Dance to My Ministry

Carl Petter Opsahl

Dance To My Ministry

RCR 19 Exploring Hip-Hop Spirituality Dance To My Ministry My To Dance

Edited by Hans-Günter Heimbrock, Stefanie Knauss, Jens Kreinath Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati, Hans-Joachim Sander and Trygve Wyller

In co-operation with Hanan Alexander (Haifa), Carla Danani (Macerata), Wanda Deifelt (Decorah), Siebren Miedema (Amsterdam), Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore(Nashville), Garbi Schmidt(Roskilde), Claire Wolfteich (Boston)

Volume 19

Vandenhoeck &Ruprecht

Dance To My Ministry

Exploring Hip-Hop Spirituality

Vandenhoeck &Ruprecht

With 62 colored figures

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data available online: http://dnb.d-nb.de.

ISSN 2197-1145 ISBN 978-3-647-60454-1

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2016, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Theaterstraße 13, D-37073 Gçttingen/ Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht LLC, Bristol, CT, U.S.A. www.v-r.de All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

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PART ONE

1. Microphone Check. Introduction ...... 13 1.1 Situatingmyproject...... 14 1.1.1 Mapping the field ...... 14 1.1.1.1 Hip-hopand theology...... 14 1.1.1.2 Finding religion in hip-hop...... 16 1.1.1.3 Ethnographic studies ...... 17 1.1.1.4 Hip-hopand religion studies ...... 18 1.1.2 Engaging with the field ...... 18 1.1.2.1 Christian theologyand hip-hop...... 18 1.1.2.2 Studies in hip-hopand religion ...... 21 1.1.2.3 Religion, hip-hopand structures of power .... 23 1.1.2.4 HowIlook and listen...... 24 1.1.3 The structure of my book...... 27 1.1.3.1 Some words on terminologyand language.... 29

2. Peace, Unity, Love, and Having Fun. Exploringspiritualityina hip-hopcontext...... 31 2.1 Spiritualityand hybridity...... 32 2.1.1 Understanding Spirituality...... 32 2.1.1.1 Mapping spirituality...... 33 2.1.1.2 Spiritualityand Liberation Theology...... 36 2.1.2 Hybrid spiritualityand contexts of struggle ...... 38 2.1.2.1 Race and gender ...... 41 2.1.2.2 Hybridityand subversive spirituality...... 44 2.2 Hip-Hop Esthetics ...... 45 2.2.1 Community...... 45 2.2.1.1 The borders of hip-hopculture...... 46 2.2.2 The powerofthe letter:writing ...... 48 2.2.2.1 Elements of writing ...... 50 2.2.3 Wheels of Steel:DJing ...... 54 2.2.3.1 DJingand producing ...... 55 2.2.3.2 Manipulating time with hands ...... 57 2.2.4 Physical Graffiti: Breaking...... 59 2.2.5 The ArtofRhyming:MCing ...... 61 2.2.5.1 The poetics of rap ...... 62

2.3 The Fifth Element: Knowledge ...... 65 2.3.1 Afrika Bambaataa and the Universal Zulu Nation ..... 65 2.3.1.1 The Beliefs of the Universal Zulu Nation ..... 67 2.3.2 KRS One and the Temple of Hip Hop...... 72 2.3.2.1 The HipHop Declaration of Peace ...... 72 2.3.2.2 The Gospel of Hip Hop ...... 74

3. Black God. Nation of Islam and Nation of Gods and Earths ..... 78 3.1 Mainstream Islam in the USA and popular culture...... 78 3.2 The Nation of Islam ...... 80 3.2.1 Black nationalism ...... 81 3.2.2 MoorishScienceTemple of America ...... 82 3.2.3 The formation of the NationofIslam ...... 83 3.2.3.1 Elijah Muhammad, the Messenger ...... 84 3.2.3.2 MalcolmX...... 85 3.2.3.3 Aturntowards mainstream Islam:Warith Deen Mohammed ...... 87 3.2.3.4 Renewal. Louis Farrakhan ...... 88 3.2.4 Theologyofthe NationofIslam ...... 90 3.2.4.1 Christianity, Islam and scripture ...... 91 3.2.4.2 Creation. The Original Man ...... 92 3.2.4.3 Eschatology...... 95 3.2.4.4 The Saviour ...... 97 3.3 The Nation of Gods and Earths ...... 99 3.3.1 The formation of the NationofGodsand Earths ..... 99 3.3.2 The Supreme Mathematics and Supreme Alphabet .... 101 3.3.2.1 Christianity, scripture and Islam ...... 104

PART TWO

4. Walls of Memory. Graffitiasshared memory...... 109 4.1 Looking at Walls...... 111 4.1.1 ArtCrimes ...... 113 4.2 Culture on the wall ...... 116 4.2.1 Walls celebrating ethnic culture...... 116 4.2.1.1 The People’s Wall ...... 117 4.2.1.2 Zapatismo Chiapas ...... 119 4.2.1.3 Hijos de Borikn ...... 123 4.2.2 Walls celebrating hip-hopculture...... 124 4.2.2.1 FemalesHip Hop...... 124 4.2.2.2 Babes in Boyland ...... 125 4.2.2.3 Harlem World ...... 126 4.2.2.4 Cityscene with rappers ...... 128

4.3 Walls of grief ...... 130 4.3.1 Memorial graffitiand spontaneous memorials ...... 130 4.3.1.1 Memorial graffitiinNew Yo rk ...... 133 4.3.1.2 PrincessRuby –Inmemoryofababy ...... 134 4.3.1.3 Memorials for Willy and Carela ...... 134 4.3.1.4 Twomemorials by TRACY 168 ...... 136 4.3.2 Musiccelebrities –and apope...... 138 4.3.2.1 JamMaster Jayand Big Pun ...... 138 4.3.2.2 Tito Puente –and 9/11 ...... 139 4.3.2.3 …and apope...... 142 4.3.3 9/11 memorials ...... 143 4.3.3.1 NewYorkNew Yo rk ...... 144 4.3.3.2 LibertyinTears ...... 144 4.3.3.3 An allegoryoflove...... 145 Chapter Summary...... 146

5. Black Jesuz. Rap and Christianity...... 148 5.1 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill ...... 149 5.1.1 Autobiography, loveand hip-hop...... 150 5.1.2 Ascholar on the subjectcalled theology...... 156 5.2 2Pac and Thug Theology...... 161 5.2.1 Life anddeath of 2Pac ...... 161 5.2.2 Thug life ...... 163 5.2.3 Thug philosophy...... 165 5.2.4 Towards aThugTheology...... 169 5.2.4.1 Visions of Heaven ...... 169 5.2.4.2 Black Jesuz ...... 172 5.3 “Pump the Volume ForChrist:” Christian Rap ...... 177 5.3.1 Free At Last:dcTalk ...... 178 5.3.1.1 DecentChristian Talk ...... 178 5.3.1.2 Love, sex and marriage ...... 180 5.3.1.3 Time and the World ...... 181 5.3.2 Grits and the ArtofTranslation...... 182 5.3.2.1 Hip-hopisaGodinspired artform...... 183 5.3.2.2 It TakesLove–marriage and broken relationships ...... 184 5.3.2.3 Spiritual Struggle ...... 186 5.3.2.4 The End ...... 187 5.3.3 The Continued Mission of MC Ge Gee ...... 188 5.3.3.1 Acontinued mission...... 189 5.3.3.2 Praise, loveand trust ...... 190 5.3.4 FemceerepresentativeofChrist:Elle R.O.C ...... 192 5.3.4.1 Breathing holy hip-hop everyday ...... 192 5.3.4.2 Faith, loveand relations ...... 193

5.3.4.3 Transformation throughChrist...... 194 5.3.5 Hip-hopChurch ...... 195 5.3.5.1 HipHopEMass and the HipHop Prayer Book ... 196 Chapter Summary...... 198

