Hip Hop and Religion

[ImmortalTech]

This thread was inspired by the Jin thread I just ran into. I'm just wondering why do rappers that turn religious get clowned for by a lot of people (on forums).

I've never actually met people that clown people for getting closer to god. If thats whats in their heart, and they're being genuine about it, then how can dudes be mad at that?

If an emcee talks about guns drugs and women 24/7 people look at em like he's one dimensional. If an emcee starts getting into religion.. thats a bad thing too?

I dont get the double standards sometimes. I'm not talking about people that turn preachy and start imposing their beliefs on others. I'm talking about people that go through a personal journey and find themselves closer to a higher power.

I dont see how people can claim to be open minded and shit, but hate on a dude for finding religion, regardless of what religion that may be.

 

[Da_Funk]

Its b/c most people know religion is a fallacy.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

Its b/c most people know religion is a fallacy.

no. its because people put others down to maintain or increase their own self esteem.

 

[Flipmo]

Because pistol whipping faggots and drugs is something people are interested in. It sells, and it's filled with testosterone and adrenalin.

Religion, or sending a good message doesn't have that tone to it.

 

[masta247]

Because people are stupid.

To me he can rhyme about aliens and flying elephants and as long as he's into it and good at it I'll respect that guy as a good rapper. Even that is way better than rhyming about guns and crack.

 

[Euphanasia]

if he leave the game for god, they gon' mace 'em...

 

[roaches]

Because it's a dishonest, blatant gimmick for commercial purposes.

 

[masta247]

Because it's a dishonest, blatant gimmick for commercial purposes.

Well, I don't think that it'll be good for his name. I mean it makes people talk but still I think it won't be good for him in the long run.

 

[Stone_Cold]

I listen to alot of Christian artists, aswell as gangster rap.

I guess people would rather listen to some rappers talking about their money, cars, guns and bitches. And i guess people beleive that because thats what ur all about, then u cant change ur ways and start being religious without some ulterior motives.

In my view, its all good if a rapper changes and its for real, and doesnt pretend to be a gangster again when he needs some money ie Mase.

 

[Bobby Sands]

ah Mase. last i heard, he was caught picking up trannys

 

[Kadafi Son]

Haha, Bizzy Bone is the one of those artist who I don't mind rappin about his spirituality or relationship with his god. Most rappers who go "religious" just don't sound all that good to me though. The beats sound a lil too sappy. I think its an ok thing to do, but when your bread into a society where it spends billions of dollars on war annually and tv is full of violence and senselessness, you'd expect it from your music too, i guess. Respect to anybody who can do it as good as Bizzy though...

What if 2Pac became a "christian" rapper?

 

[ImmortalTech]

Its b/c most people know religion is a fallacy.

oh yea, that makes you sound real educated. Exactly the type of people I'm talking about. Everyone's wrong but you right? Yet that's the main thing you bash organized religion for.

and to the rest of u guys... I'm not talking about Jin in particular. I dont know his story. I'm just talking in general, when an entertainer (in our case a rapper i guess) turns towards religion, a lot of people on the INTERNET tend to bash them.

Maybe it's the demographic of where I live, I dont see the consistency in real life.

And I'm not talking about dudes that do it on some gimmick shit, I mean for real when someone changes their outlook on life. How can you hate on a dude for doing what he personally believes is best for him?

Have we really dehumanized entertainers that much, that we just look at them as a commodity? We cant stand them changing for our own selfish pleasures?

 

[Da_Funk]

oh yea, that makes you sound real educated. Exactly the type of people I'm talking about. Everyone's wrong but you right? Yet that's the main thing you bash organized religion for.

and to the rest of u guys... I'm not talking about Jin in particular. I dont know his story. I'm just talking in general, when an entertainer (in our case a rapper i guess) turns towards religion, a lot of people on the INTERNET tend to bash them.

Maybe it's the demographic of where I live, I dont see the consistency in real life.

And I'm not talking about dudes that do it on some gimmick shit, I mean for real when someone changes their outlook on life. How can you hate on a dude for doing what he personally believes is best for him?

Have we really dehumanized entertainers that much, that we just look at them as a commodity? We cant stand them changing for our own selfish pleasures?

I don't get it. I don't believe in religion b/c it is a stupid concept. I have never seen good evidence for it, I've never even heard a good arguement for believing in it. On the other hand I've seen plenty of evidence against it. I also don't bash "rappers" who find religion. I just simply stop listening to them and think to myself, what a waste.

Really though, if you are going to make a thread like this and question why people bash rappers who find religion you should also ask why people bash rappers like souljah boy, gucci mane, etc. Both of them rap about equally hollow and stupid topics.

 

[Casey]

i clown people for it because the very need to talk about it or put oneself in that category of being a christian artist or talk about how you've found god is a fucking gimmick, like roaches said.

i'm an atheist. i hate religion. i'm with da_funk on this shit.

but if a dude isn't only going on about religion all the damn time, and is still making good music, i don't mind that. bizzy bone is one of my favorite artists of all time. but he's not going on and on and on in every song about his religion and blah blah blah. when it becomes the topic of the song itself, that's when i largely have a problem with it. i was a fan of mase before he quit rap, and i was still a fan when he returned with his "welcome back" album, and i didn't notice anything religious about any of that shit. even though the guy is a pastor, he kept it to himself, none of the songs were about god or any bullshit like that.

it's funny how people don't see that it's a blatant gimmick. i'll share a true story with you to illustrate my point.

you guys ever heard of a rock band called creed? i'm sure some of you must have. well, they used religion as their shtick, their gimmick, and it paid off for them. they attracted a large demographic of christians who would buy their music.

well, my cousin is working closely with a rock vocalist from florida, who's pretty well known in the scene, has toured with lots of big rock acts, he was even signed to madonna's label with his old band. anyway, he knows these guys real well, and told me himself that it was a gimmick for those guys from day one. like, almost literally overnight they thought "hey, if we pass ourselves off as a christian rock act we'll probably sell a bunch more records". so that's what they did. and they are not the only ones, and it is not limited to rock music either. happens across the board.

