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Christian hip-hop has made some notable inroads in the last few years, especially in the mainstream market. Popular rapper Lecrae has won Grammy, Stellar, and Dove awards, and he, along with other Christian artists, appear regularly on networks like BET and MTV. Does this mean the movement that emerged in the early '80s as Gospel rap has finally arrived?

Hip-hop has been hear for ages, but Christian hiphop, where you jammed out under the name of God consisting of not curse words has finally arrive. Gospels, has always been popular, but now it has made it to the hip-hop genre with upbeat beats and smooth lyrics expressing their strong belief in God. It has finally arrived as in it has finally impacted the audience, but “movement that emerged in the early '80s as Gospel rap” was already established just haven’t made it as far as it did now. Regardless of how long it took it is hear now and music to our ears and lessons to our hearts.

-Thu Nhan Ho

Forensic science just revealed the most realistic face of Jesus ever and it's far different than the fair-skinned, long-haired and blue-eyed Savior most of the western world has grown accustomed.

This is another article on the ‘real’ face of Jesus, but this is an article from forensic science revealing their take on the image. Growing up as a Buddhist, and being surround by Christians my ideal image of Jesus is someone with white/pale skin, blue/green/hazel eyes, and long wavy dark brown hair. Not only to my eye to the eyes of almost half the world as that idea image, of mine, is posed on with the name Jesus beside it. “According to Esquire, British scientists, assisted by Israeli archeologists, have re-created what they believe is the most accurate image of the face of Jesus in human history.” They used many clue to come up with this image such as, “"Matthew's description of the events in Gethsemane offers an obvious clue to the face of Jesus” . Along with the Bible description and the Gethsemane era. Is this the real image of Jesus, it is all in the eyes of the beholder. There could be an instagram picture of Jesus posted and look like this and some people might still believe in the image of the white skin, light eyes, and long wavy hair.

-Thu nhan Ho

The deceased wordsmith was more than just a hip-hop star.

To our generation Tupac is one of the most influential musician of our time, but there is still people that disagree with his music and his message. His listens are not only trying to warn us, teach us, but also relate to us. Times not be the same, and sadly he is no longer here, but the situations is still the same. Discrimination, believing one race or religion is more supreme than other, putting out the differences still exist. In this article it will remind and inform us why Tupac is still the most important rapper of our generation. He is not just a rapper, but he is a teacher in a way that he uses rap and music to teach us about the world. The article also features a video of the, long talked about, hologram of Tupac during Coachella.

-Thu Nhan Ho

#why #tupac #is

Out in the heat, 34-year-old rapper Lecrae and a six-person video crew are filming a music video for "All I Need Is You," the third single from Lecrae's new album, Anomaly.

"Dear Hip Hop, we can't scream 'murder, misogyny, lawlessness' in our music & then turn around and ask for equality & justice." - Lecrae in response to Ferguson. He talks about how we can’t sing/rap about lawlessness and then expect justice to be served when lawlessness does happen. Being a Christian rapper, Lecrae is not yet mainstream but very successful ( one of the few). This relates back to what we were saying in class about Christianity and rap don’t usually mix. And if they do, it tends to draw little to no attention from the public.

#kim nguyen

This picture /quote is representative of the internal battle Tupac had with himself throughout his life. He wanted to change the world and quit the “thug” life but a turning point in his life ( eleven months in jail) changed him as a person. He was no longer that optimistic seventeen year old.

#kimnguyen

The special effects technology that brought the late rapper back for a special performance at the Coachella music festival

This great article shows about Tupacs Hologram during the coachella festival and how the artist constructed it!! it was actually a 2D image that looked 3D! its so cool how his appearance changed so many lives that day even if it was just a hologram.

RITA RABBAN

The rapper says he's hoping to send a message to fans with the look-alike.

In lecture we talked about Kanye West and his song Jesus Walks, this article shows the message that Kanye is portraying and why he used a Jesus lookalike during his concert for that song. He wanted to show that people are able to talk to Jesus and Ask him for things just as if he was human

RITA RABBAN

There's been lots of hype around krump dance. The first ever krumper, Russell, won Season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance. Krumping, a cross between hip hop, pop lock and, well, lots of freestyle, is the next big thing.

I really liked this article it shows how Thomas was reborn after spending 5 years in jail. It gives a little inside of how he became the “King of Krumping.” It also dhows how after he started dressing as a clown and doing kids parties his dance then turned into what its now called clowning.

#JessicaVilla

Based on over 2,000 votes, Lecrae is currently number 1 out of 158 choices. Agree? Disagree? Place your vote on the list of Top 10 Christian Rappers.

This is a list of the 10 top Christian Rappers. I thought it was relevant to class because we talked in class how Lecrae was considered the number one christian rapper. I like the list not only because it shows the rappers rating but also show some quotes under of what people actually think about them and their work.

#JessicaVilla

Advances in forensic science reveal the most famous face in history.

“From the first time Christian children settle into Sunday school classrooms, an image of Jesus Christ is etched into their minds. In North America he is most often depicted as being taller than his disciples, lean, with long, flowing, light brown hair, fair skin and light-colored eyes.” From the beginning of my childhood (growing up non religious), the image that I was fed of Jesus from my peers and evangelicals who tried to convert me was one of a tall, white man. As I went through high school and studied world history and forensics, I found this image to not seem logical at all, as Jesus apparently lived in the Middle East, an area where people have predominately darker features than white Americans of European descent. Recently, a forensic anthropologist recreated what Jesus’s face might have looked like when he was alive. I find the portrait to be interesting because of the fact that Jesus is always depicted as a white man in society, rather than the true ethnicity of middle eastern people.