6. Allah UAkbar. Rap and Islam ...... 200 6.1 Walking with Farrakhan ...... 201 6.1.1 Fear of aBlack Planet:PublicEnemy...... 201 6.1.1.1 Welcometothe Terrordome:Facing racism .... 202 6.1.1.2 She Watch ChannelZero: Sexist stereotypes ... 205 6.1.1.3 Message to aBlackman:Public Enemyand the NationofIslam ...... 207 6.2 FivePercenterRap ...... 211 6.2.1 In GodWeTrust:Brand Nubian ...... 212 6.2.1.1 Concerto In XMinor:Whiteracism and black nationalism ...... 212 6.2.1.2 Always is aQueen:Genderroles and sexism ... 213 6.2.1.3 Ain’t No Mystery. FivePercenterteachings .... 215 6.2.2 Enter the Wu-Tang:Wu-Tang Clan ...... 219 6.2.2.1 Wu-Revolution...... 221 6.3 Women rappers and Islam ...... 225 6.3.1 Welcome to the PowWow:QueenYonasda ...... 226 6.3.1.1 God, loveand music ...... 226 6.3.2 Baduizm:Erykah Badu ...... 230 6.3.2.1 Food for thought...... 230 6.3.2.2 ANew Amerykah ...... 233 6.3.2.3 Hip-hopashealing ...... 235 6.4 Rap and mainstream Islam ...... 238 6.4.1 The Ecstatic MosDef ...... 241 6.4.1.1 Black on Both Sides –differentmeanings of black 242 6.4.1.2 Hip-hop, spiritualityand Islam ...... 245 Chapter summary...... 249

PART THREE

7. Remix ...... 253 7.1 Mapping hip-hopspirituality...... 254 7.1.1 Types of hip-hopspirituality...... 254 7.1.2 Hip-hopspiritualityasspiritualityofliberation ...... 256 7.2 Hybrid strategiesfor spiritual resistance ...... 258 7.2.1 Doctrinal strategies of resistance ...... 259 7.2.1.1 Survival in this world ...... 259 7.2.1.2 Survival from thisworld ...... 261 7.2.2 Cultural strategies of resistance ...... 262

7.2.3 Experiential strategiesofresistance ...... 265 7.3 Bringthe Noise. Subversiveestheticpractices and spirituality.268 7.3.1 Subversion, noise, repetition and break ...... 268 7.3.1.1 Subversiveuses of technology...... 269 7.3.1.2 Noise ...... 270 7.3.1.3 Repetition ...... 272 7.3.1.4 The break ...... 274 7.4 …andhaving fun. Outro ...... 275

Acknowledgements ...... 278

Sources ...... 279 CD’s ...... 279 Literature...... 280 Websites ...... 295 Video ...... 296

Colorplates...... 297 List of illustrations ...... 297

Index...... 317

© 2016, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525604540 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647654541 © 2016, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525604540 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647654541 PART ONE

Ithink of theologyasacreative formofart.Likeall creativeforms of art, it needs to have its ears and eyes on the street, checking the pulse, engaging in dialogues. In theology, as in otherart forms, there are differentattitudes and approaches, ranging from the strictly doctrinaltothe explorativeand experimental. Whereas the doctrinal is popularly associated with theology, it is certainly presentinother artforms as well. In the historyofmusic, painting, dance, theatre, literatureand so on,schools have evolved demanding strict artistic discipline amongtheir adherents. The example of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian comes to mind, breaking with de Stijl when fellowpainterand de Stijl founder Theovan Doesburg introduced adiagonal in his painting (Stoichita:1979, 5). On the other hand, the explorativeand experimental aspectoftheologyisoften underemphasized and overlooked despite the fact that it has ahistoryaslongastheologyitself. In the context of Western Christian theology, Icould pointtovarious traditions of mystic theology transcending the limits of doctrinal language. Or whynot Hildegard of Bingen, whointext, paintings, music and dance exploredspiritual as well as worldly knowledge (see Bingen: 1988). The DJing, MCing (rapping), writing (graffiti) and b-boying/b-girling (breaking) of hip-hop culture are, liketheology, creative forms of art. And like theology, these artforms might be ways of making sense, building community and giving formtosomething spiritual. The spiritualities of hip-hopculture come in allshades of the spectrum,from doctrinalteachings to experimental explorations reachingfar beyond rational logic. They are mostly shaped outside academic andreligious institutions, but reflectintellectual traditions from the ancienttothe present. And they come with abeat, aflow, arhyme, with colors, shapes andmovements. The juxtaposition of “hip-hop” with categories suchas“theology,” “religion” and “spirituality” might not seem obvious, as hip-hop often is framedasdeviantculture, “a cultural artformriding and challenging the moralperipheries of society” (Miller:2013, 26). On the other hand, there is in hip-hop culturealso an abundanceofreferences to scripture, religious imagery and concepts such as “God,” The Almighty,”“Allah”and so on (Zanfagna:2015). Thus, hip-hop spiritualities might be ambiguous, poly- valent, incoherentand at times at odds with hegemonic structures of religion. WhatIset outtodointhis work is to explore hip-hopspiritualityaslived, embodied spirituality. As hip-hop andits spiritualities often are shapedin

© 2016, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525604540 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647654541 14 MicrophoneCheck. Introduction urban contexts of struggle and oppression, Iemployatheoretical framework of hybrid spirituality informed by thinking on race, gender and intersection- ality. Hybrid spiritualityisspiritualityofthe third space, the in-betweens, where hegemonic structures are challenged and power negotiated, allowing for subversive spiritual strategies where institutional religion oftenhas been an instrumentofoppression. There are agrowing number of academic writings on hip-hopintheology and religious studies. In the following,Iwill situate my workinthe contexts of these fields and then layout the structure of thisbook. Iguess,then, this introduction worksinafashion similar to the ritual of checking the microphone before beginning aperformance:you check your voice, your equipment, your audienceand “who’s in the house,” make sure your audience is comfortable and preparethemfor what’s coming up.

1.1 Situating my project

As atheological enterprise engaging with spiritualityand popularculture, this work is interdisciplinarybynatureand can be framed in anumber of ways. For more than 25 years academics from avarietyofdisciplines have studied the hip-hop’s relation to religion, applyingamultitude of methods and approaches. Along the waythere have also been attempts at field construction, identifying inquiries of interest and theoretical concerns. To better situate my project, Iwill very briefly surveysomeofthe existingworkalong four lines:1) theological and pastoral engagementwith hip-hopculture, 2) identifying religious elements in hip-hop culture and relating them to religious or spiritual traditions, 3) ethnographicstudiesofmusical and religiouspractices and 4) developing critical theoryinterrogating the relation between religion and hip-hop. Iwill thenengagemore deeply with some of the works and suggest what my projectbringstothe table. Obviously,there are overlaps between these lines, and others might construct differentcategories. Istill think, however,that some kind of mapping is helpful in navigating acomplex and continuously growing academic landscape.

