Interview with Dr. Ebony Utley, author of Rap and Religion

What prompted you to write Rap and Religion:Understanding the Gangsta’s God?

I always say that rap and religion called to me; I didn’t go looking for it. I tell a story in the preface about the first time I heard secular rap music in the church parking lot after Sunday service. The unspoken rule was no rap music on Sunday, but when I heard Snoop Dogg that Sunday, it felt rebellious, and it felt right. I realized that rap and religion serve the same purpose—self-expression, inspiration, resistance to oppression. That’s when I started writing the book in my head. Throughout school I was interested in how people acquired power, and rap and religion were two key strategies. When I realized I could combine the two I knew I had a powerful story to tell.

What was the highlight of your research?

The highlight of my research was surveying undergraduates about their interpretations of rap and religion. Chapter 6 - “The Rap on Rap and Religion” asks 175 students about their personal religious beliefs and their interpretations of rappers’ beliefs about Jesus, the devil, and God. Their responses are refreshing, interesting, entertaining. It’s certainly my favorite part of the book.

How did your research change your outlook on rap and religion?

The research gave me a greater appreciation for rap music. So many critics claim that hip hop is inauthentic, that it isn’t as sophisticated as it used to be, that it’s morphing into pop music. All of that is true. There are elements in hip hop that meet all of those negative criteria, but the research gave me an appreciation for the artistry of simplicity. Yes, hip hop is different today than it was 10, 20, and 30 years ago, but I learned to embrace its diversity. The same goes for religion. I learned to appreciate the diversity of religious manifestations. Ideas about God are fluid and dynamic. Even if you think of God in one way, there is someone else with access to the same information who thinks of God in a different way.

How have people reacted to your book and/or the ideas you set forth? Is it what you hoped for, or is there more work to be done?

There’s always more work to be done, but I am really, really proud to be one of the first scholars to publish a comprehensive, single-author book about rap and religion. My favorite review described the book as an “often encyclopedic journey.” I read that and thought, if only he had seen the resources that didn’t make it into the book! I hope Rap and Religion will always be a resource because it honestly is a compendium of rap and religion throughout hip hop history. Twenty years from now I expect the categories I’ve outlined to expand, but I don’t anticipate that they’ll be eliminated. If I were in the studio laying down a track, my book is just the bass line. There are so many more layers to add to this signature song.

What's next for you?

I’m interested in the pursuit of power. Rap and Religion was about how rappers use God to empower themselves. In my next book I’m interested in sex and how women use sex to empower themselves. I am collecting interviews, so if women out there want to talk to me about sex and power, hit me up on Twitter @u_experience or send a message through theutleyexperience.com.

Interview with Elena Romero, Author of Free Stylin': How Hip Hop Changed the Fashion Industry

Q: What prompted you to write FreeStylin’: How Hip Hop Changed the Fashion Industry? What "message" do you want to communicate?

I served as a fashion reporter in the mid nineties for trade publications DNR and later WWD. My beat included the youth market and hip hop fashion was exploding during my tenure. Free Stylin’: How Hip Hop Changed the Fashion Industry chronicles and critically examines how hip hop celebrities and urban designers carved their own niche in the current $192 billion dollar apparel industry.  It’s a subject matter very similar to me since I wrote about the connection of hip hop and fashion for seven years. Unlike other fashion categories taught in fashion schools and written about extensively in ultra chic magazines, urban fashion has been frowned upon by the established fashion guard--due  in part to the people who contributed to its birth, initial customer base, and its rapid evolution.

The tale is as historic as it is controversial.  For years, designers and manufacturers have taken their cues from the streets to enhance their clothing lines. But it wasn’t until the eighties that the urban consumer was recognized as a viable demographic. Looking to appeal to young customers, the industry began hiring and backing talented African-American designers and entrepreneurs. An unconventional union on the surface, the pairing made a lot of business sense.  Seasoned fashion executives brought proven track records while aspiring designers provided street credibility, music connections, and a fresh perspective on design. The end result: a multi-billion dollar industry.

