Five Percenter Rap: God Hop's Music, Message, and Black Muslim Mission

Miyakawa, assistant professor of musicology at Middle Tennessee State University, offers "the first in-depth study of the Five Percent Nation," a fine study of the influential sect, an offshoot of the Nation of Islam. The Five Percent Nation counts Queen Latifah, Erykah Badu and members of Wu-Tang Clan as past or present members, and has spread its message through ideological rap/hip-hop music, known as "God Hop." With expressive writing and selective research, Miyakawa introduces the reader to a new world, where African-American rappers practice clean living, observe vegan lifestyles and seek to elevate their community through proud lyrics, exhorting youth to "civilize" themselves. Miyakawa explains the origins and religious beliefs of Five Percenters, including that modern black people are the descendants of an ancient, advanced "Moorish" civilization. The Five Percenters derive their name from the belief that 5% of all people are the "poor righteous teachers" who extol the "Black Man of Asia" as the "Living God[s]." Using her musicology background, Miyakawa explains the layered, dynamic and inventive compositions of God Hop music. She is quick to point out that Five Percenters are varied and difficult to categorize, which makes her work all the more admirable. Despite occasional dense writing, and a second-to-last chapter that lacks the intellectual punch of the others, Miyakawa has an infectious fondness for her controversial but stimulating subject. (June)