1.1.1 Mapping the field

1.1.1.1 Hip-hop andtheology

Generally,theological and pastoral engagementwith hip-hop culture continues along tradition of black theologyand black church dialoguing with black popularculture. Thus, thinkers such as JamesH.Cone influenced

© 2016, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525604540 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647654541 Mapping the field 15 this field by understanding black popularculture as sources for black liberation theology(Cone:[1972] 1991;[1975] 1997). Cornell West contributed as early as 1982 with “On Afro-American Music: From BeboptoRap” (West: 1999).1 West places rap in the context of prophetic, revolutionaryAfrican American musical tradition, “a countercultural practice with deep roots in modes of religious transcendenceand political opposition” (ibid.,474). Ye t, he sees rap also as a“crucial break,” as “black rap music is principally aclass-specific form of the Afro-American spiritual-bluesimpulse that mutes, and often eliminates, the utopian dimension of thisimpulse.” While “surely grounded in the Afro-American spiritual-blues impulse,” certainversions of black rap music “radically call into questionthe roots of this impulse, the roots of transcendenceand opposition”(ibid.,482 f). As afounder and editor of thejournal BlackSacred Music,Jon MichaelSpencer helpedsparkabroader theological engagementwithhip-hopwiththe special issue The Emergency of Black andthe EmergenceofRap (1991a).With contributionsfromSpencer,Michael Eric Dyson, William Eric Perkins, C. Eric Lincoln andAngela Spence Nelson,the issue addressessuch topics as the influenceofNation of IslamonPublicEnemy,the theology of Public Enemyand Kool MoeDee and hip-hopasprotest andprophesy. Spencercoined the term “theomusicology” to denote theintersection of theologyand musicology:

Theomusicology is musicology as atheologicallyinformeddiscipline.Thistheologically informed musicology,which especially borrowsthought andmethodfromanthropology, sociology, psychology, andphilosophy, hasasits subjectthe myriad cultural worldsof ethical, religious, and mythological belief(Spencer:1991b,xi).

This definition givesaglimpse of the varietyofapproaches to theological engagementwith music in general, but also the study of hip-hopand religion. Building on Augustine’s City of God,Spencer developed an interpretational modeldistinguishingbetween sacred, secular and profane spheres of cultural production (Spencer:1991a, 3–46), which also latertheologianshas put to use in understanding hip-hop(see Hodge:2010). Michael Eric Dyson is aprolific writer,whose work on hip-hopaccounts for only asmall fragmentofhis extensiveoutput.His works include Between God andGangsta Rap (1996) and Holler if YouHear Me.Searching for TupacShakur (2001). Especially the latter offers engaging theological reflectionsonGod, suffering and compassioninrap and hip-hopculture. Pastoral approaches to hip-hopare mostly contextualized in black urban church life,attempting to understand and dialogue with the cultureofblack youth and their contexts. Examples include Efrem Smith and Phil Jackson, The Hip-Hop Church (2005), Daniel White Hodge, The Soul of Hip Hop (2010) –

1The article appeared first in the journal Semiotexte 1982, an extended version appeared in Le Monde Diplomatique in 1983 and has later been reprinted in Prophetic Fragments (1988) and The Cornel West Reader (West:1999).

© 2016, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525604540 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647654541 16 MicrophoneCheck. Introduction both of which Iwill return to shortly –and Ralph B. Watkins’ Hip-Hop Redemption:Finding Godinthe Rhythm andthe Rhyme (2011).

1.1.1.2 Finding religion in hip-hop

With the rise of “nation consciousrap” in the late 1980s, scholarsbecame increasingly aware of the influence of Nation and Islam and Nation of Gods and Earths on hip-hopculture. Both Nation of Islam and Nation of Gods and Earths emerged in African American urban areas. Their teachings were secret and virtually unknown to outsiders prior to their dispersion in rap lyrics. Early contributions from James G. Spady, Angela Spence Nelson, William E. Perkinsand Ernest Allen,jr. identifiedsuch impulses and contextualized them within abroader tradition of black nationalism (Spady/Eure: 1991; Spady/Lee/ Alim:1999;Perkins:1991; Nelson:1991; Allen,jr. 1996). The most thoroughanalysis of the Nation of Gods and Earths’ influence on hip-hop to date is Felicia M. Miyakawa’s groundbreaking FivePercenter Rap (2005). Throughin-depth analysis of lyrics, music, sampling and album covers, she details howrappers creatively engage with the teachings of Nation and Gods and Earths. The influence of mainstream Islam on hip-hopissofar less explored, as Sami Alimpointsto(Alim:2005). He also underlines howaglobal perspective is much needed: researchers are needed to study the trilingual (Arabic, Hebrew,and English) rappers in Palestine as they rail against what they perceive to be the tyrannyofthe Israeli State, to explorethe struggles of Muslim rappers in Algeria as they wage against war on what they believe are corrupt regimes …and to examine howMuslim artists in South Africa are critiquing what they perceiveasthe hypocrisy of their nation’s “new democracy” (ibid.,272).

In herbook, Gaza Graffiti. Messages of Love andPolitics,Mia Gröndahl documents graffiti’s relation to differentcalligraphicstyles and howitisused as avitaloutlet for political and spiritual struggle in Palestine (Gröndahl: 2009). HipHop Africa offers awide scope of approaches to such vibranthip- hopscenes as Ghana, South Africa, Senegaland Mali (Charry,ed.:2012). However,religion is given only cursorytreatment.The importantrole of religion in Senegalese hip-hop, for instance, can be glimpsed in JayRutledge’s liner notestothe compilation Africa Raps:

90 %ofall rappers are Muslims. Religion plays averyimportantrole in daily life … Manyofthe rappers grew up in modernurban Dakar and have afar better education than the average population, which have also changed their outlook on religion. One of the differences between Islamic nations and westerndemocracies is the question

‘who has to lead the country: the politician or the Imam?’… Islam is seen as akind of moral counterweight to the corrupt Senegalese society(Rutledge:2001). More research is done on Islam and hip-hopinEurope, where hip-hophas provided ameans to performattractive, urban Muslim identities for African or Asian immigrantyouth (Malik:2009; Drissel:2009;Swedenburg:2001). Hip-hoppers also engage with other religionsand spiritual traditions. Noise andSpirit collects essays on notonlyIslamand Christianity, but also Rastafarian andhumanist impulses in hip-hop(Pinn,ed.:2003). Raquel Cepeda explores the impactofAfrican andAfrican Caribbean spiritualities on hip-hop, as does Ivor L. Miller in relation to writing(Cepeda:2006;Milller:2002, 92–5). Judah Cohen surveys Jewish hip-hop scenes in the US (Cohen:2009).

1.1.1.3 Ethnographic studies

While most of the work cited abovehas been concerned with hip-hopmusic, and especially lyrics, emerging ethnographicapproaches significantly open the field of hip-hopand religionstudies by exploring howhip-hopand spiritualityislived, practiced and makesspace for meaning making.The pioneering study of the late Greg Dimitriatis, for instance, provides insight into howyoung people at aCommunitycenter connecttothe life,death and resurrection myths of 2Pac (Dimitriadis:2001). Christina Zanfagna interviews and observes Christian rappers in the Los Angeles area (Zanfagna:2011). Her study demonstrates howthese rappers performspace as they move from church sites to street corners and secular hip-hopvenues. Interestingly,she observes howtheir spatial practices exist at the intersections of multiple fields of power,juxtaposing and integrating hip hopspace, church space and cityspace in experimental, conjunctural, and ever- changing ways. …[These spaces] fall between the cracks of the classic binaryofthe church and the streets and are an example of some of the new hybrid performance experiences… (ibid.,153). Similarly,John O’Brien studies howMuslim groupLegendz throughspecific musical practices performs “a cool piety” in Mosque as well as secular hip-hop venues (O’Brien:2013). He identifies three such practices,

First, by applying religiousguidelines to their music listening,The Legendz work to enjoythe pleasures of secular hip hopwhile remaining “good Muslims.” Second, by collaboratively locating Islamic symbols of pietynested within otherwise secular hip hopsongs, the boys work to experience apotentreligiositythroughculturally youthful means. Third, by making constant, fleeting references to hip hop’s un- Islamic elements, the Legendz work to briefly pivot away from religiousorthodoxy, and suggest asecular worldliness to complicatetheir religious identity (ibid.,106).

Studies likethese give valuable insight in lived hip-hop spiritualityand the hybridityofitnature.

