The Religiosity of Rap Music
Web Du Bois – “The Souls of Black Folk”, (1903)
In The Souls of Black Folk W.E.B. Du Bois describes the interesting relationship between Black Americans and American Christianity. He describes the Black individual as having “two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body (Du Bois, 9). According to his theory the “Black Man” exists outside and is incompatible with the traditions of American Religion. As a result of the irreconcilable dichotomy within the black person, they have had to develop their attachments to, and interpretations of the bible. “Why did god make me an outcast and a stranger in my own house? (Du Bois, 10) The “Black Man’s” existence as the “Seventh Son” of God, alienates him from “traditional” White supremacist Christian practices.
This heavily affects the way Black people practice religion and the way it manifests itself in their artistic productions. One arena where the juxtaposition between blackness and religion becomes most present is Rap Music. Rap Music is most often related to violent imagery, vulgar language, drug use, and debauchery. This is not typically compatible with Christian beliefs, however, through the next few examples, it becomes evident that Rap music can approach, and directly focus on “Christian themes”.
2Pac – “Only God Can Judge Me”, feat. Rappin’ 4-Tay, (1999)
“Only God can judge me (That right?)
Only God can judge me now
Nobody else (Nobody else)”
Tupac Shakur is known for having a converted Muslim mother and a rejection of the white man’s Christianity, which led him to a more modern conceptualization of religion. The title of this song “Only God Can Judge Me”, is inherently religious and refers to the Christian belief of “judgment day” and the existence of “heaven” and “hell”.
“And they say it’s the white man I should fear
But, it’s my own kind doin’ all the killin’ here
I can’t lie, ain’t no love for the other side
Jealousy inside, make ’em wish I died
Oh my Lord, tell me what I’m livin’ for
Everybody’s droppin’ got me knockin’ on heaven’s door”
This song is riddled with religious terms whilst also actively issuing social commentary on the current state of his community. Here Tupac creates an interesting duality within black people’s attachment to religion. He details the violence, betrayal, and hostility within his community whilst maintaining an attachment to religion and the promise of deliverance at “heaven’s door”. This song which is so tied to Christianity is also riddled with violence and political commentary.
Chance The Rapper – “Blessings” feat. Jamilla Wood, (2016)
This song starts with the gospel-esque voice of Jamila Woods and the repetition of “ I’m gon praise Him, praise Him ‘til I’m gone” a direct reference to Christianity and prayer through the allusion to praising “Him”. The song then goes on to make connections between Chance the Rapper’s personal life and the bible.
“I don’t make songs for free, I make ’em for freedom
Don’t believe in kings, believe in the Kingdom
Chisel me into stone, prayer whistle me into song air
Dying laughing with Krillin saying something ’bout blonde hair
Jesus’ black life ain’t matter, I know I talked to his daddy
Said you the man of the house now, look out for your family”
Within his first verse, Chance makes the connection between his artwork, Christianity, and freedom (“songs” “freedom” “Kingdom”). This is a connection that is very specific to the Black experience with religion. Given that for over four hundred years, Christianity was used as justification for the subjugation of black people, their continued fight for the ability to practice religion on their terms becomes symbolic of black resistance and resilience. He also makes a claim against the white-washed christian practice of viewing Jesus as a “white man”, which doubles as a political statement in favor of the Black Lives Matter Movement.
“They booked the nicest hotels on the 59th floor
With the big wide windows, with the suicide doors
Ain’t no blood on my money, ain’t no Twitter in Heaven
I know them drugs isn’t close, ain’t no visit in Heaven
I know the difference in blessings and worldly possessions
Like my ex girl getting pregnant and her becoming my everything”
Further on in the song, Chance alludes to the ways his life has deviated from traditional christian values. He talks about his rise to fame, referencing “sins” like “suicide”, and “drugs” while explaining how his life on earth will differ from that in “Heaven”. “Blessings” by Chance the Rapper featuring Jamilla Wood is inherently religious, from the musicality to the chosen topics, Chance does a great job at illustrating blackness and its relationship with religion.
Kanye West – “Jesus Walks”, (2004)
In this song, Kanye, also known as “Yeezus”, samples the Christian hymn “Walk With Me”. The music video alludes to the forced labor of slavery with black men clad in all-white working in fields. The music video also alludes to the existence of hell through the imagery of fire engulfing a “preaching” Kanye. Through the lyrics Kanye repurposes Psalm:23 by using it to comment on Chicago’s violence “I walk through the valley of the Chi where death is”.
“God show me the way because the Devil’s tryna break me down
The only thing that I pray is that my feet don’t fail me now
And I don’t think there’s nothin’ I can do now to right my wrongs
I wanna talk to God but I’m afraid ’cause we ain’t spoke in so long
To the hustlers, killers, murderers, drug dealers, even the scrippers
To the victims of welfare feel we livin’ in Hell here, hell yeah”
In the song Kanye directly addresses the incompatibility of rap and religion by saying :
“They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus
That means guns, sex, lies, videotape
But if I talk about God my record won’t get played, huh?”
Kanye is attempting to bridge the gap between “traditional rap music” and “proper Christianity”. The music video does a great job of alluding to biblical imagery: hellfire, deliverance, sinners, and repentance, whilst also commenting on the violence Christianity and white supremacy has imposed on the black community ( slavery, “victims of welfare” and the burning of the cross by the Ku Klux Klan). In this song and through his other work Kanye uses rap and religion to express his traumas.
Rap music in its popularity has been directly linked to the Black American Community. Rap is used by black people as a form of expression. As was shown through the three previous examples, blackness in America is usually antithetical to “traditional Christianity”. These three and other black artists, use their artistic production to reappropriate religion and the way they practice.
W.E.B. Du Bois describes black people’s connection to religion as God “[making them] an outcast and a stranger in [their] own house”, however as was shown through these examples black people have developed their attachments to Christianity and can use it as a tool for empowerment and hope. Some songs can be direct references to religion like: “Blessings” by Chance the Rapper, “Jesus Walks” by Kanye West, and the popular reggae song “I Am Blessed” by Mr. Vegas, or can use a religious motif to issue social and political commentary like Tupac’s “Only God Can Judge Me”.