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Chance the Rapper is a hip hop artist who infuses elements of gospel in his work. He gained recognition after releasing his second mixtape titled Acid Rap. After releasing a third mixtape, Coloring Book, he received three Grammy Awards. He is a self-proclaimed “Christian rapper,” who tells his followers that he wants to “learn the Word of God.”

In class we talked about how record labels can affect an artist, and how record labels want to make money and are driven by money. Chance is famous for having no record label to his name, but after making a deal with Apple Music, people began to question his independence. Chance was quick to clear up this confusion on Twitter by stating that as long as he is in control of his music, he is an independent artist. He has helped pave the way for other smaller independent artists to be successful in the music industry. When he won his three Grammy’s, he became the first artist to do so for a streaming-only album. This was a big step for the music industry because it showed the world that streaming music was going to be the next big thing. He proves that even without the support of a record label, artists can be immensely successful.

On July 26, 2019 Chance released his first solo project since Coloring Book, titled The Big Day. It is composed of twenty-two songs and has twenty-two featured artists on it. This album is similar to his other albums in that the message of God is weaved throughout it. In a recent interview with Ellen, Chance states that his “understanding of everything is Jesus,” and that “Jesus is [his] inspiration.” You can feel this message in the song “We Go High” when Chance repeatedly sings “we love you God,” and “we give the glory to You, God.”

I think what makes Chance so special is his ability to bridge the gap between traditional hip hop music and incorporating his religious beliefs. Although he sings about his religion, he is still able to reach a wide variety of people because he remains under the hip hop umbrella. His gospel influences are apparent throughout his music, but people who are not religious are still able to enjoy it since it feels like traditional hip hop.

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2 Live Crew is a hip hop group that got started in the 80s in Miami. They were known for their sexually explicit lyrics in their songs and graphic images in their music videos. In 1990, 2 Live Crew’s fourth album was banned in the United States for obscenity. This brought a whirlwind of questions like: can you ban music? is this censorship? and is it up to the government to decide who can listen to certain music? As a result of their court cases, they became known for protecting the first amendment. This eventually led to parental warning labels being placed on music.

2 Live Crew also started the debate about sexism in hip hop. Since many of their music videos depicted negative portrayals of women, people began to wonder if all hip hop had a negative representation of women. In order to evaluate this, it is important to contextualize it. In the Gates essay, it is suggested that those listening to this kind of music (the kind that appears to objectify women) must be looked at within the context of the black experience in America. This must be done in order to find messages that those outside of African American culture would probably miss. For example, music may intentionally exaggerate sexism but those in the community would never take the lyrics seriously.

This debate of people against hip hop has been going on for years, and recently the American Journalist Bill O’Reilly spoke out against hip hop. He was upset since there has been a recent decline in the number of Christians in the United States from 78.4% to 70.6%.  He thinks that this decline is due to hip hop and rap music. He states that “the rap industry often glorifies depraved behavior, and that sinks into the minds of some young people.” His proclamation reminds me a lot of what went on with 2 Live Crew in the past. People were quick to blame 2 Live Crew for their lyrics without understanding the context behind it. I think Bill O’Reilly is jumping to conclusions about the reason for the decline in Christianity in the US. He underestimated the other various reasons for this decline such as an increasing number of people becoming educated. Bill O’Reilly is clearly uneducated on rap music since he makes an umbrella statement on all of hip hop when in reality, hip hop is not the cause of the decline in Christianity.

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Jack King, also known as Parker Edison, came into our class to speak about the metaphenomenon of underground rap. He spoke about how underground rap or hip hop is a term for music that is outside of mainstream, commercialized music. It was noted in class that as the years have passed, underground hip hop has become more mainstream and has started to influence other genres. Once underground hip hop becomes popular enough, it transforms into pop music. This is what happened to artists like Drake who eventually has become known around the world. Underground artists seek to inspire other artists and be socially conscious. When Jack King was speaking about this, one artist came to mind- TobyMac.

TobyMac is a Christian hip hop artist who has released seven studio albums and has won seven Grammy Awards. He used to be a member of the group called DC Talk but went solo in 2001. Since then, he has worked hard to establish himself as one of the most prominent figures in Christian hip hop. Despite this, I would still consider him an underground hip hop artist because he remains outside of mainstream hip hop. He was one of the first people to produce a Christian hip hop album. The group DC Talk released their first self-titled album in 1989, which is what caused them to dominate Christian hip hop music in the 90s. Although they gained respect from other artists, DC Talk and TobyMac have remained underground artists because they never quite broke through to mainstream music.

On November 1st, TobyMac released a new song featuring a singer-songwriter named Terrain. The song is titled “All I need for Christmas,” and it is a fun holiday song. Since both artists make Christian music, it is not a surprise that the song is more than just a holiday melody, it talks about Jesus being born. They sing about how “love came wrapped up as a child” and how Christmas is “more than a holiday.” They also sing about “the birth of a Savior,” which, in my opinion, really elevates the song to mean more than typical holiday songs.

After hearing Jack King speak on underground hip hop artists, I am glad I was reminded of TobyMac. Over the years, TobyMac has inspired Christian music and has certainly made his mark as an underground Christian hip hop artist.

