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2015 •
Kanye West represents a myriad complex trope of issues for not just Black Theological praxis, but also for the broader study of Black people. In this post-civil rights era we, as Black people, find ourselves in a locality that is neither post-racial nor public Jim/ Jane Crowism; neither fully equal nor fully separate; not fully human yet celebrated in full, for culture and entertainment; it is an era that contains all the elements of hope and forward momentum in the symbol of what is the President of the United States and the nefarious nature of racism poignantly symbolized in Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and countless other Black lives, both male and female, lost at the hands of racism and profiling. West’s symbolism rises as a figure and presents an anomaly of sorts on a post-civil rights era. Located in Kanye is a mixture of voices; the narcissist, the pain, the disillusioned, the proud, the critical interrogator, the double standard, and even the push for a contextual pursuit a...
2015 •
Broadly definable as an interdisciplinary study of religion, music, literature, and history, this thesis analyzes the music of Kanye West and its evolution from the tradition of African-American art and religious thought. Tracing the roots of West’s rap music lyrically and thematically to its foundations in the slave songs, the blues, the literature/art of the Harlem Renaissance era, and the gangsta rap of Tupac Shakur, I explore how the catalog of his albums show a (post)modern evolution of African-American religious thought that first began in the slaves’ paradoxical re-appropriation of the hegemonic religion of their masters. Furthermore, I illustrate how West’s music evinces an evolution of the slaves’ divided religious identity and contributes to the subversions against the hegemony and oppression of white (supremacist) Christianity by African Americans throughout history. In demonstrating how the frameworks of both race and religion interact and collide in the historical battl...
Note: This paper was prepared as part of the coursework for TC511: Theology & Hip Hop Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary. This paper discusses explicit language and terms that may be considered offensive. These references are made in the context of analyzing the song lyrics and cultural influences within Hip Hop. The intention is not to endorse or promote offensive language but to provide a comprehensive analysis of the subject matter. Reader discretion is advised. Since its birth, Christology’s placement in Hip Hop has been a complex amalgamation of religious concepts and symbolism interpenetrating sociocultural realities of the diaspora of urban Black culture. Through rhyme schemes, metaphors, storytelling, and presentations of proclaimed biographical experiences, some Hip Hop artists have demonstrated the adoption of Christological identity. In fashion, lyrics, and performances, these artists wrestle with how Christ interacts with their social location while showing their interconnected parallels with Christ. Some artists chose more subliminal or implicit relivatory expressions, which can be observed and analyzed through deep investigations and dissection of the artist’s work and persona. Others choose to explicitly display a relationship through their appearance, personifying themselves as a Christ-like figure, or even in song titles. This paper aims to identify a Christological expression observed in the music video performance of “One Mic” by Nas.
2018 •
In Danielle S. Macon’s “To Pimp a Caterpillar: Hip Hop as Vehicle to Spiritual Liberation through the Decolonization of European Ideology” about Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, she identifies Kendrick’s three-step process of liberation for African-Americans through spirituality: exhibition, revelation, and community orientation. I seek to place her analysis of Kendrick’s music within the context of Daniel White Hodge’s exploration of the neo-sacred secular in Hip Hop, a theological concept containing three elements: a belief that God is in all things, viewing life as having good and bad elements, and a rejection of religionism as the only way to God. Firstly, I will explore how Kendrick takes on himself the tropes of Hip Hop and African-American Street life, not to promote their virtues but to subvert them. Secondly, framing Kendrick’s presentation of an alternative identity built on his reframing of two Christian theological concepts: imago dei and identity as found in person...
2019 •
The Pop Palimpsest: Intertextuality in Recorded Popular Music. Edited by Lori Burns and Serge Lacasse. University of Michigan Press
Rap Gods and Monsters: Words, Music, and Images in the Hip-Hop Intertexts of Eminem, Jay-Z, and Kanye West2018 •
Journal of English and Applied Linguistics
Editors views on using who with nonhuman animals2024 •
Non è Petrolio (ISBN: 978-88-8431-577-9)
Requiem del Marketing Territoriale2015 •
Kriminologija & socijalna integracija
Metrijska obilježja instrumenta za mjerenje komponente otpornosti obitelji2016 •
2018 •
2023 •
Biochemical Systematics and Ecology
The role of environmental factors and genetic diversity on colonization success of a non-native fish, Lepomis gibbosus from western part of Turkey2015 •
DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology
Information Seeking Anxiety Amongst Postgraduate Students of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana2023 •
Yearbook of Balkan and Baltic studies./Yearbook of Balkan and Baltic studies
Nature For Protection, Nature For Profit2023 •