Pinn, Anthony B., ed. New York: New
York University Press, 2003. 192 pp., $18.00 (USD). ISBN:
1-8147-6699-4.
[1] Rap music is an art form wherein individuals or groups tell
stories that relate to their life experiences. Noise and
Spirit, a collection of essays by various authors examining
various religious and spiritual aspects of rap, appropriately reflects
this. Its contributors investigate how rappers relate to religion
and spirituality, as well as how the art form is influenced thereby. Noise
and Spirit is a significant contribution to the discussion of
rap and religion.
[2] This work is not ground-breaking; the reader will see earlier,
seminal works on the subject referred to by the volume’s contributors,
particularly the work of Michael Eric Dyson. However, editor
Anthony Pinn emphasizes in the introduction how this volume differs
from others. According to Pinn, the book contributes two fresh
elements to the existing discussion on rap and religion. First, Noise
and Spirit addresses a greater variety of religious traditions
represented by rappers than previously addressed. Pinn stresses
that many of the previous efforts have covered only a very narrow
perspective that makes more general reference to mainstream religions
such as Christianity or Islam. Second, Spirit examines the
relationship of rap to non-mainstream religious traditions (like
Rastafarianism) and ideologies (like humanism) that aren’t
traditionally considered religious or “spiritual,” emphasizing
that such non-traditional forms also influence on rap music.
[3] The volume’s contributors provide historical and contextual
background, exploring views of life and its struggles from the perspective
of the given religious tradition or community, and then identifying
these views in songs recorded by various rap artists. However,
this demonstration reveals that no rapper operates entirely within
a given religious structure. As is common with many of us,
rappers work with religion and spirituality in a fluid way, applying
their own perspectives and interpretations. Not surprisingly,
the volume’s contributors also address how rap can be used
as a spiritual practice.
[4] Noise and Spirit demonstrates that rap has been,
and is today, one way that African Americans have dealt with and
constructively communicated the challenges and difficulties of being
a racial minority. To be sure, the majority of established
rappers in the United States are African American. In addition,
while there may be rappers who are not African American, it is clear
that rap was born primarily out of earlier African American musical
traditions, such as slave spirituals and the Blues. In fact,
Pinn addresses rap’s historical antecedents in his introduction. But
perhaps Pinn could have included some discussion of how rappers
with other ethnicities and backgrounds have adapted this originally
African American art form. Such an exploration may have served
to demonstrate how diverse and flexible rap really is.
[5] In the end, Noise and Spirit is not just about rap and
its relationship to religion or spirituality. It’s about
where musical traditions come from, and why. At times the
book is thick with academic jargon, making it challenging to process. However,
the challenge is well worth the effort; it is valuable to understand
that musical traditions are often the result of historical events
and struggles experienced by a group of people, and that these musical
traditions develop as a way of coping with such events. This
is one key to interpreting rap, and is a benefit for those of us
who listen to it and seek to understand its poetic nature.
Rudy Regehr
Winnipeg, Manitoba
rregehr@mts.net