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Lizzo is a hip hop artist who has been making music for years and is known for her inspirational and fun songs. She has been making hit songs since 2013 when she released her first album, but she recently became a superstar when her song “Truth Hurts” gained massive popularity. Although the song was released in 2017, it became famous in 2019 because of the app TikTok, and later went double platinum in the United States. What I love about Lizzo is that she is a powerful voice for women in modern-day. She preaches about body positivity and not being ashamed of who you are. Lizzo challenges the standard ideas of what beauty is by taking charge and being comfortable in her skin. Her most recent album was released this year and it is titled Cuz I Love You. On the cover, Lizzo poses nude- a bold statement which she describes as “body-positive” and done so to “represent everyone.” She reconstructs dominant male ideologies by accentuating herself, being confident in her sexuality, and celebrating women’s bodies.

In 2016 Lizzo released a song titled “Good As Hell.” A little over a week ago she released the same song featuring Ariana Grande. This song is very progressive and feminist since it preaches being a strong independent woman regardless of what a man may think. In the song, Lizzo tells her fans to “dust your shoulders off” and “keep moving.” It is lyrics like this that make her fans idolize her. She makes you feel important and reminds you to keep going. The music video for this song is inclusive too, it includes people of all colors, shapes, and sizes- truly an anthem about women uplifting women.

Growing up Lizzo attended church, and you can see how it has influenced her music. Although her songs are not overtly religious, many of them include a gospel choir and a strong message, similar to what a church service would be like. Her music in itself can be considered religious since it has found a common ground between preaching and hip hop, and people are devout fans of her.

Lizzo reminds me of when we talked about feminist hip hop artists in class. We watched Queen Latifah’s “Ladies First” song which is a powerful song about empowering women. Just like Queen Latifah, Lizzo is a role model to her fans. Both inspire and uplift their fans through motivational songs and positivity. The “queen mother” is someone who sets a good example for their fans and who has created their own space in the hip hop world. I believe that both of these women have done that and have successfully created a space for women to take charge and own who they truly are.

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Lecrae is a Christian hip hop artist who has released nine albums. He proclaims himself as a hip hop artist whose music just simply reflects his faith. He has made seven albums and several mixtapes to date and has won two Grammys, one in 2013 and one in 2015. Other than his religion, Lecrae raps about unity and his own emotions about social justice.

This year he released a new single called “California Dreamin” which features John Givez. This west coast song is Lecrae reminiscing on when he was growing up and he would go visit his grandmother in California. This is when he was first introduced to religion. His grandmother was very religious, so she taught him about faith and what it meant to be a Christian whenever he would go visit her. At the same time, Lecrae was inspired by “the OGs who ran the streets,” and it is these two inspirations that led him to rapping about religion. The song opens with Lecrae rapping about “play[ing] on the beach” and listening to “old school” music “in [his] stereo,” which sets the tone for this summer song. He then references visiting his cousin in Compton and as he looks back at those times, he can to see how those people went through a lot of hardships and have made it through together because of God. He thanks God for his “people in the hood” because of the lessons he learned from them every summer. Lecrae reveals his nostalgic emotions about these summers in California because it is where he first began to dream about what it would be like to make it big. He ends the song full circle by stating that “the hood called [him] OG ‘cause [he] blew up” but if you knew him it is all because of God.

Since Lecrae is a Christian hip hop artist, he reminds me of when we talked in class about the challenges of viewing hip hop as an actual religion. Some people with “traditional” views of religion have a hard time understanding how hip hop itself is a religion or how some hip hop artists rap about religion. The juxtaposition between hip hop and its sometimes negative connotations with archetypal religion cause some people to have a hard time seeing how the two can connect. What I find so interesting about Lecrae is that he blends his own religion with hip hop. He uses his music as an outlet to express his faith and share that with the world.

Lecrae’s new song “California Dreamin” is a nostalgic summer song that takes him back to his religious and hip hop roots; he is an artist who raps for his people about the message of God.

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Ameer Vann is an artist who was previously a member of Brockhampton. He was an integral member of the group, even appearing on the cover of every saturation album in the trilogy. The group was set to release an album titled Puppyin 2018, but after Ameer faced several sexual abuse allegations, the group did not release the album and they cancelled the rest of their tour. Ameer was then was kicked out of the group because of these allegations.

Since leaving Brockhampton, Ameer released an album titled Emmanuelin September 2019. Emmanuel is Ameer’s middle name, which reflects the album’s theme- Ameer’s struggle with his own life as well as religion. In this album, Ameer raps about his emotions in a self-pitying and melancholy manner. It is a big transition away from Brockhampton’s sound, as the boy band has a mixture of soft melodies and hard-core rap. The sound of this album lacks Brockhampton’s vibrancy and catchy choruses- it is much more aggressive and cold.

In the song called “Pop Trunk,” Ameer references “havin[g] thoughts of suicide” and in the song called “Plastic” he states that he “take[s] pills, but it still hurt.” This message of suicide and hurt is portrayed throughout his album. Instead of rapping about overcoming his demons, Ameer simply raps about them, which makes it seem like he is capitalizing on the narrative that he is some sort of villain after his sexual abuse scandals.

