The Pisteuomen blogroll has been updated so as to include Nick Norelli's blog Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth. Nick has some good, thought-provoking posts (though his top 10 rap list could use some modifications), so, be sure to check out his site.
Bone Thugs might be popular down south or wherever, but I'm from Jersey... They're the farthest thing from my mind when thinking about rap groups...
ReplyDeleteBy the way, that was only the Top 10 rap groups... Wait til you see the Top 10 Rappers :^D
Well, if I'm not going to get you to convert...
ReplyDeleteFor me, Wu-Tang is the same thing...Method Man was good on his own and Rhazel too but them and all of those other guys as a group, it was a bit overkill, my goodness...
I should probably stop before I get a cap to da dome #:(
Rhazel was the guy who used to do all kinds of sound effects when he beat boxed. You mean the Rza (a.k.a. Rakeem Diggs) ;) I actually went to school and was friends with a younger brother (Andre) and a younger sister (Ebony) of his.
ReplyDeleteBut it was the amount of members that made the group so good... The first album wasn't bogged down with 'catchy' (and by 'cathcy' I mean those annoyingly sing-songy) hooks that get stuck in your head even though you hate them. They could fill the space with verses from each member.
BTW... since you saw fit to add me to your coveted blogroll I returned the favor and put you on mine. I might announce the momentous event tommorrow. :^D
Nick,
ReplyDeleteAh yes...RZA (you can tell how much I liked Wu right...I got the group members a bit wrong). Wasn't there another guy whose name was like RZA's?
I couldn't stand ODB, wasn't he a part of Wu? I don't know dude, I like some of the catchy stuff (which explains why I loved BT&H, I guess). I'll admit, I even liked some of LL's stuff (e.g. pink cookies...),though not much at all--that one song may be it. As far as Wu, you gotta be biased simply because you knew them (in a roundabout way). That's okay though, I probably would have liked them more if I knew them or was close to knowing them. Don't you think it would be the same if you knew some guys from BT&H?
We def. have dif. rap tastes but BT&H still deserves its place. Look how long they've lasted and they're still producing some good stuff, though, I must admit I've only heard them on the radio or on Wal-Mart video screens by accident.
BTW, thanks for the add.
I am the mythical neutral observer when it comes to rap groups. There is no bias in me at all! And the other guy whose name sounded like the Rza was the Gza (a.k.a. the Genius). They're cousins in real life. And yes, ODB was a member of Wu Tang, but he wasn't all that bad as far as rapping goes. His personal character was a different story.
ReplyDeleteAnd LL was likeable before he made 'I Need Love' -- that song just ruined his hardcore credentials :^D
Still and all, it's nice to see another young guy who's into the Bible that has an appreicationg for rap music (even if you don't get to listen as much as you used to).
BTW, how old are you?
Nick,
ReplyDeleteI'm 27.
I've always been fascinated by the use of theology in rap. I think this is one of the reasons I liked BT&H so much. But like Tupac, they often confused me. One minute their talking about God, heaven and salvation and the next minute about sex, drugs, murder, etc. I know that a lot of that is just retelling what they've seen or experienced it but sometimes they glorify it. That dualism always baffled me. Perhaps, though, it shows the struggle in all of its realness; maybe we could learn to be more honest about our thoughts & beliefs from them. I think a lot of us hold that tension in our lives but are afraid to admit it. But what is true, tested faith if you never really have doubted or have (present tense) doubts?
As I reflect on me listening to rap, I wonder if it was one of God's ways of getting me into theology? I mean, I don't think God got me listening to it but I do think He used it. It could well be the case that listening to these rappers in all of their dualism and tension, is what raised so many questions in my mind and sent me searching for answers.
That said, I hope to goodness that by the time my newborn is old enough to like music, she does not listen to rap. After all,I quit listening to it because its often so nasty and so negative.
I understand your reasons for not listening to rap anymore and they are commendable. I had stopped listening to it when I was born again about 5 years ago because I thought that I had to cut off all ties with the world. And in all those years of not listening to rap I still liked it and missed it. I began to evaluate my reasons for not listening and in the end they were legalistic. I had it in my head that I would be somehow less holy or even not saved if I did listen to secular music and watch secular television, but in the end, my righteousness is not my own -- it's Christ's!
ReplyDeleteI look at rap in a similar way to how I look at the Psalms (minus the inspiration) -- In both instances we have people expressing their feelings even if these feelings are sometimes vile and nasty. We all have our moments. And I'll be honest in saying that I tried Christian rap, but there isn't much out there that I can get into. There's a few guys that I'll listen to but a lot of it just seems phony to me. At least with a lot of the secular stuff we know from the onset that it's fake and they're just telling a story.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents. And I'm with you... I don't really want my daughter getting into rap either, but her mother isn't saved so she's exposed to it over there. I guess I'm a hypocrite in that respect because I'll listen to it but I won't let her. :-|
Pray for my deliverence :^D