Conflicts in hip hop between the hustler's life and an MC's religious background (and...um...James Joyce)

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I've been a lurker for almost a year, but haven't ever really had a question worth posting...until now.

(cue dramatic Crazy 88 intro music)

Basically, I'm working on a proposal for my senior honors thesis for my Lit program at university (a glorious 30 pager). I'd like to talk about the conflict in hip hop between religious leanings/background/upbringing and the life of the hustler. Think songs like "Church" off Big Boi's Speakerboxxx.

To keep it academic (and directly lit-related), I want to compare this conflict in hip hop to similar conflicts in literature a la A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. (Given, the character Stephen Daedalus isn't exactly a hustler, but if you've read the book, hopefully you get the idea).

So basically I'm trolling for songs like "Church" that exemplify this conflict and/or other "canonical" novels like Portrait that deal with such issues. Any suggestions would be appreciated (and promptly stolen). Thanks.

And yes, I'm actually serious, this really is the off the wall type of stuff that profs eat up for some unknown reason.

― Nathan J, Friday, 23 April 2004 02:53 (twenty-two years ago)

See Nick Tosches's Hellfire it's an imaginative biography about Jerry Lee Lewis that sort of deals with the same issues.

― Huck, Friday, 23 April 2004 02:57 (twenty-two years ago)

mind playing tricks on me - geto boys

― mullygrubber (gaz), Friday, 23 April 2004 02:59 (twenty-two years ago)

baptism scene in the The Godfather

― Broheems (diamond), Friday, 23 April 2004 03:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Hasn't this sort of thing already been tackled by the Fall?

(Who invented Rap y'know...)

― Sasha (sgh), Friday, 23 April 2004 03:14 (twenty-two years ago)

"I know I can break it; this life just don't make it."

Superfly.

― Evanston Wade (EWW), Friday, 23 April 2004 03:19 (twenty-two years ago)

"Jesus I'm rollin' with you."
"Big Baby Jesus I can't wait!"

― Huck, Friday, 23 April 2004 03:27 (twenty-two years ago)

(.) not (). ew.

― assholesfly, Friday, 23 April 2004 03:48 (twenty-two years ago)

hypocrisy
P
Pronunciation Key (h-pkr-s)
n. pl. hyÂ¬âˆ‘pocÂ¬âˆ‘riÂ¬âˆ‘sies

1.The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.
2.An act or instance of such falseness. >

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 23 April 2004 04:05 (twenty-two years ago)

"We never pray to God, we pray to Gotti"

― Sym (shmuel), Friday, 23 April 2004 04:27 (twenty-two years ago)

James Joyce... Not e.e. cummings

― moofman (moofman), Friday, 23 April 2004 04:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, Alex in NYC of course being a perfect picture of virtuosity.

David Banner - "My Lord"

"I pray to god every day, but he don't listen..."
-2pac

― djdee2005, Friday, 23 April 2004 04:50 (twenty-two years ago)

"I still believe in God, but God No Longer Believes in Me"
- Wayne Hussey, the Mission 1986-

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 23 April 2004 05:18 (twenty-two years ago)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000039QL.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

― JaXoN (JasonD), Friday, 23 April 2004 05:30 (twenty-two years ago)

if heaven was a mile away / and you could ride by the gates / would you try to run inside when it opens / would you try to die today? would you pray louder, finally believing his power? / even if you couldn't see but you could feel, would you still doubt him? / how would you start acting? / would you try to put the keys down? / thinking every drug sell that you make in the streets he can see now / would a fiend even want to get high, would he stop smoking? / if he knew on his own two feet he could just stroll in / to get away and escape from the craziness.

that's nas.

― ww, Friday, 23 April 2004 05:38 (twenty-two years ago)

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 23 April 2004 05:40 (twenty-two years ago)

i have to say i was really surprised (impressed?) by how much godtalk there is on college dropout

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 23 April 2004 05:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Try Freeway's LP

― scottjames23 (worrysome-man), Friday, 23 April 2004 09:47 (twenty-two years ago)

choice jay-z lines (aside from those already mentioned):
"even if jehova witness bet he'll never testity" (d'evils),
"never read the qu'ran or islamic scriptures/ only psalms I read on the arms of my niggas/tattooed so I carry on like I'm non-religious", ('into' on roc la familia)
"wanted to tell god i don't deserve this/was afraid he'd say i deserve less" (squeeze 1st)

― m. (mitchlnw), Friday, 23 April 2004 11:05 (twenty-two years ago)

WHAT IF HEAVEN WAS ON EARTH NIGGA?!?!?

― scg, Friday, 23 April 2004 13:53 (twenty-two years ago)

'other "canonical" novels like Portrait that deal with such issues'

The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler.
It works as a companion piece to 'Portrait'.

― de, Friday, 23 April 2004 13:59 (twenty-two years ago)

You may think I'm a high nigga, but looks could be deceiving
God lives within me and brother I feel him
I speak to God before I take my gat and juice ya
Cause he tha one that's holding my future

Goodie Mob "The Coming"

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 23 April 2004 13:59 (twenty-two years ago)

DMX “The Professional”: “I don’t like to involve women and children / a nigger got feelings / I just put em aside…/whenever it's time to do my job / i just ride /…I don’t get much sleep, my soul’s tormented / I beg the lord to forgive me…/ for fuckin with the double edged sword / I know I’m going to hell / but that's my life.”

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Friday, 23 April 2004 14:02 (twenty-two years ago)

dmx has a lot of songs that grapple with these issues...

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Friday, 23 April 2004 14:04 (twenty-two years ago)

There's actually even more Jay lyrics about this issue. Check the verse in "where i'm from" about churches, or "Lucifer."
And then there's the genius line from the extended version of "a million and one": Call me Jay-Hova because my flow is religious.

― Sym (shmuel), Friday, 23 April 2004 20:42 (twenty-two years ago)

my day is coming - kokane

― mullygrubber (gaz), Saturday, 24 April 2004 00:40 (twenty-two years ago)

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