Ameer questions his faith in this album. He reveals that he has “been callin’ out to God, but [he] just don’t be hearin’ him.” He even states that he “need[s] God” and “holy ghost” to get him out of his depression. This confusion and questioning of faith that Ameer expresses reminds me of Talib Kweli’s “Hell.” In “Hell,” Kweli gives a different perspective on religion and challenges some views of religion. He brings to light the misconceptions that people have of religion and some of the hypocrisy that some religions and religious leaders have. He shares his own struggles with religions and raps about the negative aspects of religion. He uses allusions and references to summarize the influence that religion had on his life.

Emmanuelhas helped Ameer transition from a member of a boy band to a solo artist and this new direction for him is quite different from what we are used to hearing. I am interested to see if the next songs he puts out stay with this lonely and gloomy vibe or if we will hear something new from him.

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In the past, other hip hop artists have been viewed as prophets and have referenced religious themes in their music. Tupac is a well-known hip hop artist who many believe was a black urban prophet that was sent to give a voice to the underrepresented. Tupac sought to explain the harsh realities that they were going through and he gave hope to people in inner cities of America. In Lauryn Hill’s song called “Zion,” she sang about an angel that told her to keep her baby despite being pressured by the music industry to have an abortion. Talib Kweli shed light on the misconceptions that people had of religion. He was open about his own struggle with religion and made music about the influence that religion had on his life. Although it is not rare for hip hop artists to rap about religion, it may cause skepticism among fans when done so on such a massive platform.

Kanye West is a controversial figure in hip hop. His most recent album titled Jesus is Kingis Kanye’s religious rebirth. This follows his very exclusive worship services called “Sunday Service” which are advertised all over Kanye and Kim Kardashian’s social media platforms. At these so-called church services, he and others sing worship songs as well as Kanye’s own songs. Clips from these services are then posed on social media for the masses to see- they advertise Kanye to his fans. This is quite the change of pace for Kanye, and as a result, this transition has received scrutiny.

In this article, Kanye’s motives are questioned. It appears that he is turning the church into his own brand in order to make a profit. Although rapping about religion isn’t inherently wrong, motives behind doing so are what causes controversy. Kanye has said in the past that “hip hop is a religion” and has even reduced religion by claiming that concerts are “just like church.” Artists like Kanye can be toxic to religious groups because through hip hop they can twist religion into something it is not. The juxtaposition between Kanye promoting himself as an artist and releasing a supremely religious album comes off as distasteful and disrespectful. Kanye’s narcissism is evident through this new movement, as he is the center of this, not religion. His commercialization of faith makes you question why he is choosing to reinvent himself for this new era.

Alas, the hype of spiritualization and new religious movements are not slowing down. Kanye will continue to sell shirts for several hundreds of dollars, and he will continue to profit off of this new wave.

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As we have talked about in class, hip hop got its start in 1973 in New York as a way for people to let off steam. It began with the four elements of hip hop. The disc jockey provided the music to hip hop; they mixed other peoples’ music to make it their own. The master of ceremonies was the rapper, or someone who narrated a story for the people. The b-boy, or b-girl, was the physical element of hip hop, or the dancing. Graffiti was the artistic and visual form of hip hop that served to advertise hip hop. All of these elements came together to form a religious ceremony in the streets where people could escape from their reality. While hip hop has since transformed into a much broader genre, many hip hop artists still hold on to the religious themes that the genre was born out of.

Brockhampton is a rap group made up of all boys- often proclaiming themselves as the “hardest working boy band in show business”. The group, led by Kevin Abstract, has made six albums together.  To me, Brockhampton is a group who encompasses many elements of classic hip hop, while still striving to create a new and refreshing sound in modern-day hip hop. Having a variety of members who contribute different styles to the group’s sound has helped them to have an eclectic music style. They boldly rap about real topics and real-life confusions.

On August 23, 2019, the group released their sixth album titled Ginger. The album contains many religious themes. A song that stands out on the album is “IF YOU PRAY RIGHT”. Based on the title of the song alone, it is obvious that the song is alluding to religion. At the beginning of the song Dom McLennon expresses his confusion with religion and throughout the rest of the song other members question their religions with inquiries like “who are you?”. The first lines “hallelujah, holy lion, word to Judas,” is a reference Christianity since Judas was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. The song also references Jehovah’s Witnesses with the line “at the door, bruh, Jehovah”. The line “a rain dance, bringin’ commas from Tacoma to Oaxaca” references Native American religions. Finally, there are allusions to Islam and “insha’Allah”.

Although hip hop has changed a lot throughout the years, groups like Brockhampton have stayed true to their roots by incorporating religious themes in their music. The band incorporates the four basic elements of hip hop into their music and music videos, but they are innovative through their sound and what they rap about. It is evident by all these religious references that the group has a variety of perspectives on religion. It is these differences that makes them so unique.

Their ability to find comfort in their confusion around religion shows that they are truly baring it all in their most recent album. The group’s embracement of classic elements of hip hop highlights how they stay true to the origins of hip hop, yet they are able to create an innovate sound that their fans love.