1.1.1.4 Hip-hop andreligion studies

As the scholarship and academic literatureonhip-hopand religion is growing in scope and varietyofapproaches, some scholars have recently soughtto define thisworkasafield of study.Thus, this workbecomes more visible in academia;scholars might find new areas of dialogueand engaged discussions, and it helps teachers designing curricula for their classes. Since 2011, the American AcademyofReligion features a“Critical Approaches to Hip-Hop and Religion Group” with the aim to “provide aspace for interdisciplinary, sustained, scholarly reflection and intellectual advancements at the intersections of religionand hip-hopculture.” AnthonyB.Pinnand Monica R. Miller have done much worktodefinethe fieldofhip-hop and religion studies with books like The Hip Hopand Religion Reader (Pinn/Miller (eds.): 2015), Religion In HipHop.Mapping the NewTerrain in the US (Miller/Pinn/Freeman (eds.): 2015) and Miller’s Religion andHip Hop (Miller:2013). The first volume collects existing writing and features sections on hip-hop and Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Easternreligions as well as theoretical approaches to the relationship between hip-hop and religion,the religious aesthetics of hip-hopand howhip-hopitself can be understood as “religious.” The second features newly written materialonsuch themes as hip-hopand religion in cyberspace, spatialityinsouthern hip-hop and hip-hop, religion and humanism. Miller’s volume offerstheoretical angles to religiousstudies approaches to hip-hop as well as valuable chapters on spiritual biographiesof hip-hop artists and the contemporarydance form krunk.

1.1.2 Engagingwith the field

Iamobviously indebtedtothese works. My exploration can be placed in either category, with the exceptionofethnographic studies. However,astheologyis my pointofdeparture, possiblyalso my pointofarrival –and as Iset out to refinetheoretical approaches to the study of hip-hopand spirituality–Iwill engagemore closely with some of the theological and religious studies approaches to further situate my work.

1.1.2.1 Christian theologyand hip-hop

Efrem Smith, Phil Jacksonand Daniel WhiteHodge areamong several theologians whohavefeltthe significance of hip-hopinatheological sense. In

© 2016, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525604540 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647654541 Engaging with the field 19 theirbook, Smithand Jackson acknowledge allmusic as beingspiritual.By highlighting rap’s rootsinAfrican American preaching, they pointtomany similaritiesbetween the gospelofJesusand thesocial concerns of manyrappers (Smith/Jackson: 2005,115–28).Theyagree on Michael Eric Dyson’s definition of spirituality, as “sustaining one’ssanityinthe midstofcultural conflictwhile pressing toward amoral goal thatishighlyunachievable yetstill possible in order to sustain one’sspirituality, creating asocialbalance to live another day” (ibid., 116). Still, hip-hop in itself is notspirituallysustainable, they claim:

The spiritualityhip-hopoffers is attractivebut can’t provide consistent, holistic solutions –internal peace and sustainable life change. Like all other musical styles, hip-hopisspiritual by nature; however, its influence depends on the artist and his or her interpretation of life. It would be putting too much weight on hip-hoptoexpectit to meet all the spiritual needs of its people (ibid.). While they assertthat the church has much to learnfrom hip-hop,especially its critique of the church, their primarygoal seems to be to understand hip- hopcultureinorder to better understand and preach to young people. Daniel WhiteHodge underlines that hip-hopistoo complex to be readily evangelized, but seems more inclined than Smith andJackson to find a sustainable spiritualityinhip-hop. “Hip-hopexplores abasic theologyoflife,” he contends (Hodge:2010, 22). He outlines fiveareas in which theologyhas much insighttogain from hip-hop: 1) atheologyofsuffering,2)atheologyof community, 3) atheologyofthe “hip hopJesuz,” 4) atheologyofsocial action and 5) atheologyofthe profane. Suffering is acentral themeinhip-hopaswell as in the Bible, Hodge states, referring to the books of Jeremiah, Joband Psalms as well as 2Pac and other rappers. “IfJob had been arapper,hewould have gone platinum afterhis triumphal returntothe stage,” he argues, as Job“had all the riches… his baby mamaleaves him… Joblives in the ghetto and complains aboutit” (ibid.,89). Hodge also draws parallels between many hip-hop lives and the life of Jesus, whoknew pain and suffered on the cross. Jesus was also born and raisedbya baby mama, an “unmarried woman with child could only mean onething – someone’s been dippin’ in the field!” –and got into trouble with the authorities just likemanyrappers and hip-hop youths (ibid.,95f). On atheologyofcommunity, Hodge first demonstrates that communityisa central concern of hip-hop, with its emphasis on place and crews, before exploring the same themes in scripture and theology. He quotesthe German theologian Jürgen Moltmann, underlining the social relationships of Jesus:

Jesus lived in mutual relationships with the poor and the sick, and the men and women whohad been thrust out of society… We have to look more closely at his life in the context of these social relationships, for we can only understand the life- histories of men and women in the light of their relations with other people, and the communities to which they belong(ibid, 118).

Hodge then shows howJesus builds communitythroughhis disciples and how hip-hop is aspiritual community. Hodge’s “hip-hopJesuz” is clearly inspired by both James Cone and 2Pac’s “BlackJesuz” which we will explore further in chapter5.Heunderlines that hip-hop Jesuz is multi-ethnic, pointing both to the list of Jesus’ ancestors and his engagementwith peoples of different ethnicities such as the Samaritan woman(ibid.,125–40). The spelling of Jesuz is significant, Hodge states:“the z represents aJesuz whoisboth ‘above,’ in termsoftheological inquiry, butalso ‘below,’interms of access.” He goes on to write that the Black Jesuz of 2Pac opposes the dogmatic Christ of early creeds and is suspicious of interpretationsof Scripturethat do not takecontext, historyand language into consideration.It reconstructsthe life of Jesus from the Gospels so that the community can both participate in and find their ownstoryinJesus’ narrative(ibid.,127).

Thus, hip-hophas alikeness to Jesuz, and “hip-hopembraces many Christological paradigms” such as his emphasis on justice (ibid.,131). Hodge’s developmentofatheologyofjustice and social action is inspired by what he calls 2Pac’s “Nit Grit ‘Hood Gospel.” He points to how2Pac’s ideas were formed by the BlackPanthers and BlackPower thinking in speaking out againstracismand social injustice (ibid.,141–56). Finally, in atheologyofthe profane, Hodge points to howprofanityand offensivelanguageare not the sole property of hip-hopand street life, they also occur in the Bible, and both the acts and words of Jesus could be considered offensive. Thus, ahip-hop theologymust not be afraid of the profane, but understand that hip-hoppers are farmore likely to encounter the sacredinthe profane than in the sacred areas of life (ibid.,160). As evinced by this shortoutline, Daniel White Hodge develops ahip-hop theologybythe method of likeness, by finding parallels between rap lyrics and biblicalscripture, between the lives of hip-hoppers and the life of Jesus and other biblical figures, between the concernsand action of the hip-hop communityand the gospel of Jesus. And likeEfrem Smith and Phil Jackson, he is engaged in amissionaryproject, understanding and interpreting hip-hop culturetobetterreach urban youth. While Smith and Jackson are positive abouthip-hopbut liberate it from prophetic powers, Hodge Christianizes hip- hoptoanextentthat hip-hopbecomeswhat church should be. Theprojects of both Smithand Jacksonand Hodgeoffer profound theological insights andmakesolid argumentsfor exploringhip-hop Christian theological context. And that’s what they set outtodo. However,itisnecessary–also for ChristiantheologiansIwill contend –toreflectonthe presence of otherreligions andspiritual traditions in hip-hop. Also, by hip-hop they referonly to rap music and lyrics.Atheological exploration of hip-hopculture will also benefit from studying writing (graffiti) and b-boying/b-girling.