The message I want to communicate is this is a legitimate segment within the fashion industry. By 2002, the market was pegged at $58 billion.

Q: What was the highlight of your research? In the course of your research, what discovery surprised you the most? What surprises readers/others the most about your research?

There were several highlights in my research. During the course of my research I discovered that before modeling for Thierry Muglier, African actor/model Djimon Hounsou  (notable films include Amistadand Blood Diamond. He also has a child with fashionista Kimora Lee Simmons) was hired to be the Cross Colours spokesmodel. In essence, Hounsou was the first urban supermodel. In addition, I discovered that U.S. Supreme Court associate justice Sonia Sotomayor was an attorney for the private firm Pavia & Harcourt and had sued Harlem tailor Dapper Dan on behalf of her client Fendi for counterfeiting. Drug dealers, hustlers, rap stars, entertainers and athletes would rely on one man— the legendary Dapper Dan—for their custom wares from the early to late eighties. Taking the logos of luxury designers like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and MCM, Dapper Dan was the A-list designer for the streets.

Q: How did your research change your outlook on hip hop and fashion?

My research didn’t change my outlook on hip hop fashion at all. In fact, what it did, was allow me to discover the multiple layers to the hip hop fashion story. There were many contributing factors to why the hip hop fashion market exploded and later imploded.

Q: How have people reacted to your book and/or the ideas you set forth? Is it what you hoped for, or is there more work to be done?

So far, the reaction to the book has been very positive. Reviewers—ranging from academics, hip hop experts and fashion leaders—have all seen the merits of the book and its subject matter. The story of how hip hop fashion came to be has been told in fragments, but this books helps shape its context by addressing the various components that made it go mainstream.

Q: What's next for you?

I’d like to translate the book onto film as a documentary as well as curate an exhibit on this very topic. 

The Roots and Rhythms of Latino Music

In March 2011, the U.S. Postal Service released a series of stamps in honor of five Latino musicians—Celia Cruz, Carlos Gardel, Carmen Miranda, Tito Puente, and Selena Quintanilla—who made important contributions to music history and culture in the United States. In the abridged commentary below, University of Houston professor Nicolás Kanellos offers his analysis of the dynamic and syncretic nature of music. He also makes the case that Latin American musicians and musical styles have had an important impact on popular music in the United States that stretches back centuries, though these contributions have gone largely unrecognized.

 In celebrating "Latin Music Legends" in a new series of U.S. Postal Service (USPS) stamps, the United States, through one of its most important institutions, is recognizing Latinos as a major cultural force in the nation. It is a force that has always been with us, although rarely acknowledged in the past as a dynamic contributor to our national history, images, and symbols...

 In fact, Latin music is one of those cultural markers that sets the Western Hemisphere, in general, and the United States in particular, apart from the "Old World." For it is the centuries' old blending of contributions from three continents—Africa, Europe and indigenous America—that has brought about Latin music's dynamic wedding of musical idioms, instruments, dances and rhythms. Long before there were recordings of country and Western music, the songs of the vaqueros, their fandangos and stringed instruments, and even their clothing, planted the base on which this American vernacular music would thrive, not only inducting the Spanish guitar and its playing styles but the indigenous vocal expressions that would characterize it....

 The story of the USPS stamps celebrating the legendary Selena, Gardel, Miranda, Puente and Cruz is not an indication that Latinos have arrived, for we were always here, always contributing to U.S. culture....These "legends" are only commercial and popular culture manifestations of what has always been below the surface of U.S. culture and from time to time emerges, as in the sudden appearance of these icons on official postage, to help us remember who we are and where we come from.

 Read Dr. Kanellos's full commentary by checking out the April Feature Story, "U.S. Postal Service Stamps Honor Latino Music Icons," on the Latino American Experience. If you are not already a subscriber, click here for a free trial.


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Additional Resources

The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience

Comprehensive, informative, and now even easier to use, The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience is the latest version of the first-ever database dedicated to the history and culture of Latinos—the largest, fastest growing minority group in the United States.