R3 Contributor: Daniel White Hodge

Daniel White Hodge, PhD, is an expert in religion and popular culture, race, & Hip Hop studies. His first book, Heaven Has A Ghetto: The Missiological Gospel & Theology of Tupac Amaru Shakur wrestles with the profane and sacred socio-theological messages within Tupac’s life, his second book, The Soul Of Hip Hop: Rimbs, Timbs, & A Cultural Theologyengages a new arena of theological studies by examining what Hip Hoppers espouse to be God and the quest for spirituality within the Hip Hop community. His forthcoming book, The Hostile Gospel: Exploring Socio-Theological Traits in the Post Soul Context of Hip Hop (Brill Academic, late 2015), examines the nuances between race, class, & theology from several of the Abrahamic faiths in Hip Hop. In addition to radio, print, and online appearances, Hodge lectures regularly at universities across the country and is an assistant professor of Youth Ministry and director of The Center For Youth Ministry Studies at North Park University in Chicago. His unique perspective on Hip Hop and Theology challenges his audiences to look beyond the “outer surface” and go into the deeper parts of the culture. You can follow him on twitter@danwhitehodge. He also blogs at Dr. Hip Hop.