"The Black Church And Hip Hop Culture" - A Collection Of Essays

At the end of June, when I was on Jury Duty, I read a curious new book called "The Black Church And Hip Hop Culture", edited by Emmett G. Price III, that I picked up at the Southwest Popular Culture Association (SWPCA) in February. I was curious about the subject because it seems to me Hip Hop is heavily-influenced by Gospel culture, as is all African-American culture.

It appeared that most of the essays were written either by pastors (with a conservative and somewhat disapproving outlook on Hip Hop) or community activists (more accepting of Hip Hop). Some of the essays were quite pedestrian, of the sort: "Well, things are different now that we have Hip Hop."

In my view, the best essays were:

• 'Rap Music as Prophetic Utterance' by Cynthia B. Belt (poetic discussion of Tupac Shakur).
• 'Formality Meets Hip Hop: The Influence of Hip Hop Culture on the Afro-European Church' by Shana Mashego (discussion of Catholicism in Louisiana).
• 'Isn't Loving God Enough? Debating Holy Hip Hop' by Cassandra Thornton (urging a spirit of understanding).