Urban God Talk

Johnson's efforts to promote ongoing dialogue between religious expressions and the ever-expanding cultural force of hip hop are laudable and useful for their interdisciplinary reach beyond religious and theological studies. This book is a valuable read for laity, students, and scholars alike that promises to make a robust contribution to the diversity of intellectual resources in the burgeoning area of religion in hip hop studies. -- Monica R. Miller, Lehigh University; author of Religion and Hip Hop The scholarly study of hip hop and spirituality is strong and growing. Urban God Talk: Constructing a Hip Hop Spirituality adds a serious and much needed anthology to this field of study. What Dr. Johnson has done is essentially capture cutting edge research and help the field rise to new levels of thought and scholarship. What Dr. Johnson has here is a canon for a stronger understanding of hip hop and spirituality. A must read! -- Daniel White Hodge, North Park University, Chicago and author of "The Soul Of Hip Hop: Rimbs, Timbs, & A Cultural Theology"

Andre E. Johnson is the Dr. James L. Netters Associate Professor of Rhetoric & Religion and African American Studies at Memphis Theological Seminary.

Introduction Part I. Theoretical and Methodological Approaches Chapter 1: Somewhere Underneath the MC's Wit and the Evangelical Word: Toward a Christian Ethical Evaluation of Hip Hop Polemic James W. Perkinson Chapter 2: The Message from the Wilderness Michael D. Royster Chapter 3: "To Set at Liberty Them that are Bruised": Exposing Liberation Theology within Hip Hop Weldon Merrial McWilliams, IV Chapter 4: "Put Your Hands Together": The Theological Meaning of Call-Response and Collective Participation in Rap Music Angela M. Nelson Chapter 5: "Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so": Viewing Rap Music as a Form of African American Spirituality Darrell Wesley Chapter 6: From the same Womb, of the same Struggle: Hip Hop Music and its Connection with the Blues and the Gospels VaNatta S. Ford Chapter 7: Performing Spirituality: Lil Wayne's Letters from a New York Jail Sharon Lauricalla Part II. Hip Hop and Religion Chapter 8: Rap with Soul and Pray with Flow: Youth on Hip Hop Musicality and Catholic Spirituality Tim Huffman and Amira De la Garza Chapter 9: Embracing the Nation: Hip Hop, Louis Farrakhan, and Alternative Music Dawn-Marie Gibson Chapter 10: Oath Continuities: The Inner Structure, Meaning, and Spiritualism of Mau Mau Hip Hop Mickie Mwanzia Koster Chapter 11: My Soul Knows how to Flow: A Critical Analysis of the History of Urban Black Christian-Themed Rap Erika D. Gault Chapter 12: Morality, the Sacred, and God in Ghanaian Hip Hop Harry Nii Koney Odamtten Chapter 13: In the Church, in the Streets: A Spectrum of Religious Expression in Christian Hip Hop and Spoken Word Poetry in Atlanta and Detroit Shanesha R. F. Brooks Tatum