1.1.2.2 Studies in hip-hopand religion

Both Monica R. Miller andAnthony B. Pinn’s TheHip Hopand ReligionReader (Pinn/Miller (ed.): 2015)and Monica R. Miller’s Religion andHip Hop (Miller: 2013) has awider scope. Miller andPinn’svolume includes essays on Christian, Islamic, Jewish,Eastern andindigenousspiritual influences in hip-hop. Thereare also sections on thereligiousestheticsofhip-hopand hip-hop as religion, allowing for awider understanding of religiousdimensions in hip-hopculture. Margarita L. SimonGuillory’s essayexplores“theerotic as religion”inthe works of Missy Elliott (Guillory:2015). “The erotic is aconnective force,” shestates,and continues, “the subject,inorder to move towardsatypeoferotically driven unification with otherentitiesofthe world, is oriented” (ibid.,103) She builds on historian of religionCharles H. Long’s understandingof“religionasorientation.” Especially helpful is Elonda Clay’s essay“Twoturntables and aMicrophone: Turntablism, Ritualand ImplicitReligion,” as it highlights theritual dimension of hip-hop aesthetic practices (Clay: 2015). Building on theconcepts of ritual theoristsRonaldGrimesand CathrineBell, sheapproachesDJbattlingasa ritualizing process, a“strategy for theconstructionofcertain types of power relationshipseffective within particularsocialorganizations,”revealingthe “political andsocialimplicationsofbattling in hiphop (ibid.,117). Analyzingtwo televised DJ battles, she then looksfor “implicit religion.” As definedbyEdward Bailey,implicit religion is constituted by three elements:personal commitment, suggesting “a concernwithhuman intentionality,”integrating processesand “intensiveconcernswithextensive effects”(ibid., 121). She summarizes the religiousaspects of battlesas

(1) the individualand collective commitments to hip hopculture and the artof turntablism, (2) the integrating foci of music, dance, energyexchange, consuming and play, and (3) memorable experiences of battling and other hip hophappenings connected to wider social spheres… (ibid.,125).

DJ battling is “partofthe wider corpus of hip hoppractices,” she asserts, and “can constitute areligiousformand practice. Rituals, such as battling and DJ battles, are keyexperiential opportunities that assist in the developmentand continuity of hip hopreligiosity” (ibid.,127). With contributions from manyscholars from adiversityoffields, there are understandably several differentunderstandingsofreligion in The HipHop andReligion Reader. In additionto“implicit religion”and “religion as orientation,” there is also Pinn’s notion of “religionascomplex subjectivity.” In the words of Pinn, “complex subjectivity” refers to religion’s basic structure, embedded in history, is ageneral quest for complex subjectivity in the face of terrorand dread associated with life within ahistorical

© 2016, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525604540 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647654541 22 MicrophoneCheck. Introduction context marked by dehumanization, objectification, abuse, intolerance, and captured most forcefullyinthe sign/symbol of the ghetto (in Winters:2015, 80).

Acomplex subjectivity “refuses closureorafinal destination”and acknowledges the“open-ended qualityofhumanexistence, the multiple layers andedges of our social worlds,life’s dissonantnotes andprospects of ongoing transformation” (ibid.).Thus, Pinn articulatesa“religioushumanism,”a“religiousorientation that stresses humanaccountability andthe potentialfor individual andsocial transformation withoutanappealtoasupernatural source” (ibid.).Inaddition, Millerand Pinn makeadistinctionbetween religion and/in hip-hopand hip-hop as religion.The firstdenotes thecomplex relationship betweenestablished religious systems andhip-hop,asreligious institutions engage with hip-hop or religious elements foundinhip-hopculturalexpressions. Thelatteraddressesthe wayhip-hop can be understoodasareligioussystem or practice,aswell as how some hip-hop artiststakeonthe role of religiousfigures or makeclaims of hip- hopculture as being areligioussystem.Hip-hop culturecan be understood as a contemporary developmentofAfrican andAfrican-Americanspiritual traditions, (Perkinson:2015; Sylvan:2015). Rappers can take on theroleormight be interpretedasmodernday prophets, griots and Messiahs(Sylvan:2015; Dube: 2015). Or,asexemplifiedbyKRS Oneand TheGospel of Hiphop whichIwill discuss in thefollowing chapter, hip-hopculture canbeunderstood as areligious system in itself. Throughout the book, “religion”and “spirituality” is usedinterchangeably, which clouds the perspective.Acknowledging that ourcontexts are different, I still think aclearer distinction between the two would have been useful,for instance between “spirituality” as personal, lived experience and “religion” as institutional, as system of thoughtand orally and written traditions of prescribedteachings and practices. Noristhere much focusongender in this book. With the exception of Guillory’s essayonMissy Elliott, there are only a few scattered passages, mostly on masculinity. An intersectional approach would flesh out and strengthen the concept of “complex subjectivity,”and would better grasp gender and power structures. In Religion and Hip Hop,Monica R. Miller contributestothe field of hip- hopand religion with acritical examination of “religion.” Most scholarship on hip-hop and religion has been constrained by “confessional, theological and hermeneutical approaches to cultural data,” she states (Miller:2013: 11). These approaches are erroneously occupiedwithpreservingtruth claims of what counts as religiousamong hip-hopsourcematerial… Thereisanapologeticassumption (grounded in the phenomenologicaltradition) withinthe larger fieldofreligionand theologyregarding theconstructionofreligionassomethingexperienced in the world ratherthan manufactured in theinterests of other social andcultural dimensionsoflife(ibid.,12).

Miller understands religionasasocial construct, “an interpretivecategory given meaning throughthe human privileging of certain human activities. As a social construction it cannot, and does not ‘do’ anything outside of human activity”(ibid.,11). Thus, she sets outto“hold up to apostmoderngaze the various manifestations of popular culture–in starting,that is,from the source material of culture itself rather than from prefabricatedunits of religious meaning,” hoping to give “a fresh rendering of human processes, and aseries of possibilities for redefining what we have categorized as religion” (ibid.,12). She criticizes previous academic explorations into hip-hopand religionfor either privileging “religion” over “hip-hop,”producing at least four problematic effects:1)Religion has been configured as adominanttoolofsurveillance used to “sanitize” hip-hopcultureas“deviant,” 2) Hip-hop’s cultural significance has been over-determined as “religious,” 3) The “grittyedges of hip-hop”havebeen used to “enable democratic possibilities vis--vis prophetic Christian rhetoric situated within acontext of black struggle,” and 4) some of the research seems to maintain“sue generis framings of religion in hip-hopculture to enable the persistence of religion (ibid.,73).

1.1.2.3 Religion, hip-hopand structures of power

Miller’s contribution is especially interesting because she addresses the issue of power relations between “religion” and “hip-hop.”Judging from the worksI have looked into,the writings of both Hodge and Smith and Jackson both privilege Christian faith over hip-hop,asthey interpret and value hip-hop throughtheir respective pastoral or theological lenses. They also explore “the grittyedges of hip-hop” in order to dialogue with “prophetic Christian rhetoric” contextualized in black struggle. The “religionin/and hip-hop” distinction of the Hip Hopand Religion Reader has critical potential for analyzing power relations, but it is only sporadically applied. Miller herself, on the other hand, employs a“critical hermeneutic” of religion where the relevance of religion ultimately evaporates. As she concludes, what we as scholars have come to call the religious, really ain’t so religiousafter all. Rather,religion is ataxonomical waybywhich aparticular discipline picks and chooses what human behavior and social activity should come to be understood as ‘uniquely’ religious. The categoryofreligion, most often leftun-interrogated, is used in various ways to accomplish particular social, political, and religiousinterests on behalf of the scholars themselves… (Miller:2013, 177). Iamnot fully convincedbythisconclusion. Iacknowledge that by studying “religion” or “spirituality” in whatever cultural form, thereisnodirectaccesstoa divine reality, aworld of spiritsorevenreligious and spiritual experiences. However,“hip-hop” is also asocial construct.Evenassocial constructs, it should

© 2016, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525604540 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647654541 24 MicrophoneCheck. Introduction be possible to discern“religion”, “spirituality”and “hip-hop”asmeaningful categories. WhatIhope to accomplish with atheoretical framework of hybrid spirituality, is to better understand the power plays of the in-betweens, not only between “religion” and “hip-hop” but also between institutional religion and lived spirituality, between external and internal authority, between pleasure and commitment–and many other possible in-betweens. Iwill not leave “religion” un-interrogated, but argue for adistinction between spiritualityand religion. Taking my cuefrom recentscholarship,Iwill understand spiritualityascentered on individual experience that might or might not relate to religion or adivine reality. Religion will be understood as referring to systems of doctrine, institutional structures of meaning,power and tradition related to adivine reality. Thus Ihopetoengage the critical potential of hip-hopspiritualityand its subversivepossibilities in decentering and “othering” hegemonic structures of religion. My approach of hybrid spiritualitywill be further outlined in the following chapter.Inwhat remains of this chapter,Iwanttooffer afew words on howI look and listen before Ioutline the structure of my work.

