“Pac was like Jesus/ Nas wrote The Bible.” These lyrics by
J. Cole from his album “Born Sinner” bring up questions of religion in rap
music.
This summer, multiple albums released with elements of lyricism and culture heard
over the radio. Hip- hop and Christianity are noted as polar opposites; but, listeners
could not avoid the religious references with many of the albums remixing
Christian terms and Biblical allusions into their lyrics, bringing to question
the motives of many hip-hop artists.
On J.
Cole’s “Born Sinner” album released in June, the words "Born sinner, opposite of a winner" echo
through the song “Villuminati”. Similarly, rapper
Kendrick Lamar’s chart-topping track “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” from album “Good
Kid M.A.D.D. City” released in 2012.
It
rhymes: “I am a sinner,
who is probably going to sin again/ Lord forgive me, Lord forgive me things I
don’t understand.”
Lyrics, such as these,
have raised the question of hip-hop artists using religious contradictions in
their songs. One moment they could be praising God and the next using foul and
vulgar language.
Hit single “Amen” from
Meek Mill’s album "Dreams and Nightmares" is
a perfect example of “religious contradiction”. The song’s hook in itself is
said to be mocking the church: “There’s a lot of bad bitches in the building,
Amen!”
After the track’s
release, Mill responded to much criticism about the song’s crudeness and
association with religion. He was even asked to apologize and repent by a
Philadelphia pastor. In an interview with BET’s “106 & Park”, a music video show, Mill defended himself against the
church.
“No preacher, no church
approve of any rap music […] ‘cause rap music period, there’s a lot of bad
stuff that’s being said. But at the end of the day, it’s real life,” he said.
