Religion

In the reading of Tupac Shakur, Perkinson introduces Ogou as a personality which tells the audience the difference that exists between evil and good. It is also a trope that a person can explore anger and discernment for power. It is an African deity that is believed that many musicians use. Ogou has some connection with the late Shakur in how he represents African-American cultures and its divine and demonic nature. The portrayal of super powers cannot be left out in the discussion. Tupac was a staunch musician who represented the culture of the diaspora while trying to fix it in the hip hop culture. Many people believe that Tupac was demonic and criticized the West with all his spirits. It reached some point that western people were worried about such a situation. Surprisingly, according to Perkinson, Tupac had garnered many followers hence leading to the belief that he was relying on superpowers as far as the American hip hop culture was concerned.

In the reading of chapter 26, the work of NAS, prophets and religion play a significant role in propagating his songs’ messages while he portrays himself as the Prophet. In reality, it’s hard to argue that a secular musician is representing religious messages. Also, use of religion seems to work in a way that it spurs unending controversies. He uses religion as an advantage to propel him to greater heights. NAS seems to enjoy such incidences while propelling fan base to higher levels. However, it appears that use of religion makes the relationship between religion and hip hop more complex rather than simplifying it as one expects. NAS also uses religious concepts to tell his stories of his life.