Performing Criticism: Music & Contemporary Prophecy
Prophetic performance in ancient Israel was often accompanied by speech that took full advantage of the affordances of sound. Rhythm and meter, rhyme and wordplay, assonance and consonance, tone and pitch were deployed, often combined with musical genres such as the limping rhythm of the lament (קניה; Amos 5:2).
When we look at our own culture for examples of prophets, it's not surprising that so many of them are either gifted orators (Martin Luther King, Jr.), musicians, or poets (see the videos below from British slam poets Kate Tempest and Jess Green). The music of language, and musical accompaniment to language, are both powerful modes that convey meanings of their own in conjunction with the words themselves. In today's reading, Michael Eric Dyson notes that the commercialization of prophetic music today can dull the subversive edge of genres like hip hop or rap, but if the music can stay close to the site of its original expression, it remains authentic and therefore uncomfortable, reflecting the violence and abuse that are prompting the outcry in the first place.
Identify lyrics from a song you know and like that you consider to be prophetic—that is, protesting significant injustices or calling people to a more just and ethical life. Type a 1-page paper in which you discuss why the lyrics are prophetic, citing the part of the lyrics that are most significant.
Dyson finds a lot to praise in the prophetic edge of hip hop and rap, but he also critiques these musical critics for ethical shortcomings. Name two.
How is rap a postmodern musical form? What codes or objects in our culture does it draw on and reconstruct?
From the Lazard essay, be able to explain some of the differences between white and black millennials' religious affiliation.
Michael Eric Dyson
is a Professor of Sociology at the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice at our sister Jesuit school, Georgetown University, an ordained Baptist minister, and a public intellectual who frequently appears on national media programs. He has authored books such as Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X (Oxford University Press, 1994) and Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster (Basic Civitas Books, 2006).
Joshua Lazard
is the C. Eric Lincoln Minister for Student Engagement at Duke University Chapel. Originally from the south side of Chicago, he studied first at Dillard University and then Fisk University in Nashville following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He has an M.Div. and an M.A. in Church Music, and is an ordained Baptist minister. He's a frequent contributor to Religion Dispatches.
The Game
is an American rapper and actor credited with bringing the west coast hip-hop scene into the mainstream. Jesus Pie5e is his fifth studio album (a "Jesus piece" is a piece of jewelry depicting Jesus' face popular with hip-hop artists and celebrities). The cover art above, designed by Vlad Sepetov, was first released on Instagram and was controversial for portraying Jesus with so many gang-related symbols, which some of his fans and even the Catholic Church complained was blasphemous.1
Further Reading
Beckford, Robert S. "Prophet of Dub: Dub as a Heuristic for Theological Reflection." Black Theology 1:1 (2002) 67-82.
Dube, Siphiwe Ignatius. "'Hate Me Now': An Instance of NAS as Hip-Hop's Self-proclaimed Prophet and Messiah." Religious Studies and Theology 29:2 (2010) 171-90.
Poole, Thomas G. "Tracy Chapman: Jedermann, Prophet, or Cultural Narrator?" Black Sacred Music 6 (1992) 253-61.
Trulear, Harold Dean. "The Prophetic Character of Black Secular Music: Stevie Wonder." Black Sacred Music: A Journal of Theomusicology 3:2 (1989) 75-84.
Wimberley, Richard E. "Prophecy, Eroticism, and Apocalypticism in Popular Music: Prince." Black Sacred Music: A Journal of Theomusicology 3:2 (1989) 125-32.
Video Links
Kate Tempest - At age 27, Kate Tempest became the youngest person to win the Ted Hughes award for innovation in poetry for her hour-long "spoken story" Brand New Ancients. This is her spoken poem End Times.
4.07
Jess Green - Poetry slammers like Brit Jess Green offer a great contemporary example of the music and the power of prophetic speech. This is her piece Dear Mr Gove.
Prophetic performance in ancient Israel was often accompanied by speech that took full advantage of the affordances of sound. Rhythm and meter, rhyme and wordplay, assonance and consonance, tone and pitch were deployed, often combined with musical genres such as the limping rhythm of the lament (קניה; Amos 5:2).
