Why is the battle between good and evil a recurring theme in rap lyrics? What role does the devil play in hip hop? What exactly does it mean when rappers wear a diamond-encrusted "Jesus" around their necks? Why do rappers acknowledge God during award shows and frequently include prayers in their albums? Rap and Religion: Understanding the Gangsta's God tackles a sensitive and controversial topic: the juxtaposition-and seeming hypocrisy-of references to God within hip hop culture and rap music. This book provides a focused examination of the intersection of God and religion with hip hop and rap music. Author Ebony A. Utley, PhD, references selected rap lyrics and videos that span three decades of mainstream hip hop culture in America, representing the East Coast, the West Coast, and the South in order to account for how and why rappers talk about God. Utley also describes the complex urban environments that birthed rap music and sources interviews, award acceptance speeches, magazine and website content, and liner notes to further explain how God became entrenched in hip hop.

The thirteen essays selected for "Power and Pleasure in Popular Culture" aim to explain why popular culture is an irresistible guilty pleasure. This anthology forces readers to think about why they enjoy popular culture by asking questions about its relationship to power: Who truly has power over popular culture its creators or its consumers? Under what circumstances is popular culture empowering? When is it disempowering? Is pleasure contingent upon acquiescing to power, resisting power, and/or wielding power over others? These questions are considered from the perspectives of gender, sexual orientation, class status, and racial identity.
Additional emphasis on food, fashion, television, film, music, political cartoons, virtual communication, and physical bodies increases the likelihood that students will identify with the content found in this book and connect the readings with their lived experiences. The various theoretical approaches presented within also encourage students to use their critical media literacy skills to determine what aspects of popular culture have the power to turn them on. With original section introductions written by Dr. Ebony A. Utley, "Power and Pleasure in Popular Culture" is an ideal reader for any course dealing with the complexities of popular culture.
Ebony A. Utley, Ph.D., is an expert in popular culture, race, and romantic relationships. Dr. Utley s research explores the tension between power and pleasure in popular culture, examines how Americans talk about race and racism, asks probing questions about marriage and infidelity, and explores hip hop s relationship to love and religion. She is the author of "Rap and Religion: Understanding the Gangsta s God." In addition to national radio, print, and online appearances, Dr. Utley lectures at universities across the country and is an assistant professor of communication studies at California State University Long Beach. She resides on the web at theutleyexperience.com.

Infidelity raises questions: Why do women stay with a cheater? Why do women cheat? Why do women become "the other woman"? How does the experience of infidelity impact future relationships? What effect does infidelity have on children? How do women deal with children born from a spouse's affair? Drawing on interviews with U.S. women of various ages, racial backgrounds, educational attainments and sexual orientations, this insightful study examines their personal experiences of cheating and being cheated on. Equal parts engaging, uplifting and dispiriting, their narratives range from all-too-familiar stories to unconventional perspectives on love, life and interpersonal communication.

This book provides an enlightening, representative account of how rappers talk about God in their lyrics-and why a sense of religion plays an intrinsic role within hip hop culture. Why is the battle between good and evil a recurring theme in rap lyrics? What role does the devil play in hip hop? What exactly does it mean when rappers wear a diamond-encrusted "Jesus" around their necks? Why do rappers acknowledge God during award shows and frequently include prayers in their albums? Rap and Religion: Understanding the Gangsta's God tackles a sensitive and controversial topic: the juxtaposition-and seeming hypocrisy-of references to God within hip hop culture and rap music. This book provides a focused examination of the intersection of God and religion with hip hop and rap music. Author Ebony A. Utley, PhD, references selected rap lyrics and videos that span three decades of mainstream hip hop culture in America, representing the East Coast, the West Coast, and the South in order to account for how and why rappers talk about God. Utley also describes the complex urban environments that birthed rap music and sources interviews, award acceptance speeches, magazine and website content, and liner notes to further explain how God became entrenched in hip hop. A bibliography of cited sources on rap music and hip hop culture An index of key terms and artists A discography of rap songs with religious themes