1.1.2.4 HowIlook and listen

Iengagewith materialized cultural expressions, “works of art,” more specifically graffitimurals and recorded raptunes on commercially released CD’s.The brief references to the works of Zanfagna and O’Brien above exemplifyhow fruitful ethnographic approaches are to the study of lived hip- hopspirituality. However,Ibelieve that it is also necessarytostudythe cultural expressions of hip-hopculture. The rhymes,the beats, the moves, the pieces on the wall are integral to what hip-hop is aboutand what draws people to hip-hop. Limitationshaveprevented me from studying b-boying/b-girling (breaking), but asection on thisart formisincluded in chapter 2. Ifocus on hip-hop in the USA, with much of the material originating in NewYork, even if aglobal scope would have enriched my perspectives on especially Islam and hip-hop. Iwas generously granted an opportunitytoworkasaguest researcher at Union Theological SeminaryinNew Yo rk. That enabled me to explore the hip-hop scene in NewYork firsthand, attending concerts and hip- hoprelated events as well as crisscrossing parts of the cityinsearch of graffiti. All of the graffiti studied is from NewYork, based on aselection of my own photographs taken between 2002–2013.2 Most of the artistsfeatured are well known and respected in the communityofwriting,and manyofthe works

2Some of the photographs were taken during my stay as avisiting scholar at Union Theological Seminary in 2002–03, but most stems fromfivesubsequenttrips in summer 2004, fall 2004, summer 2005, spring 2012 and fall 2013.

© 2016, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525604540 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647654541 Engaging with the field 25 were found in places designated to preserve and cultivate graffiti, suchas GraffitiHall of Fame in Harlem and the nowdefunct5Pointz in Queens. My approach has been explorative, treating the materialwithoutprecon- ceived ideas about what Iexpected to find and without awell-defined thesis to be proven or disproven. As the work proceeded, some themes of interest began to materialize and the material wasorganized in loose categories. These categories revolve around themes of faith and religion,construction of ethnic identity and critiqueofracism, gender and howhip-hopcultureisunder- stood.However,these categories do not apply to all the artists studied. My methodofinterpretation verymuchreflects my theological background as an exegete. Just as biblical exegetes look at words andconcepts in agiven scriptural text, searching for their origin and meaning,Ihave followed words, sounds, symbols, styles and shapes searching forpossible originsand interpretations. Some worksorparts of works are studied in detail, others summarized. My goal is not to confine the artworksinside rigid, fixed interpretationsand perceived meanings. Rather,Iwant to open up,unlock interpretational possibilities. Thus, an intertextualapproach has helped in exploring layers of meaning;samples, quotes, visual references, and in drawing in other“texts” from hip-hop culture, African American heritage and sacred texts, as well as advertisements and commercial television. The artworks are organized in loose thematiccategories, in Chapters5and 6, also by artist. Theyare studied onebyone in an attempt to makeaclose and “thick” reading. This approach has its shortcomings, especially as it makes the text more difficult to read. However,Ihope, it will also enable the richness, varietyand range, inconsistencies and contradictions in hip-hop culture and its cultural expressions to be seen. Althoughthe lyrics remain the focusinmystudy of rap (as is the case with most worksonhip-hop), Istronglydisagreewith Alexs Pate, whostresses the separation of words from the beats in his interpretation of rap/poetry.“The musicthat provides ahome to the words is quite interchangeable and thus less essential than many think,” he argues (Pate:2010, 38). On the contrary, the musicisintegral to the understanding and perception of rap lyrics, and is in itself rich with references, adding new layers of meaning.Analysis of hip-hop musicisacomplex issue. As Kyle Adams points out, Hip-hopmusicresists traditionalmodes of musicalanalysis morethan almost anyother genre. The techniquesdeveloped for theanalysis of Western artmusic, even when they canprovide accurate descriptions of some of hip-hop’ssurface phenomena,often leave the analystwithout adeepersense of howhip-hopoperatesand whyitseems to communicate so effectively with such abroad audience (Adams:2015, 118). Part of the problem, according to Adams, is that the Westernart music of the eighteenthand nineteenth century, out of which Western musical analysis is developed, is for the mostpart linear. Melody,harmony, rhythms, contrasts and timbralqualities are understood as partofmusical structure that moves

© 2016, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525604540 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647654541 26 MicrophoneCheck. Introduction from onepointtoanother. The music of hip-hop, by contrast, is cyclical… while manyrap songscontain familiar harmonies as partoftheir underlying beats, those harmonies rarely participate in ‘harmonic progressions’” (ibid., 119).3 Adams makesasimilar mistakeasPate when he goes on to saythat “otherelements–scratches, sampled sounds, synthesizersand so forth –might come and go throughout the song, but they are dispensable;the character of the song would remain intacteven if they were removed” (ibid.). Farfrom it. Scratching,sampled sounds, instrumental sonorities whether from synthe- sizers or other instruments, are vital elements of arap song’s character. However,itisasdifficult to assignextrinsic, semantic meanings to these elements in hip-hopasinothermusics:

Pictures have meaning because they refer to something in physical reality,and words have meaning because they refer to concepts and ideas. Buttosuggest that apiece of music has meaning because of extra-musical reference is, at least, highly contentious (Shepherd: 1990, 13).

Jean-Jacques Nattiez states, “for music, it is paramountnot to definemeaning solelyasareflection of somelinguisticmeaning.” He quotes Michel Imberty, “the musical signifier referstoasignified that has no exact verbal signifier… musical meaning,assoonasitisexplained in words, loses itself in verbal meanings, tooprecise, tooliteral:they betray it” (Nattiez:1990, 9). In exploring hip-hopspiritualitywith words, thisisfrustrating,aspossible spiritual dimensions in music more or less evade words, the words “betrayit.” When Irelate to themusic of hip-hopinthis work,Ido that on twolevels.Inthe last chapter Ireflectonageneral leveloncharacteristicsofhip-hopesthetic practices andimplicationsfor spirituality. In thechapters whereIdo close readings of recorded rap songs, Ioccasionally relate to specific musical elements attemptingtoexplorehow these contributeininterpretingspiritualdimensions of the song.Ido so by descriptivewords, in subjective interpretationsonhow I perceivethe music or the characterofthe song.Insome instances Itrack downthe original sources of samples, in case thecontentorcontext of the sample provides interpretational possibilities.The DJ or producer mightchoose samples for esthetic reasons only (see Miyakawa:2005), butasthese soundsare in the mix, they arealso available forinterpretation.

3However,Hip-hopscholars and practitionershaveovertimedeveloped tools to analyze characteristic esthetic practices of hip-hopsuch as flowrythm and rhyme(Adams:2015, Miyakawa: 2005, 73–99;Krims:2000), scratching and other DJ practices (Webber:2008) and samplingand other musical elements(Miyakawa: 2005:100–23;Schloss: 2004).

