The Soul of Hip Hop: Rims, Timbs and a Cultural Theology

The Soul of Hip Hop: Rims, Timbs and a Cultural Theology

What is Hip Hop? Hip hop speaks in a voice that is sometimes gruff, sometimes enraged, sometimes despairing, sometimes hopeful. Hip hop is the voice of forgotten streets laying claim to the high life of rims and timbs and threads and bling. Hip hop speaks in the muddled language of would-be prophets--mocking the architects of the status quo and stumbling in the dark toward a blurred vision of a world made right. What is hip hop? It's a cultural movement with a traceable theological center. Daniel White Hodge follows the tracks of hip-hop theology and offers a path from its center to the cross, where Jesus speaks truth. "A noteworthy text that adequately peels back the complex relationship between Hip Hop, religion, and theology, Hodge?s monograph should be a required reading for any undergraduate or graduate course on the contemporary black church, black theology, or urban youth/young adult ministry." -- Brandon Winstead, Journal of Youth Ministry, 2011 "Hodge provides fresh insights about the music and the culture from which it sprang . . . An exciting and important book that can help veteran fans and newbies read between the lines of this major musical phenomenon." -- Steve Rabey, YouthWorker Journal, January/February 2011 "Daniel White Hodge engages in deep listening, hearing the authentic cry for justice inherent in Hip Hop. He samples the sharpest scholars to forge his own sound---raw, gritty, real and hopeful. Give The Soul of Hip Hop plenty of play." -- Craig Detweiler, Center for Entertainment, Media and Culture, Pepperdine University, editor of Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God "When most scholars, critics and religious voices have taken a reductionist approach to Hip Hop culture and music, Dr. Daniel White Hodge reveals the complexity, spiritualism and inspiration that shape Hip Hop. As a Hip Hop pastor, Dr. Hodge successfully connects the transforming philosophies that exist between Christianity and Hip Hop theology. Insightfully, he underscores the distinctions between the commercialized lyrics and behavior that permeate mainstream media and the more consciousness-raising messages in the content and rhythms of grass-roots Hip Hop. Dr. Hodge boldly invites the reader to contextualize the life and activism of the biblical Jesus in order to appreciate the collective power and relevance of Hip Hop culture." -- Melvin Donalson, Ph.D., author of Hip Hop in American Cinema "When most scholars, critics and religious voices have taken a reductionist approach to Hip Hop culture and music, Dr. Daniel White Hodge reveals the complexity, spiritualism and inspiration that shape Hip Hop. As a Hip Hop pastor, Dr. Hodge successfully connects the transforming philosophies that exist between Christianity and Hip Hop theology. Insightfully, he underscores the distinctions between the commercialized lyrics and behavior that permeate mainstream media and the more consciousness-raising messages in the content and rhythms of grass-roots Hip Hop. Dr. Hodge boldly invites the reader to contextualize the life and activism of the biblical Jesus in order to appreciate the collective power and relevance of Hip Hop culture." -- Melvin Donalson, Ph.D., author of Hip Hop in American Cinema Daniel White Hodge (Ph.D., Fuller Graduate School of Intercultural Studies) is adjunct professor at Azusa Pacific University and Citrus College. A former music industry professional and author of Heaven Has a Ghetto: The Missiological Gospel and Theology of Tupac Amaru Shakur, he serves as a national trainer for the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) and the Urban Youth Workers Institute (UYWI).