KANYE WEST

It's not hard to tell that religion is a big part of what rap is today. From the many albums and songs that are named and sung after Jesus, religion is a big part in the hip hop culture and history. As stated in an article online, "Emcees have been rapping about religion and referencing it since the inception of Hip Hop into pop culture". [internet sources #6]. This shows that religion became a huge part of rap and hip hop since the early ages, allowing for artist's to express what they truly believe in and love. The Rolling Stones magazine posted that "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and Furious Five was known as the greatest song for its powerful messages about God, provoking that religion is and means a lot to people. Then we get to the "golden era" of rap and hip hop, where the great 2Pac comes into the picture referencing nothing but religion in his music. As stated in an article online, "Most importantly, Pac does not just mention Christianity, instead venturing into Islam, Buddhism, and multiple conceptions of “God.”.[internet sources #6]. He didn't want to just express religion for one type of faith, he believed that everyone can relate to all and most things like pain, despair, etc. This makes you a person, and if you were a good person and you did the right things, then that is what mattered the most. That's the message he wanted his music to get across, allowing for people to use his music as help and guidance. Then we move into the "modern era", where Kanye West comes into the picture, making him different from the others, he believed in Christianity and that "religion revolves around power and what our life on this earth really means.".[internet sources #6]. Todays rap and hip hop is becoming more lyrical and conscious about todays society issues, allowing for personal connection between the artist and their own lyrics and those lyrics with the audience. Making the use of religion become an art, in the way of guidance.