1.1.3The structure of my book

This work is structured in three parts, of which Part II constitutes the main bodyofthe text. Part Iconsists of three introductorychapters, including this one, while Part III consists of asingle chapter with observations and reflections on the materialbrought forth in Part II. Chapter two,“Peace, Unity, Love, and Having Fun,” develops athinking on hybrid spiritualitycombined with intersectional approaches, building on writers likeHomi Bhabha, Angela Davis, bell hooks, Patricia Hill Collinsand others. As hip-hopspiritualityisalso creative spiritualityexpressed through art, ashortintroduction to hip-hopculture is provided, emphasizing esthetic philosophies guiding graffiti, DJingand rap.The chapter ends with acloser look at two influential movements informinghip-hopspirituality: Afrika Bambaataa’s Universal Zulu Nation and KRS One’s Temple of Hip Hop. Chapter three, “Black God,”outlinescentral tenets of theNation of Islam and theNation of Gods andEarths, twomovements that have been very influentialin hip-hop culture. These movements arecontextualized inabroaderperspective of Islam in theUSA andblack nationalism. Numerousbooks have been written, especially on the Nation of Islam.4 Butasthe doctrinesofthese movementsmight be unfamiliartomany, this chapter aims to provide necessarybackgroundfor the exploration of Islamic inspired rap.Inoutlining theirtheologies, Ihaveconsulted source materialasfar as possible. Thethree chapters of Part II can be read as independentexplorations, or “journeys,” into differentspiritual landscapesofhip-hop. It begins literally with a walk in thecityitself, exploring graffiti in chapter four,“Walls of Memory.”So manyofthe graffitimurals Ihaveencountered seemtoevoke memories and remembrances of culturalicons,ofdistanthomelands, of politicaland spiritual leaders, cultural legacies.Itisasifthese murals,withportraits of African American icons from Malcolm Xto2Pac, imageryculled from Puerto Ricanor Mexican traditionsand spiritual andpolitical messages,bid youtoremember: rememberwhere youare coming from,remember the wisdom of thegreat teachersand thecultural heritagecreated by artists,remember the sufferings and painsofdeceasedcommunity membersand their families, remember to behave and to remain aware. On an esthetic level, themanyshapes and styles of graffiti pieces themselvesare loadedwithmemoriesand history, theremembrance of how, when andbywhomaparticularstyle,bubbleletters, 3D shapes,wildstyle and so on were invented or perfected.

4The most thorough, accountable and detailed work on the Nation of Islam Ihaveread so far,isM. Gardell, (1996). It also has the advantage of the author’s ownconversations with Louis Farrakhan. Anotherrecommendable study is E. E. Curtis IV (2006). On the Nation of Godsand Earths, literature is far scarcer,but is the studies by M. M. Knight(2007) and F. M. Miyakawa(2005, 9–37) arehighly recommendable.

Graffitiengages and provokes, interacts with the cityand its inhabitants. It operates in azonebetween the legal and the illegal, artand destruction, idealism and sly marketing.Thus, Ibegin the chapter situating the artof writing in the tension between crime and artthat it seems to thriveon, before exploring aselection of graffiti pieces. The first groupofpieces concerns cultural heritage, celebrating African American,Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage. Pieces celebrating hip-hopculture follow, including women’s contributionstohip-hop and graffiti. Lastly,Ilook at memorial walls, dealing with memoryand remembrance in amore conventional sense. Some walls commemorate deceased people, whetherordinarypeople from the neighbor- hood or famousartists;others were decorated in the aftermath of 9/11. These walls are contextualized in the recently evolving research field of spontaneous shrines, and demonstrate howsuch pieces both drawontraditional Christian religious imageryand interactwith recentdevelopments of popular spirituality. The next two chapters are devoted to rap music and the influences of Christianityand Islam. In chapter five, “Black Jesuz,” Iexplore the influence of Christianityand Christian heritage on hip-hop.The chapter starts with two quite differenthip-hop cultural “icons,” Lauryn Hill and 2Pac. The self- affirming, uplifting message of Lauryn Hill is replete with references to biblicalscripture, Christian concepts and hymnology. She carves outa flexible, inquiring theologywhere she is able to address issues of racism and oppression in institutionalized religion, question dogmas and freely combine elements from adiversityoftraditions. By contrast, 2Pac became the epitome of gangsta rap’s misogyny, violence and materialism, deplored by vice presidents and other toppoliticians. Still, he also created heartfelt songs saluting single mothers and soaring laments for people that have passed away due to the hardships of “street life.” Literally born into the Black Panthers and black political consciousness,hegrewupunder dire circumstances before attaining rap stardom. Some of his works combine revolutionarythoughts with street smartness, a“thug philosophy” also informing his search for a “BlackJesuz.” The last partofthe chapter examines howChristian rappers combine preaching and hip-hop. Here,Istudy the works of Dc Talk, Grits and female MC’s Elle R.O.C. and MC Ge Gee as well as the HipHopEMass developed at the TrinityChurch in the Bronx. Thelatter exemplifies howhip-hopcan be integrated into liturgy. Islamicinfluences areexploredinchaptersix, “Allah UAkbar.” Hip-hop, I believe, is the cultural movementwithinthe USA that hasprovidedthe most nurturingspacefor Islamic impulses.Inthe 1940s through the 1960s,Islam was recognizedinsome circles throughits influence in jazz (see chapter 3),and there areafewMuslim rock musiciansand an emerging Muslim punk scene, Taqwacore.5 Butinhip-hop,Islamhas been ahighlyvisible influencesince the

5This movementisnamed after Michael Muhammad Knight’s novel, The Taqwacore. Knight is, as

© 2016, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525604540 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647654541 The structureofmybook 29 beginning.Manytop-selling rapartistsare influenced by Islamand thereare underground scenes andnetworks dedicated to thepropagation of Islam through hip-hop. Thischapterstarts with asection on PublicEnemy. Influencedbythe teachings of Malcolm Xand Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam, they helpedreviveblack nationalistideas forthe hip-hopgeneration.Then follows a section on twogroupsinfluencedbythe Nation of Gods andEarths. Brand Nubian, whohas provided the title of this book andthe chapter,represents a classicway of blending Five Percenterteachingswith rap.Wu-Tang Clan also incorporateselementsfromthe martial arts and popular culture. Little is written on femalerappers’ contributions to the theologies of the Nation of Islam and the Nation of Gods and Earths. In the sectiononErykah Badu and Queen Yonasda,Iset outtodemonstrate howthese rappers not only extend and transcend these theologies, but in the case of Badu, also conceptions of genre. Thechapter ends with asection on rap andmainstream Islam, exemplifiedbythe workofpopularactor and rapper MosDef,now known as Yasiin Bey. “Remix”isthe sole chapter of Part III. From the detailed, close readings of the three preceding chapters,Ihere shifttoamore reflective mode.Reviewing the material,Iwant to exploreonageneral levelthe nature of hip-hop’shybrid spirituality, in whichwaysitenables spiritual strategiesofresistance and spiritual dimensions of hip-hopesthetic practices. Ibeginthe chapter by resituatingmy work in thefield of spiritual studies, suggestingwhat thestudy of hip-hop spirituality adds to existing models of spirituality. Following is areflection on threespiritual strategies centeringondoctrine, cultural identityorlived experience.Aship-hopspiritualityisembodied inesthetic practices,Iendmy exploration with ameditation on spiritual dimensions of some characteristic esthetic practices in hip-hop, including subversiveusesoftechnology.

1.1.3.1 Some words on terminologyand language

Within hip-hopculture, there are differentuses of terminologyand practices of spelling.Hip-hopfor instance, can be spelled “hip-hop,”“hiphop”or “hiphop”. Practitioners of breaking refer to themselves as b-boysorb-girls, their dance as b-boying or b-girling and graffitigoesunder alot of names. I have chosen to followterminologyand spelling that is customaryinmost scholarly works on hip-hop,writing “hip-hop,”“breaking,” and using “graffiti” and “writing” interchangeably. In studying the Nation of Islam and the NationofGodsand Earths, onedoes not have to be well schooled in Islamic concepts to understand that these forms of Islam are differentfrom the forms of Islam associated with the so-

we will return to in chapter 3, an authorityonThe Five Percenters. For Islamic influences on rock globally,see M. LeVine (2008).

