---

How do Hip Hop and Religion correlate?

---

Hip-hop is a deeply spiritual culture, a culture that since its beginnings has provided urban youth all over the world with a sense of place, being and direction, with knowledge of self and knowledge of cultural heritage. By examining a number of rap tunes and graffiti walls, Carl Petter Opsahl explores different spiritualities and religious traditions informing hip-hop culture, including, Christianity, Nation of Islam, Nation of Gods and Earths and indigenous spiritualities. By developing a theoretical framework of hybrid spirituality, Opsahl outlines spiritual strategies of survival and resistance in contexts of oppression and struggle.He provides basic introductions to recent research on spirituality, to hip-hop culture and its esthetic practices and to Islam in the USA and the teachings of Nation of Islam and Nation of Gods and Earths. Then follow in-depth analyzes of hip-hop cultural expressions. One chapter is devoted to the study of graffiti murals, exploring artworks by some of New York´s finest writers such as TATS CRU, TRACY 168, TOO FLY and QUEEN ANDREA. Then follows a chapter on rap and Christianity, featuring explorations of Lauryn Hill, 2Pac and a number of Christian rappers including G.R.I.T.S. Another chapter explores Islamic influences on rap, with studies on Public Enemy, Wu-Tang Clan, Erykah Badu and Mos Def.Embedded in rhythms, rhymes, colors and shapes, the exploration of hip hop spirituality expands the horizon of studies in spirituality.

---

Opsahl, Carl Petter
Carl Petter Opsahl, Ph.D., is Street Pastor at City Mission of Oslo and Professional musician.

Heimbrock, Hans-Günter
Dr. päd. Hans-Günter Heimbrock ist Professor für Praktische Theologie am Fachbereich Evangelische Theologie der J. W. Goethe Universität Frankfurt a. M.

Wyller, Trygve
Dr. theol. Trygve Wyller ist Professor für Praktische Theologie/Religionspädagogik an der Universität Oslo.

Knauss, Stefanie
Dr. Stefanie Knauss ist zur Zeit Assistant Professor für Theologie an der Villanova University (USA).

Sander, Hans-Joachim
Dr. Hans-Joachim Sander ist Professor für Dogmatik an der Universität Salzburg.

Pezzoli-Olgiati, Daria
Prof. Dr. Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati leitet das Zentrum für Religion, Wirtschaft und Politik (ZRWP) der Universitäten Basel, Lausanne, Luzern und Zürich.

---