Remembering The Hip Hop Saint

Socio-Theological Insights from Tupac Amaru Shakur

September 13, 1996, marks the death of rapper, activist, and Hip Hop saint Tupac Amaru Shakur, one of rap’s most famed and beloved rappers. Tupac presented many with a discourse of the urban life from an urbanites perspective. Tupac did not just create a space for the “thug” to be better understood, but connected with the disenfranchised, marginalized, and disheartened soul to move deep into the complexities of what life brings to our front door; which transcends race. Tupac created space, for anyone who was hurting, to find both the pain and the joy in an effective space called music.

Ghetto gospel

Music is a powerful medium that no human being on the face of the Earth goes without. Yet, the meanings within that musical score are great, complex, and diverse; Tupac was able to reach into the hearts and minds of many and help those identify with both their own struggle and the journey to “keep your head up” in life. For me, that is exactly where spiritual connections begin and theology—the study of God and / or God’s, happens. In a world where churches and religious dogmatic mantras are fading, Tupac was able to create a spiritual space not just to commiserate about the pain, but to move in and beyond it. Tupac was not a trained theologian, pastor, or evangelist. However, having a formal degree and training never qualified anyone from doing “God’s work.” Still, Tupac never really came to any solid conclusions about on a theology of the ‘hood.’ He began the discussion, but because of his early death, never finished the mantra of a ghetto Gospel. What follows here is a conversation about seeing Tupac as a sort of urban post soul spiritual leader to begin the conversation about who Jesus is to an individual’s life.

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