Unit 7 Summary
Lesson 27 revealed three significant watershed events in the development and globalization of gospel music: the publication of “ Precious Lord Take My Hand ” by Thomas Dorsey, “ Oh Happy Day ” by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, and “ Stomp” by Kirk Franklin. These three musical works were vehicles for the continued rise, success, and recognition of Black gospel music in the global arena.
Besides the rise and success of Black gospel music in the United States, other countries have embraced the infectious and emotional appeal of this musical genre. This profoundly Christian musical genre has in many ways transcended boundaries of denomination, race, social class, and even national identity. Also, the genre has successfully crossed the religious divide and attracted Christians and non-Christians alike. To name a few countries, gospel music artists can be found in Sweden, Norway, England, Germany, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Poland, and Japan.
In gospel music’s continual transformation, its embrace of hip-hop and rap is perhaps the most recent stage of its evolution. In this regard, Kurtis Blow was and is an important personality. Today, he is recognized for his contributions to building the hip-hop generation through his organization at Hip Hop Church Global and for helping others from his platform as an ordained minister.
As the cofounder of the Harlem’s Greater Hood Memorial AME Zion Hip Hop Church in 2005, he serves as minister and as a rapper, DJ, and worship leader. In this regard, Blow believes that the liturgy of the hip-hop church is a bona fide format for any church designed to reel in or be fishers of men, young men, and women. In this format, Blow uses Christian hip-hop to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the parishioners of his church.
In Lesson 28, the importance of the components of hip-hop culture were highlighted and explained. These components include the disc jockey or DJ, the MC otherwise known the master or missus of ceremony, whose role is to “hype” the crowd, along with rhyming, beatboxing, dancing, flow, layer, and rupture. Also, many believe that the genre can be seen as a way of life, given that it also brought about new ways of dressing and expression and its unique outlooks on cultural, political, economic, and intellectual factors in society—in other words, it is more than just a musical genre. All these components of hip-hop merge into creating a definitive sound of the twenty-first century that harks back to much of the musical techniques of the early songs associated with the African American experience—too many to list here. Since the chief aim of hip-hop music is to identify “Blackness” as a movement of people, it myriad nuances can be seen and heard in many other musical genres and subgenres, such as neo-soul.
Finally, rap is the art of rhythm and rhyme with roots in the African American work song. If we recall, the intention of the highly improvised and syncopated components of rhythm and rhyme in the work songs and or field hollers was to express, emote, or release ardent messages and feelings. So, too, rap music consists of rhythmic poetry, cadences, breaks, and sometimes what is called a “hook,” a vocal line or instrument that drives or brings forth the content, or moreover, the context of the text.