Urban God Talk: Constructing a Hip Hop Spirituality, edited by Andre Johnson, is a collection of essays that examine the religious and spiritual in hip hop. The contributors argue that the prevailing narrative that hip hop offers nothing in the way of religion and spirituality is false. From its beginning, hip hop has had a profound spirituality and advocates religious views-and while not orthodox or systemic, nevertheless, many in traditional orthodox religions would find the theological and spiritual underpinnings in hip hop comforting, empowering, and liberating. In addition, this volume demonstrates how scholars in different disciplines approach the study of hip hop, religion, and spirituality. Whether it is a close reading of a hip hop text, ethnography, a critical studies approach or even a mixed method approach, this study is a pedagogical tool for students and scholars in various disciplines to use and appropriate for their own research and understanding. Urban God Talk will inspire not only scholars to further their research, but will also encourage publishers to print more in this field. The contributors to this in-depth study show how this subject is an underrepresented area within hip hop studies, and that the field is broad enough for numerous monographs, edited works, and journal publications in the future.
Introduction Part I. Theoretical and Methodological Approaches Chapter 1: Somewhere Underneath the MC's Wit and the Evangelical Word: Toward a Christian Ethical Evaluation of Hip Hop Polemic James W. Perkinson Chapter 2: The Message from the Wilderness Michael D. Royster Chapter 3: "To Set at Liberty Them that are Bruised": Exposing Liberation Theology within Hip Hop Weldon Merrial McWilliams, IV Chapter 4: "Put Your Hands Together": The Theological Meaning of Call-Response and Collective Participation in Rap Music Angela M. Nelson Chapter 5: "Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so": Viewing Rap Music as a Form of African American Spirituality Darrell Wesley Chapter 6: From the same Womb, of the same Struggle: Hip Hop Music and its Connection with the Blues and the Gospels VaNatta S. Ford Chapter 7: Performing Spirituality: Lil Wayne's Letters from a New York Jail Sharon Lauricalla Part II. Hip Hop and Religion Chapter 8: Rap with Soul and Pray with Flow: Youth on Hip Hop Musicality and Catholic Spirituality Tim Huffman and Amira De la Garza Chapter 9: Embracing the Nation: Hip Hop, Louis Farrakhan, and Alternative Music Dawn-Marie Gibson Chapter 10: Oath Continuities: The Inner Structure, Meaning, and Spiritualism of Mau Mau Hip Hop Mickie Mwanzia Koster Chapter 11: My Soul Knows how to Flow: A Critical Analysis of the History of Urban Black Christian-Themed Rap Erika D. Gault Chapter 12: Morality, the Sacred, and God in Ghanaian Hip Hop Harry Nii Koney Odamtten Chapter 13: In the Church, in the Streets: A Spectrum of Religious Expression in Christian Hip Hop and Spoken Word Poetry in Atlanta and Detroit Shanesha R. F. Brooks Tatum
