The Euphemism Of Hip Hop Religion

In his fifth solo album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West gives a cultural critique of Hip Hop and racism in America, specifically in the song “Gorgeous” where West raps, “Is Hip Hop is just a euphemism for the new religion? The soul music of the slaves that the youth is missing…” (2010). The branding of Hip Hop as a religion (and a black religion) is an extremely common theme in rap music, as generations of individuals—particularly blacks—have fully embraced Hip Hop culture in the inevitable human quest for subjectivity. This paper will reflect on why and how Hip Hop is a religion via exploration of several relevant articles, and propose what Hip Hop and its predecessor, the Black Church (perhaps their followers to be more specific),

[and choosing] to preach financial prosperity over brotherhood and sisterhood” (Hutchinson, 15). Although the Black Church is not solely responsible for the hardships the Black Community faces, it still has many faults, one of which is its overall lack of an honest attempt to deal with contemporary issues as they are. As a result, many blacks felt and still feel abandoned by the Black Church, which in turn would give birth to Hip Hop and all of its sensibilities as a new religious expression, a new response to the changing terrors of the

Some principles of humanism ultimately return to the supernatural for subjectivity, but many demand that humanity assume responsibility for itself and its destiny. These kinds of sensibilities most notably emerge in the late Tupac Shakur’s last album, The Don Killuminati. In tracks like “Blasphemy” and “Hail Mary,” Shakur humanizes the Christ event and other supernatural phenomena (like the Illuminati) both by challenging and re-signifying their traditional associations and definitions (Pinn, 93-94). This is exemplified in lines like “the media be crucifying brothas severely. Tell me I ain’t God’s son…” (1996). To Pinn, Shakur’s relocation of all reality within human flesh is “the ultimate humanizing of theology” because it challenges the audience to create tangible meaning out of the absurdities of the “Thug Life’s” reality (Pinn,