Hip-Hop and Philosophy: Rhyme 2 Reason (Popular Culture and Philosophy Book 16)

Is there too much violence in hip-hop music? What’s the difference between Kimberly Jones and the artist Lil' Kim? Is hip-hop culture a "black" thing? Is it okay for N.W.A. to call themselves niggaz and for Dave Chappelle to call everybody bitches? These witty, provocative essays ponder these and other thorny questions, linking the searing cultural issues implicit — and often explicit — in hip-hop to the weighty matters examined by the great philosophers of the past. The book shows that rap classics by Lauryn Hill, OutKast, and the Notorious B.I.G. can help uncover the meanings of love articulated in Plato's Symposium; that Rakim, 2Pac, and Nas can shed light on the conception of God's essence expressed in St. Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica; and explores the connection between Run-D.M.C., Snoop Dogg, and Hegel. Hip-Hop and Philosophy proves that rhyme and reason, far from being incompatible, can be mixed and mastered to contemplate life's most profound mysteries. "Should we stop all the violence in hip hop? Does po-po wield legit authority in the hood? Where does the real Kimberly Jones end and the persona Lil' Kim begin? Is hip-hop culture a "black" thang? Is it unethical for N.W.A. to call themselves niggaz and for Dave chappelle to call everybody bitches? Is Dead Prez revolutionary and gangsta?" "Yes, KRS-One and BDP, the crew assembled here are philosophers! Believe that. In Hip Hop and Philosophy, this almighty posse is droppin' science by moving from rhyme to reason. They give props to great philosophers and peep philosophical problems through hip-hop lenses while staying true to the spirit of the culture." "They show and prove that rap classics by lauryn Hill, OutKast, and the Notorious B.I.G. can help us uncover the meaning of love articulated in Plato's Symposium. We see how Run-D.M.C., Snoop Dogg, and Jay-Z can teach us about self-consciousness and the dialectic in Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. And we learn that Rakim, 2Pac, and 50 Cent knowledge us on the conception of God's essence expressed in Aquinas's Summa Theologica." "These philosophers delight in showing us how a love for rhymes over beats and for pure reason, far from being incompatible, can be mastered and mixed to contemplate life's most profound mysteries. Book jacket."--Jacket