{"id":1261,"date":"2013-08-12T20:12:00","date_gmt":"2013-08-12T20:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/08\/the-gods-of-hip-hop-a-look-at-spirituality-in-the-culture.html"},"modified":"2013-08-12T20:12:00","modified_gmt":"2013-08-12T20:12:00","slug":"the-gods-of-hip-hop-a-look-at-spirituality-in-the-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/08\/the-gods-of-hip-hop-a-look-at-spirituality-in-the-culture.html","title":{"rendered":"The Gods of Hip Hop: A Look at Spirituality in the Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
For many years there\u2019s been conflict over the consciousness Hip Hop and the commercialization of the art form. Back in the \u201880s, when the music and culture were still very much\u00a0 an underground movement, while many were fighting to bring Hip Hop to the mainstream the \u201ccross-over\u201d was considered the ultimate \u201csell-out.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n

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On one side of the argument, you had visionaries like Russell Simmons fighting for the advancement of the culture saying, \u201cdon\u2019t treat our music and expression any different than you do Rock N\u2019 Roll or pop\u201d\u2014and on the other side of the table there was a segment that believed an embrace by \u201cmainstream America\u201d would mean the rapping of the culture.<\/span><\/div>\n

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As a result, we began to see the divide and conquer strategy play out within the culture itself, where now we have the so-called \u201cGod-conscious\u201d artists and the \u201celite\u201d of Hip Hop, with a notion that if you\u2019re making money in the industry in 2013, and a lot of it, you can\u2019t have a \u201cGod-conscious\u201d\u2014you must be demonized and member of Illuminati.\u00a0<\/span>This piece is not meant to argue the existence or non-existence of secret societies or the impact commercialization has had on Hip Hop culture\u2014but to take another look at the game and the players in it and God\u2019s hand on both sides.<\/span><\/div>\n

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Let\u2019s start with this simple truth\u2014Black people DO NOT control the entertainment industry.\u00a0 Not in film, music, fashion, TV, radio, distribution, NOWHERE are we \u201ctruly\u201d in control of this industry. That\u2019s a fact. Therefore, if we\u2019re going to play the game\u2014then it\u2019s about playing it to the \u201cbest\u201d of our ability and masterfully using it to gain some benefit while we live\u2014that is luxury, money, good homes and friendships in all walks of life.<\/span><\/div>\n

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The other truth is that there is no such thing as a \u201cpoor\u201d God. The notion that some Black people and some White people have is that \u201cmoney is evil\u201d and there is \u201crighteousness\u201d in poverty. There is nothing righteous about being without. God is a material God\u2014if he wasn\u2019t then there would be no universe. Let\u2019s get that clear.<\/span><\/div>\n

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Read the rest here<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many years there\u2019s been conflict over the consciousness Hip Hop and the commercialization of the art form. Back in the \u201880s, when the music and culture were still very much\u00a0 an underground movement, while many were fighting to bring Hip Hop to the mainstream the \u201ccross-over\u201d was considered the ultimate \u201csell-out.\u201d On one side […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2251,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Gods of Hip Hop: A Look at Spirituality in the Culture<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For many years there\u2019s been conflict over the consciousness Hip Hop and the commercialization of the art form. 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