Not unlike the coming of a messiah, Yeezus, Kanye West’s sixth album was heavily anticipated before its release date on June 18th. In all fairness, most of that was due to an internet leak and not any inherent mystical properties of the album itself. In fact, its minimalist sound, promotion, and packaging (there is no coverart) would seem to imply that there’s less offensiveness within this album than other recent West public offerings, but alas, what many consider blasphemy and rampant lyrical misogyny put rap, religion, and Kanye West at the forefront of public discourse. Continue Reading
Blog
Welcome to RapandReligion.com—the #1 source for news and commentary on hip hop and religion. I am Dr. Ebony Utley, the author of Rap and Religion: Understanding the Gangsta's God. In addition to featuring songs and videos from the book, this blog will keep you in the know when rap and religion collide. Explore the site and come back often for updates.
Rap, Religion and Relationships
Happy New Year! Everyone here on the Rap and Religion publicity team (i.e. Ebony Utley) would like to personally thank you for visiting the site and supporting Rap and Religion throughout 2012. Continue Reading
The End of God Talk
According to Anthony Pinn, God has outlived God’s usefulness. Imagine a forced retirement party. The CEO of the universe has made a few missteps—misrepresented his enterprise, mismanaged his employees. Continue Reading
Django Unchained
If you were worried that Django Unchained is a typical white man saves black boy buddy flick or that it over-sensationalizes slavery or that it otherwise sets back the race, worry no more. Django does none of those things. Now, if you were worried that Django Unchained would be filled with gratuitous violence, masculine bravado, and women characters as props, then your worries were well-founded. Continue Reading
Rap and Religion Tour Recap
Thank you to everyone who supported Rap and Religion on tour at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, the University of South Florida in Tampa, the National Communication Association in Orlando, North Park University in Chicago, as well as the Indiana State Federation of Colored Women and Old Soul Entertainment in Indianapolis. My first tour was a wonderful experience. If you would like a Rap and Religion lecture or event to come to a city near you soon, please contact me. In the meantime, here’s the recap pictorial for the last event of 2012. Continue Viewing
Rap and Religion in Downtown Naptown
Please join the Rap and Religion tour during it’s two stops in my hometown Indianapolis, Indiana. It’s going down in Naptown the weekend after Thanksgiving. Continue Reading
Rap and Religion on Tour
Rap and Religion goes on the road for the five official tour dates.
Follow Ebony Utley on Twitter @u_experience for up to the minute details. Continue Reading
Game Je5us Piece
Hip Hop Scholar
Read my interview with The Hip Hop Scholar. The Hip Hop Scholar’s misssion is to “bring back that sense of intellectual discovery so many of us have in our collective memory of Hiphop culture.”