#JuliaDenbaugh jesus whitewashing

Thoughts on rap and God from the 34-year-old musician, who was the first to ever simultaneously land an album at the top of the gospel music charts and the Billboard 200

In this article about rapper Lacrae from the Atlantic, the rapper clarifies that " “My music is not Christian—Lecrae is,’he said. ‘And you hear evidence of my faith in my music.’". Lacrae has had major success in both the world of Christian music and in the hip hop world in general, having songs hit the Billboard 200 and gospel music charts. Lacrae, like many hip hop artists, raps about the injustices that are part of growing up as a minority in poverty, but also touches on more sensitive issues like abortion and cheating in relationships. His style differs from the air of borderline narcissism and bragging lyrics of artists like Nicki Minaj and Kanye West to a more humble style. Lacrae also differs from many Christian musicians in the field. In the article he says, "Christians have really used and almost in some senses prostituted art in order to give answers instead of telling great stories and raising great questions." Ultimately, Lacrae lies somewhere in his own space in the hip hop religious culture: somewhere in between humanism and traditional Christianity

#JuliaDenbaugh hiphop lacrae

Two University of Nairobi (UoN) scholars have challenged mainstream churches to prepare sermons that counter "falsehoods peddled by prosperity preachers" to fleece Kenyans.

This article is about Prosperity Gospel, and how two scholars from the University of Nairobi are against it. They claim that the aspects of this religion should not be emphasizing health and wealth acquisition, but instead more on the bibilical teachings. I agree completely. I have never liked going to churches that have fancy lighting, fancy music and seating, because I don’t feel like you should express your religion or faith through expensive things-- in the end, it doesn’t matter. Preachers of this religion that are on television are, “highly decorated and flamboyant,” and to me, all of that is unimportant, so I side 100% with these scholars.

#GenalynVinoya

With Ted Cruz surging in Iowa and some national polls, GOP frontrunner Donald Trump took a jab at the Texas Senator's faith, saying, "not a lot of Evangelicals come out of Cuba."

This is a link to an article about Donald Trump, who is tied in the polls with Ted Cruz. He called him out on his Evangelical faith, just as he did with another candidate, Ben Carson and his Christian faith when he was tied with him in Iowa as well. I thought that it would be interesting to share this to see how much religion really matters in politics. I also thought it was interesting to see how Donald Trump could say things like, “not a lot of Evangelicals come out of Cuba,” and, “he will fall like all others. This will be easy!” to other people. This post is more about religion overall than just the evangelical faith. I knew that religion played a part in politics, but I didn’t realize how big of a part. It plays so big of a part that it can bring someone ahead by just 2 percent and make the competition so much closer.

#GenalynVinoya

New York-based rapper Andy Mineo is fueled by his creativity and his Christian faith. The emcee shares his thoughts on spirituality in hip-hop

This article examines an interview with Christian rapper Andy Mineo. Mineo has collaborated with prominent Christian rappers such as Lacrae and he is rising in the religious Hip Hop world. As stated in class Christian Rap often receives a negative connotation because the word religion and rapping usually do not mix. Mineo points out the fact that allusions to God in the world of Hip Hop due to the fact that Rappers want to be compared to greatness, and who is more great than God? Mineo also explains that if a rapper is not fully educated on a subject such as religion, an allusion to God in one of their songs could send out a mixed message and even offend some people. He also makes the point that it is somewhat odd that a rapper could rap about very crude subjects and talk about their love for God. This point comes back to the fact that Rap and religion sometimes do not mix and could be viewed as polar opposites.

By: Joshua Olivas

#religious imagery

Thoughts on rap and God from the 34-year-old musician, who was the first to ever simultaneously land an album at the top of the gospel music charts and the Billboard 200

Another interesting article about rapper Lecrae. This man is amazing! He not only raps about God but, he also takes this oppurtunity to speak upon the subject of slavery, a discussion of adultery, and other topics. Unlike other hip-hop artist that speaks under the word ‘faith’ , like Kayne West, he uses his music as an oppurtunity to spread the belief and the faith of God. He uses not one cruse word to express his passion. His music is not aimed just for Christians but, for anyone who has a source of faith and glory though he does hope his music aid people to convert to Christianity he is also open to other religion. The music itself is unlike other Christian soundtracks, he add a hint of rock which can connect with various groups of audience.

-Thu nhan Ho

Lecrae made history Tuesday by becoming the first purely hip-hop artist to win Artist of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards. But not everyone is celebrating this achievement by the rapper and outspoken Christian.

There has been lots of talk about the Christian Rapper Lecrae down the dashboard and I would like to join that conversation. While the other posts were about who he is and his contribution to Christian hip-hop I found an article where the public might think his win, Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song for "Messengers", is actually being unfair to “actual” Christian rappers. He is actually the first Christian Rapper to be rewarded at the GMA Award hence making history but, Meeke Addison, a spokeswoman for Urban Family Communications feels as if he shouldn’t be rewarded for speaking the truth and being a follower of God. The conversation continues, as they hear from both sides. Lecrae respond that he is humble about the situation and this is just another way to spread the belief of Christianity through music. Great article to read! -Thu nhan Ho

Hip-hop performer and activist Jasiri X will be honored by the Urban League of Pittsburgh

This recent articles shows that even today there are young rappers and hip hop artists that are singing and winning awards for their music rapping about black theological themes. Jasiri X’s new album Black Liberation Theology won the title of Best of Pittsburgh, and Jasiri himself was voted as Pittsburgh's local best hip hop artist. It’s nice to see that not all up and coming hip hop artists have to be rapping about money and being commercialized, but some are still rapping about the reality of racism and oppression that still occurs in society just as it had when hip hop began.

--Kyra Nguyen

#KyraNguyen

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