Pulpit Pop: The Perception of Religion in Modern Music

November 23, 2011 4 comments

A realization came to me a few days ago while listening to an old mixtape I threw together in 8th grade. Amidst the odd collection of “Work It”-era Missy, “Ass Like That”-era Eminem, and seven chapters of R. Kelly’s Trapped in the Closet, — before he jumped the shark with that weird through-story about the cheating housewife, a black leprechaun, and Omar from the wire (in a stunning career turn) — there lay Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks”.

If any reminder is necessary, “Jesus” Walks” was a straight-up-and-down hit. That song drilled the screws into Kanye’s pedestal. What’s more, as a “single”, it was a direct reference to an established religious figure. That spells mass-appeal suicide in most PR offices. But, there it is, nestled in between what my 13 year old sensibility had been programmed to deem “pop”.

The unique nature of Ye’s most successful gospel record begs the question: Where are the lines drawn when it comes to religion in popular music?

I guess it all depends on the listener, of course. This particular listener is what I’ve come to determine as “not religious”. Not “atheist”, or “agnostic”, or whatever other tribalistic term that could possibly be applied. I am simply without belief. Now, as that pertains to my music listening, what I like and dislike generally has nothing to do with any faith-based influence. My ill disposition towards Gospel and Country music have much less to do with their aggressive social and spiritual overtones, and more to do with the fact that the sound of Keith Urban or Mary Mary slowly dissolves my ear drums. Composition over content, in summation.

That said, some of my favorite music can be categorized as “spiritual”. Maybe not Joel Osteen spiritual, but Sufjan Stevens and Modest Mouse haven’t always been particularly subtle with their religious references, either. And they’ve made two of my favorite albums of all time. There’s certainly a sense of ulterior motive when God is explicitly involved in the message being conveyed by a musician. Of course, many artists are creative enough to veil excessive preaching and avoid this discomfort altogether; instrumentalists like Dntel and Daft Punk come to mind. But, those examples exist almost exclusively in the indie/alternative sector, whereas the real issue seems to be most prevalent on the mainstream/business side of things.

Selling (Holy) Water to Fire

People generally don’t tend to respond well to being unwillingly pitched a sale. Naturally, the musical equivalent to a Jehovah’s Witness would be off-putting to your casual music listener. The problem is, with Protestants and Catholics accounting for 76% of the nation, why is religion shied away from so often?

As a sort of outsider looking in, my assumption goes as far as concluding that most Christians (I pick on them because of their sole majority position) simply would like to separate their faith from their “extra-curricular” vices (hypocritical as that may be by the definition of ‘faith’). The more politically correct conclusion is literally “Political Correctness”. The separation of church and state often reaches well into our unwritten cultural statutes, leaving any broad interpretation of religion, through context of song, to the most extreme opinions.

This certainly doesn’t explain why religious music isn’t supported by, at the very least, 76% of the nation. Or, even 7.6%, for that matter. But, it does go to show that there must, by process of elimination, be an undercurrent of religious musicians who don’t take their cue’s from the accepted notion of “religious music”.

Rap-Ture

Hip Hop is the genre that I find most polarizing with this topic. Being a predominantly black field, and considering the high percentage of Christians and Muslims (among various others) in the black community, hip-hop lends itself to more references of faith by sheer volume. Yet, It seems like any overt mention of God (beyond the prototypical “thank you” at award shows) is a red flag for the average rap fan.

Elvin “Wit” Shahbazian is a Christian rapper who got his start in my home state of Delaware. As a long time acquaintance, I saw no other person fit to seek answers on this issue than him. I posed a few questions to Wit that I thought dug to the root of the “religion in pop music” anomaly.


Mostly Junk Food:
Do you think there is a way for religion to be openly represented lyrically in hip-hop, while still being able to hold relevance in the secular mainstream?

