Dr. Allean Varnado, Mother of Westcoast artist and producer Daz Dillinger, has asked members of the hip-hop establishment to come together in order to help some of the less fortunate within the community.
The Aunt of Snoop Dogg is not demanding a shift in musical content, but instead has pledged to mend those with “broken spirits” and to restore their religious faith. This is not such an out-of-character commitment as it may first sound. Dr Varnado is a talented singer, author and songwriter, and a dedicated evangelist and bible instructor, having worked with artists such as Bobby Blue Band.
She is quick to admit that religious beliefs alone do not provide solutions, “My generation has to get out of the church and into the community. We can't turn our noses up at this generation we have to help them, we should be committed to helping them." Dr. Varnado continues, "I know that it is a struggle but I am committed to help those who are in need who have been molested, who have been abused, who have been peer pressured into a gang and so forth.”
When dealing with rap music, “I listen to these lyrics and it's basically stemming from self-hatred,” she explains. “We have to stop this self hatred and it comes from us as Black people not believing we are beautiful,” indicating that she sees hip-hop as an expression of discontent, not the cause of it.
Dr. Varnado often asks “Before Kanye was it popular to rap about Jesus? After Kanye West will someone else dare to do it?"
Her mission is to reconcile lost souls with their troubles, allow their abilities to blossom and to bring them closer to God.
You can find out more at her MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/drvarnado
The Aunt of Snoop Dogg is not demanding a shift in musical content, but instead has pledged to mend those with “broken spirits” and to restore their religious faith. This is not such an out-of-character commitment as it may first sound. Dr Varnado is a talented singer, author and songwriter, and a dedicated evangelist and bible instructor, having worked with artists such as Bobby Blue Band.
She is quick to admit that religious beliefs alone do not provide solutions, “My generation has to get out of the church and into the community. We can't turn our noses up at this generation we have to help them, we should be committed to helping them." Dr. Varnado continues, "I know that it is a struggle but I am committed to help those who are in need who have been molested, who have been abused, who have been peer pressured into a gang and so forth.”
When dealing with rap music, “I listen to these lyrics and it's basically stemming from self-hatred,” she explains. “We have to stop this self hatred and it comes from us as Black people not believing we are beautiful,” indicating that she sees hip-hop as an expression of discontent, not the cause of it.
Dr. Varnado often asks “Before Kanye was it popular to rap about Jesus? After Kanye West will someone else dare to do it?"
Her mission is to reconcile lost souls with their troubles, allow their abilities to blossom and to bring them closer to God.
You can find out more at her MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/drvarnado