 

[yak pac fatal]

pac talked about in his raps even during interviews, i never recalled anyone on this forum talkin shit about

 

[Da_Funk]

pac talked about in his raps even during interviews, i never recalled anyone on this forum talkin shit about

Imo, Pac used the concept of a god in his raps, which atheist or not, most of us can relate to at one point or another in our lives. His raps weren't necessarily "about" religion or rap per se.

 

[ImmortalTech]

I don't get it. I don't believe in religion b/c it is a stupid concept. I have never seen good evidence for it, I've never even heard a good arguement for believing in it. On the other hand I've seen plenty of evidence against it. I also don't bash "rappers" who find religion. I just simply stop listening to them and think to myself, what a waste.

Really though, if you are going to make a thread like this and question why people bash rappers who find religion you should also ask why people bash rappers like souljah boy, gucci mane, etc. Both of them rap about equally hollow and stupid topics.

hmm ok, so I dude can't talk about his beliefs, cuz its hollow and stupid. Annnd a guy cant talk about material shit cuz its hollow and stupid... Makes perfect sense :wondering:

... So what really is a rapper 'allowed' to talk about?

And to quite simply answer the question u left behind. I personally do not prefer listening to Gucci Mane etc. cuz I cant relate to that in any shape form or fashion. I dont have no big rims on my cars nor do I make it rain in the club.. nor have I ever been like that nor do I ever wanna be like that. Nor does that sound like reality to me when looking at the world around me.. I simply do not have anything to reflect on when I listen to that type of shit.. sure when ur at a jam or something fuck it, its all the same shit.

Whereas we all have questioned ourselves about faith.. We all have gone through spiritual journeys, so I can understand a rapper when he dives into those topics. I dont have to agree with him.

I can just listen to it and appreciate it from one human to another and reflect on my own spiritual journeys. I can listen to rappers speaking on Christianity, atheism, Islam, Judaism, or whatever equally the same, and always learn something from it. Whether it be 'hmm thats an odd thought pattern, I dont agree with that".. or like "damn, never really looked at it like that."

... and this is not only directed at you Funk... but some of you guys are making it look like its ALWAYS a gimmick.

And I keep repeating myself, I'm not talking about gimmicks... I'm just asking a general question, why do some of you clown entertainers for turning towards religion?

.. its getting pretty evident that some you do that shit just because YOU THINK religion is stupid. And since in YOUR mind religion is stupid you feel the need to bash people that follow it. Yet some of you are the same people that argue that religion is filled with a bunch of closed minded fucks.. when really, it doesnt seem like ur any better.

... I'm not trying to turn this into a Science vs Religion debate, or anything like that... but "I don't believe in religion b/c it is a stupid concept. I have never seen good evidence for it, I've never even heard a good arguement for believing in it. On the other hand I've seen plenty of evidence against it." ... I can say the same vice versa.. I mean when it comes to faith ur nobody to tell me I'm wrong... and at the same time I'm nobody to tell u ur wrong.. thats why I wouldnt even take it there.

.. and fair enough Funk you said u dont bash em, u simply stop listening to em... completely understandable.. if it aint ur type of shit, it aint ur type of shit.

peace yall

 

[ARon]

If I want religion I'll pick up a book or go to church, I don't need it in my music. Also, I'm in no way religious so I can really care less if a rapper finds god, that's his problem, lol.

Me and music have a special thing going on, I don't need religion in the mix trying to fuck with it, it wouldn't give me the same energy and feeling.

It's just odd to me why someone would want to rap about religion. Nas, my favorite, brings it up in his music but it's different. It's not what I'd consider religious rap, whatever that may be.

I'm gonna sound ignorant right now but whatever. I think people make fun of "religious rappers" cus that shit aint hard lol. This is rap music, the Hip-Hop culture has always had an edge to it so to say. Religion is conforming, that is not Hip-Hop. Think about some stereotypes for a second. The youth who listen to rap are the ones picking on the kid going to church every sunday morning. I don't know where I'm going with this lol, all I know is rap music and religion don't mix well. And people are ignorant and say stupid shit sometimes cus in this culture acting out and being obnoxious is accepted or something like that. It's late and I'm not making sense

 

[Casey]

If I want religion I'll pick up a book or go to church, I don't need it in my music.

Ex-fuckin-actly.

I feel the same way about politics too. The fuck Imma listen to a rapper for if I wanna hear about politics? Read the fuckin newspaper, read some books about Marx, Lenin, Communism, Socialism, Fascism, whatever the fuck kind of politics interests you enough.

If a artists starts going on all the time about politics and/or religion, that shit is getting switched off with the quickness. Like they're some kind of well informed authority on it - you a musician dude. You make music.

Small doses, and generalised, non-intrusive stances that people can tolerate, cool. Take it further than that, not cool.

 

[Kadafi Son]

^^^what artist talk about politics in every song though? I think Immortal Technique drops in with them, but only sometimes though.