Wit:
I believe that music is nothing but a medium to express a world-view. Therefore, it’s important to analyze if that world-view is what we would consider “relevant”. Religion/Spirituality (Christianity in my case) always has, and always will be an integral part of any society. Whether you hold to a certain belief system or not, the fact remains that it is a big part of our world.

With that said, my answer to the question would be yes. Christian hip hop is a good example of this. For years, CHH [Christian Hip Hop] was the JV squad of Hip Hop culture. Lacking in quality lyricism, suffering from poor production, and just overall being considered corny. However, over the years, CHH has caught up. Like every new genre, it takes a few years of grassroots corny-ness before something can develop into a respectable style of music (Example: Hip-Hop itself).

In 2011, CHH can go toe-to-toe with secular hip hop in terms of quality of production, lyricism, presentation, live performances, and (probably most shockingly) record sales. Lecrae sells more records than most secular rappers nowadays. He is a good example of a Christian artist being relevant in a secular culture. In the last year he’s been featured in the BET awards cypher, had a XXL article written on him, and he was featured on Statik Selektah’s new album. He’s not the only one, CHH artists can be seen on the top iTunes Hip-Hop charts on a regular basis. So somebody’s listening.

MJF:
Do you think traditional “hip-hop heads” respect religious rappers?

Wit:
The criteria in which a traditional hip-hop head judges an artist should have nothing to do with religious affiliation. It has everything to do with an artist’s ability to communicate effectively. That basically means three things: 1) Quality lyricism 2) Dope production 3) Relevant content. Personal taste may sway a listener in one direction or another, but they have no choice but to respect an artist that possesses those three things.

So far the response to “religious rappers” has been surprisingly positive. Even listeners who may not share the same beliefs have come to appreciate the musicality and creativity that an artist brings to the table. It happens all the time. Especially in the last year, Christian rappers have garnered more attention than ever and it is a quickly growing market for music.

MJF:
You listed a three point criteria pertaining to how hip-hop should be judged. In reference to number one, do you think “quality lyricism” in CHH is held to a different standard than mainstream hip-hop?

Wit:
I think opinions on “quality lyricism” depend on your taste. One persons idea of dope lyricism can differ from the next. But in the overall context of this topic, I would say the standard is actually higher for CHH. Mainstream hip-hop has the advantage of big budgets and major label machines that pay for radio play, video placement, web presence, etc. Most CHH artists are doing this independently. A good portion of them have to work full-time jobs apart from music in order for them to provide for themselves and their families. So, a mediocre or even terrible mainstream record will still sell if the brand is strong enough (*cough* Carter IV). This is because the label has invested millions of dollars into making the record appealing in other ways. But release the same album with a CHH budget and you will be lucky if you sell 100 units. That is why the CHH standard has to be higher than the mainstream.

Revelation

Wit is only one rapper with one set of beliefs. While he’s certainly one of the more open minded religious artists I’ve come across — and, at the risk of bearing an unintended patronizing tone, I’m more than aware that he’s one of too many to count — I can’t help but believe that this type of perspective is lost among many other spiritual musicians. At least from a delivery standpoint. I honestly see no reason why a religious artist can’t be as attention-grabbing as an Odd Future (as blasphemous as that sounds, certainly not by methodology). Or, as technically proficient as a Tech N9ne. It’s not the content, it’s the reception. Or as grand and operatic as a (speak of the devil) Kanye West.

I’d rather not paint music fans with one brush. But, when it comes to directly including the philosophies of religious teachings in one’s art, listeners often either turn a deaf ear, question the stability of the artist, or only accept it when the message is a footnote (i.e. ALL of DMX’s final track prayers). I think this trend can, and most likely will, be changed as music is swiftly becoming more accessible in the age of blogs and online exposure. My hope is that the collective love of the art form (from secular and spiritual fans) will blend the two views, joining them in sort of a shared brotherhood of minutiae and acceptance.

… Or, at the very least, get Kirk Franklin off the damn radio.



(my secret weapon/graphic designer)