New Ministries—and Books—Evangelize a Generation

by Donna Freitas, Religion BookLine -- Publishers Weekly, 12/13/2006

It seems a shame to read about a musical genre without sampling its songs—especially when the genre in question is hip hop, one of the most danceable around.

Fans of The Hip Hop Prayer Book (Church Publishing, June) will no longer be disappointed when they feel the spirit move them. Worshipers can now purchase a companion CD, And the Word Was Hip Hop: HipHopEMass (Church Publishing, Nov.), a series of 13 original songs produced by Episcopal priest Timothy Holder and the same group of rappers who helped Holder do the prayer book. "Communities already using the prayer book requested the book's raps on CD," explained Church editor Lucas Smith.

"The Hip Hop Prayer Book had a very organic genesis," Smith said. "We heard about the hip hop masses happening at Trinity Church in the South Bronx and several of us took a trip there to see what was going on. We quickly realized that a powerful ministry was being born." Instead of a choir, a hip hop mass uses a "hype man"—a rapper or rappers—with a backbeat, "speaking the language of the streets to open up the gospel," said Smith.

A hip hop mass, Lucas said, is filled with "energy and spirit," and—most significant of all—overflowing with worshippers. "The hip hop generation is huge, and still growing," said Lucas about the breadth of the audience for the book and CD. "One could make the argument that hip hop is the dominant form of popular music today."

Ralph C. Watkins, author of The Gospel Remix: Reaching the Hip Hop Generation (Judson, Jan.), believes that hip hop is actually the key to understanding a whole generation born between 1965 and 1986—the same cohort that inaugurated and immortalized hip hop artists and records, from The Sugarhill Gang's now classic Rapper's Delight (1979) to more contemporary stars like female rapper Lil' Kim (a favorite of Watkins's daughter).

"I care about young people and I wasn't seeing them at church because the church was condemning them," said Watkins, a member of a Baptist church. "So I began wondering how we as elders could understand them, and hip hop gave us that common playing field."

A professor of society, religion, and Africana studies at Fuller Seminary by day and a successful D.J. at L.A. hip hop clubs by night, Watkins' determination to evangelize this generation drives his willingness to forgive the impossibly late nights and vulgar, misogynist lyrics. "You can't talk and write about hip hop if you are not hip hop," Watkins told RBL. "To me, being among these young people at the clubs gives me new insight, new revelation. These are places where God reveals God's self, and even in the most vulgar songs there is a message. "Watkins's book chronicles his personal journey into the world of the hip hop generation.

For Watkins, hip hop is a family affair. His wife frequently D.J.s with him and his kids are often found dancing wherever Dad is working."My children are my greatest critics," Watkins said with pride.