploring subjects fundamental to the human experience, such as religious belief. This book is the first to provide an interdisciplinary academic analysis of the impact of Lamar’s corpus. In doing so, it highlights how Lamar’s music reflects current tensions that are keenly felt when dealing with the subjects of race, religion and politics. Starting with Section 80 and ending with DAMN., this book deals with each of Lamar’s four major projects in turn. A panel of academics, journalists and hip-hop practitioners show how religion, in particular black spiritualties, take a front-and-center role in his work. They also observe that his astute and biting thoughts on race and culture may come from an African American perspective, but many find something familiar in Lamar’s lyrical testimony across great chasms of social and geographical difference. This sophisticated exploration of one of popular culture’s emerging icons reveals a complex and multi faceted engagement with religion, faith, race, art and culture. As such, it will be vital reading for anyone working in religious, African American and hip-hop studies, as well as scholars of music, media and popular culture.

Seeking to explore the blurred boundary between religion and pop culture, God in the Details offers a provocative look at the breadth, diversity, and persistence of religious themes in contemporary American consciousness. Representing a diverse range of disciplines, the contributors criticaly assess the ways in which American popular culture reappropriates traditional religious symbols to serve the purposes of particular communities.

In this dissertation, I study the discourses of new spirituality, atheism, and authenticity in Finnish underground rap in the twenty-first century. The study maps the worldviews and audiovisual aesthetics of four Finnish artists, Ameeba, Khid, Julma Henri, and RPK (the latter two forming the duo Euro Crack), while exploring larger issues such as contemporary Western religious trends and the relationship between artists, their audience, and the music industry. The study's data consist of field research (ten interviews, observation at concerts and in social media 2013-2017), and sonic and audiovisual material (recordings, three music videos). Theoretically, the study draws from religious studies theories on Western alternative spirituality and atheism, popular musicology, hip hop studies, and theories on musical authenticity. Methodologically, the study relies on ethnographic data collection, discourse analysis, and close reading. The study indicates that while the four Finnish rappers emphasize the individuality of their worldviews, their views reflect a mixture of ideas and traditions present in contemporary Western religious landscape, including non-dualistic Eastern religions, New Age environmentalism, and scientific atheism. The artists also outline an aesthetic for their music and underground rap more generally as defying rap music, pop music, and music industry norms, as independent music making, and as drawing from alternative electronic genres and deeper philosophical content. The artists construct authenticity by claiming that their music reflects their personal worldviews and aesthetic preferences. Further, the study increases understanding about the interrelationship of rap and postmodern worldviews and advances research on the connections between popular music and religion.

A collection of essays, interviews, and other prose works revolving around the North American underground and independent rap scene and the author's experiences with it, this book offers appreciation for those already steeped in the genre and provides outsiders a glimpse into a fertile subculture.

Listen to Hip Hop! Exploring a Musical Genre provides an overview of hip-hop music for scholars and fans of the genre, with a focus on 50 defining artists, songs, and albums. Listen to Hip Hop! Exploring a Musical Genre explores non-rap hip hop music, and as such it serves as a compliment to Listen to Rap! Exploring a Musical Genre (Greenwood Press, Anthony J. Fonseca, 2019), which discussed at length 50 must-hear rap artists, albums, and songs. This book aims to provide a close listening/reading of a diverse set of songs and lyrics by a variety of artists who represent different styles outside of rap music. Most entries focus on specific songs, carefully analyzing and deconstructing musical elements, discussing their sound, and paying close attention to instrumentation and production values—including sampling, a staple of rap and an element used in some hip hop dance songs. Though some of the artists included may be normally associated with other musical genres and use hip hop elements sparingly, those in this book have achieved iconic status. Finally, sections on the background and history of hip hop, hip hop's impact on popular culture, and the legacy of hip hop provide context through which readers can approach the entries.