Gospel and Religion in Rap

2016, so far, is a year that has brought us a plethora of amazing albums from lots of big names in hip hop, rap and R&B, including those of Kanye West, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Chance the Rapper and last but absolutely not least, Frank Ocean. And as with every year, the playing field changes just a little bit, and we're incredibly fortunate to have such engaging songwriters leading the way. The most recent trend to come out of this sphere of popular hip hop/R&B is heavy incorporation of elements of gospel music and religion in their albums, and this is perhaps most masterfully done by Chance the Rapper, Kanye West and Frank Ocean. Gospel is a genre of Christian music that came into prominence in the late 1800s and early 1900s, originating in black churches, featuring big choruses with dominant vocals and notable harmonies.

Let's start with Chance, who uses these elements in his music the most transparently and with the most overt message. Coloring Book, his third studio album, includes a track called "How Great". Much of the song is a gospel choir repeating the phrase "how great is our God". The album's track listing also includes songs named "Angels", "Blessings" and even a reprise later in the album of "Blessings", featuring lyrics like "I got angels all around me/They keep me surrounded", "blessings keep falling in my lap", and "are you ready for your blessing?/Are you ready for your miracle?", respectively. His most famous song (which wasn't on Coloring Book), "Sunday Candy", is based entirely around the notion of going to church.

But Chance's music is far from preachy; instead, it's extremely celebratory. Bright trumpets, horns and percussions pierce his songs in joyful, exuberant bursts. His onstage presence reflects this, with a smile plastered on his face almost the whole way through and bouncing off the walls with energy. It's clear from his lyrics and his attitude that Chance is grateful for the good things in his life, which he considers blessings, and chooses to express that in a religious way through his music. It creates an exciting listening experience and is a signature aspect to the sound he's cultivated on Acid Rap and before that, 10 Day.

Kanye West uses gospel aspects in different ways on his most recent album, The Life of Pablo, although West has aligned himself with religious iconography before, most notably on the album before Pablo, Yeezus. Yeezus has a song on it that is literally called "I Am a God" (fun fact: God is given songwriting credit on this song. I'm not kidding. Look it up). Where Chance is happy and grateful, Kanye is more powerful and domineering: "I am a God/So hurry up with my damn massage/In a French–ass restaurant/Hurry up with my damn croissants". His current merchandise associated with Pablo is religious as well; the tour itself is called the Saint Pablo tour.

However, his tone changes on the very first track of Pablo. "Ultralight Beam" is my personal favorite on Pablo and comes off like a prayer. It switches off between a full gospel choir singing through complex chords and verses by West, The–Dream, Kelly Price and Chance. "Ultralight Beam" is a Kanye song, but he relaxes in it, starting the song off and then letting the guest artists shine. Chance's verse happens in the second half of the song, starting with slow singing and working his way up to shouts and bold claims: "I made Sunday Candy, I'm never going to hell/I met Kanye West, I'm never going to fail". Interestingly enough, in these lines Chance is corroborating his own religious and musical narrative as well as West's; Chance is the golden boy, West is the ultimate power (i.e., if you meet him, you can't fail).

And finally, we have the ever–enigmatic Frank Ocean. We were all devastated when July 30 came and went and still no new Frank Ocean album, but we were also all redeemed with the almost back to back release of Endless and Blonde. But let's just talk about Blonde for the moment, because Endless seems (as of now) to be primarily a visual album, whereas Blonde adheres more to the traditional structure. Ocean also has a unique perspective that neither Chance nor West have, being straight men from Chicago. It made waves years ago but is worth restating again: Frank Ocean is a bisexual man, and that could cause some innate differences in his relationship to the subject matter at hand. He's also far more understated in his personality; Chance wears his heart on his sleeve, West has his narcissistic swagger, but Ocean keeps levels of distance between himself and the audience.

Blonde and Ocean's Channel Orange and Nostalgia, Ultra sound different in many ways beyond the inclusion of gospel/religious elements. Blonde is far more understated than the latter two, with nothing jumping out at you on the first or second listens demanding Top 40 radio play. It's premeditated, and meant to be given several listens all the way through before the pieces start falling into place. Blonde is an album that makes the most auditory sense when listened front to back, with various thematic elements recurring at different points throughout. The theme starts most notably with the song "Be Yourself", a roughly minute and a half long song of a woman preaching about the evils of drugs over a soothing organ melody that repeats. Though not gospel itself, there's a spiritual aspect to the song that's as simple as a mother telling her child to be safe and be the best that they can be over a melody that almost sounds like a lullaby, with lo-fi distortion blending the notes and tones together.

"Be Yourself" leads right up to "Solo". Like "Be Yourself", "Solo" features a single voice over an organ, but the voice is Ocean's, and the organ is distinct. The song itself is about different aspects of being alone in life, but to me it sounds like Ocean is singing from the booth of a confessional. There’s multiple references to weed in each verse, an interesting thematic choice to follow “Be Yourself”. To me, it’s as though Ocean’s confessing his drug use to a higher authority over him, seemingly carefree but the sheer emotion of the song suggests otherwise. It feels like a kid who’s just kind of fucking around, but still seeks the approval and comfort of family, community, and God.

The chorus also juxtaposes religious iconography directly with drugs: “It’s hell on Earth and the city’s on fire/Inhale, inhale there’s heaven/There’s a bull and a matador dueling in the sky/Inhale, in hell there’s heaven”. Hell on Earth and a burning city are obvious nods to Sodom and Gomorrah. But Ocean is above the fray, literally and mentally, watching it all happen while he smokes weed and feels good. In hell, with drugs, there’s heaven.

There’s so much more to say about the role of gospel and religion in these and many more artists’ recent work, but Chance, West and Frank Ocean stand out the most. Each artist interacts with religion differently, and it gives you a bit of perspective into a very personal part of their lives and reveals a little bit of their mindsets: Chance’s God is exultatory, West’s is commanding and Ocean’s is comforting.