© 2016, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525604540 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647654541 30 MicrophoneCheck. Introduction called Islamic world. Thishas led scholarstofind terminologythat distinguishes between the two.Acommon distinction is between “orthodox,” or traditional, and “heterodox” Islam, the latter denoting the Nation of Islam and the NationofGodsand Earths. Implied in this terminologyisanotion that oneistruer,more ‘right’(orthodox, meaning rightteaching) than the other (which literarily is Other, “hetero”). In the contextofthe USA, thisdistinction is problematic, as “traditional Islam” in the 1940s and 1950s was largely represented by Amadiyyah, viewed by manyscholars as aheresy.ErnestAllen Jr.suggests the term“proto-Islam,”understanding the Moorish Science Temple and the Nation of Islam to be an intermediate stage, paving the wayfor African Americans’ conversiontomore traditional Sunni Islam in the 1970s (Allen, jr:1998, 202).But as the Nation of Islam and the NationofGodsand Earths continues to be adistinctivevoice and alternativetoother forms of Islam, this termisnot useful either.Inhis study of the NationofIslam, Dennis Walker coins the term“neo-Muslim,” modeled aftersimilar uses of “neo-,” like“neo-conservatism” and “neo-Platonism.” Presumably value-neutral, it denotesnew forms of older traditions: “Asanew construct, black neo-Islam radically selects from, and restructures, elements coming from Islam to make them address some new U.S. concerns in distinction from the original ideology from the Middle East”(Walker:2005, 31). While thisobservation is quite precise, Walker seems to be unaware of other,more widespread uses of neo-Islam, referring to Islamist and fundamentalist trends in the Arab world. As the NationofIslam and the NationofGodsand Earths are quite different, I choose not to lumpthem together.“Mainstream Islam” will be used in reference to forms of Islam in concordancewith the rest of the Islamic world, if Idonot refer specifically to Sunni or Ahmadiyyah. Finally, this study contains languageone normally would not anticipate finding in atheological work. Cursewords and derogatoryterms such as “nigga,”“bitch” and so on are reprinted verbatimwithout anyeffortto camouflage them. The use and interpretation of such languageismultilayered and complex, sometimes subversive, sometimes not.6 It is nevertheless partof the contextfor the spiritualities explored and should not be omitted.2Pac makes this pointclear in aspeech at abanquet in honor of Malcolm X. After repeatedly makingexcuses to his audienceofmiddle class civil rights elders for his language, he assures his listeners:“Iapologize, but check this out, you can’t be no more offended by my cursin’ than what’s really going on [in the streets]. That’s real” (Shakur:2003).

6For further studyonthe use of explicit languageinhip-hop, see J.A. Corlett (2005).

In Lauryn Hill’s music video “Everything is Everything” the cityofNew Yo rk is transformed into aturntable.1 Manhattan revolves likeadisc, while agigantic stylus runs throughthe streets, reading the grooves of the city. As the stylus passes throughdifferent neighborhoods, we seepeople doing their thing – some are sitting on abenchordoing laundryatthe local laundromat, young couples arekissing.One manisbeing pushed againstawall and frisked. Occasionally abig hand comes down from the sky making scratches likeaDJ, juggling Manhattan back and forth and shaking things up.The video offersa compelling metaphor forhip-hop and hip-hop’s relation to the cityand its people. Hip-hopisingrained in the city, its streets, neighborhoodsand people. The grooves of the cityare the grooves of hip-hop;the lives of the city’s people are the lives of hip-hop. Moreover,asLaurynHill states in her song, hip-hop offersguidance to everyone “struggling in their youth,” to those “who won’t accept deception/instead of what is truth.” “I philosophy, possibly speak tongues” she asserts, with the confidence of an “Abyssinian street Baptist.” She is “more powerful than two Cleopatras,” providinga“mixture/where hip hopmeets scripture.” In the course of four minutes, Lauryn Hill embodies and gives artistic expressiontoalived spirituality–aspiritualitycontextualized in urban life,inamixture where contemporarypopular culturemeets ancient traditions of scripture –ahip-hop spirituality. Hip-hopspirituality, Iwill contend, is a lived spirituality, an embodied spiritualitysituated in everydaylife in urban environments. Derived from a Latin word for breath,spiritualityisintrinsically intertwined with life. Thus, the term“lived spirituality” might seem superfluous. However,itsuggests an opposite, something that is abstract, doctrinal and institutional. The study of lived spiritualityisnot astudy of spiritualityasprescribed by doctrine or institutional religion,but of individually experienced spirituality. Even if hip- hopspirituality, as lived spirituality, might be influenced by established religions to varying degrees –and Iwill especially study this in Chapters 5and 6–it is still individually experienced spirituality, shaped by everydaylife in the cityand in hip-hopculture. Iwill beginthis chapter by developing aframework for understanding lived spiritualityinahip-hop context. Spiritualityisafluid concept with numerous

1Lauryn Hill, “EverythingisEverything,” from TheMiseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998).Videodirected by SanjiSenaka. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3_dOWYHS7I(November 5, 2014).

© 2016, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525604540 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647654541 32 Peace, Unity, Love,and Having Fun uses, in fields rangingfrom the studies of religious traditions ancientand new to business and corporate ideology. Istartwith alookintosomerecent thinking on spirituality, before suggesting “hybrid spirituality” as aworkable concept for the study of hip-hopspirituality. As hip-hopculture and its spiritualities emerges in acontext of oppression and struggle, Iwill understand spiritualityinlight of oppressiveforces such as gender and race, and argue for an intersectional approach to hip-hop spirituality. The following is asection on the elements of hip-hopculture, the artistic means by which hip-hop spiritualityisexpressed. Writing (graffiti), DJing, BBoying (breaking) and MCing (rapping) all have their owndiscourses, but are at the sametime core elements of the hip-hop culture. This section will be sketchy, as much is written on this already. My objective is to highlight artistic features that might add to ourunderstanding of hip-hop spirituality. In the final section, we will explore howspiritualityand hip- hopcome together in two hip-hopmovements, Afrika Bambaataa’s Universal Zulu Nation and KRS One’s Temple of Hip-Hop.Drawing from adiversityofspiritual and cultural sources, both movements offer prime examples of hybrid spirituality.

2.1 Spiritualityand hybridity

2.1.1 Understanding Spirituality

The study of spiritualityhas developed significantly over the last thirty years or so.Scholars pointto“asubjective turninWesternculture” around 1980, with an increased interest in spiritualityassomething differentfrom traditional religion (Sheldrake: 2007, 2; Jespers:2011, 98). The word spiritualityitself has roots in Christianity, and is related to the Apostle Paul’s use of the Greek pneuma in The NewTestament. In Paul’s usage, spirit was not understood as being in opposition to the physical or material, but denotedawayoflife:Aspiritual life,living in and according to the Spirit of God, as opposed to life in the flesh, life according to the world. Later,in scholastictheology, under the influence of Greek philosophy, “spiritual” was used in reference to intelligenthumanityasdistinguished from non-rational creation; animals, plants and so on.During the middle ages, spiritualitycame to denote the clergy, the church, or the clerical state. In the latter half of the 20th century, and especially after the Second Vatican Council in the early 1960s, spiritualitybecame the termfor the study of Christian life, replacing older theological terms such as mystical or ascetical theology(Sheldrake: 2007;Jespers:2011). Today, spiritualityisunderstood in much broader terms, which can sometimes be confusing.Asexplained in ANew Dictionary of Religions, “Some understand the ‘spiritual’ as more diffuse and less institutionalized