Monica R. Miller

"Kendrick Lamar has established himself at the forefront of contemporary Hip-Hop culture. Artistically adventurous and socially conscious, he has been unapologetic in using his art form, rap music, to address issues affecting black lives while also exploring subjects fundamental to the human experience, such as religious belief. This book is the first to provide an interdisciplinary academic analysis of the impact of Lamar's corpus. In doing so, it highlights how Lamar's music reflects current tensions that are keenly felt when dealing with the subjects of race, religion and politics. Starting with Section 80 and ending on DAMN., this book deals with each of Lamar's four major projects in turn. A panel of academics, journalists and hip-hop practitioners show how religion, in particular black spiritualties, take a front-and-centre role in his work. They also observe that his astute and biting thoughts on race and culture may come from an African American perspective, but many find something familiar in Lamar's lyrical testimony across great chasms of social and geographical difference. This sophisticated exploration of one of popular culture's emerging icons reveals a complex and multi-faceted engagement with religion, faith, race, art and culture. As such, it will be vital reading for anyone working in Religious, African American and Hip-Hop studies, as well as scholars of Music, Media and Popular Culture"--

"From rappers who call themselves God to those who wear Jesus chains, the eternal questions that religion and spirituality have tried to answer have always been asked by the Hip Hop community. Religion in hip hop highlights and examines the language of religion in hip hop that can easily be missed"--Talib Kweli Greene.

Edited by two recognized scholars of African-American religion and culture, this reader, the first of its kind, provides the essential texts for an important and emerging field of study -- religion and hip hop. Until now, the discipline of religious studies lacked a consistent and coherent text that highlights the developing work at the intersections of hip hop, religion and theology. Moving beyond an institutional understanding of religion and offering a multidimensional assortment of essays, this new volume charts new ground by bringing together voices who, to this point, have been a disparate and scattered few. Comprehensively organized with the foundational and most influential works that continue to provide a base for current scholarship, The Hip Hop and Religion Reader frames the lively and expanding conversation on hip hop's influence on the academic study of religion.