BOOKS:

Pinn, A. B. (2003). Noise and spirit : The religious and spiritual sensibilities of rap music . New York: New York University Press.
Pinn has an extensive knowlege on the connection between Rap and Hip Hop, having written many books, journals, and articles on the subject, including two in this bibliography. However, this knowledge is somewhat dated, and does not touch on Kanye West's career or Jay-Z's more recent work, which is what touches on his religious views. However, Noise and Spirit provides a good insight into the spiritual and religious side of rap and is helpful in analyzing Kanye and Jay-Z's lyrics.

Price, E. G. (2012). The black church and hip hop culture: Toward bridging the generational divide. Plymouth, United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press.
Published in the past year, this book is one of the most relevant of the scholarly sources collected. It covers the history of both the Black Church and the Hip Hop and Rap movement, and multiple perspectives on the connection between the two. Later, Price discusses the connections between popular Rap and Hip Hop artists and Christianity. In this section, Kanye West, and arguments for and against his connection to Christianity are brought up. Overall an excellent starting point for writing about Kanye's religious connections, and hip hop's religious history in general.

 

ACADEMIC ARTICLES:

Barnes, S. L. (2008). Religion and rap music: An analysis of black church usage. Review of Religious Research, 49(3), 319-338.

Barnes' journal focuses more on Gospel Rap than the connection between mainstream Rap and Hip Hop and religion. It provides a lot of information on the Black Church and the Gospel Rap it has created, which, although not quite relevant to the topic of religion in mainstream rap, provides an interesting basis for comparison to Kanye and Jay-Z's popular lyrics.

Fried, C. (1999). Who's afraid of rap: Differential reactions to music lyrics. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29(4), 705-721.
While not directly discussing its connection to religion, Fried's article provides insight into the negative reactions and outcry against rap music and its supposedly violent lyrics. This is helpful in understanding arguments that deny any relation to Chirstianity in Hip-Hop, and discussing why this is just one of the many diverse opinions of the large Christian community. It should also be noted that this journal documents a study done comparing violent Rap lyrics to violent Country or Rock lyrics, which reveals possibly racist or stereotypical findings against Rap and Hip Hop.

Pinn, A. B. (2009). Rap music, culture and religion: Concluding thoughts. Culture and Religion, 10(1), 97; 97-108; 108.

The second of the two Pinn works studied in this bibliography, this journal focuses more on where the religious aspects of Rap fit into mainstream culture, and discusses a generational divide between Gospel music of years past and modern Rap and Hip Hop. This is relevant in laying groundwork for discussing how Kanye West and Jay-Z have affected mainstream culture, both with their secular and religious work. 

Winters, J. (2011). Unstrange bedfellows: Hip hop and religion. Religion Compass, 5(6), 260-270.
This journal explores not only Christian connections to Hip Hop, but also delves into Islam influences, and is the only academic source in this bibliography to address Hip Hop's connection to the Five Percent Nation, which Jay-Z is reported to be involved with. This connection makes this journal unique, and is helpful in better understanding the Five Percent Nation, how it percieves the Abrahamic religions, and how it has become connected to the Hip Hop community.

Zanfagna, C. (2012). Kingdom business: Holy hip hop's evangelical hustle. Journal of Popular Music Studies, 24(2), 196; 196-216; 216.
Instead of focusing on the connection between Hip Hop and religion, Zanfagna discusses the relation between Gospel and mainstream Rap artists in the industry, and why more secular artists fare better financially. This is useful in understanding the success of Kanye and Jay-Z as secular artists, and how only after their rise to success and fame that they began to expose their religious views in their music.

 

OTHER SOURCES:
Berry, W., Buck, P., Carter, S., and Timberlake, J. (2013) Heaven [Recorded by Carter, S. and Timberlake, J.] on Magna Carta Holy Grail [Digital Download] New York, NY: Roc-A-Fella, Roc Nation, and Universal Records

 

Brown, J., Carter, S., Dean, M., Francis, C., Manzanera, P., Nash, T., ... West, K. (2012) No Church In The Wild [Recorded by Carter, S., Ocean, F., and West, K.] on Watch The Throne [Digital Download] Los Angeles, CA: Roc-A-Fella, Roc Nation, and Def Jam Records

 

Carter, J., West, K., and Williams, S. (2004) Never Let Me Down on The College Dropout [CD] New York, NY: Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam Records

 

Furano, V. (2013, July 11) Jay-Z Embraces Five-Percent Nation, Addresses Illuminati and Questions Other Religions. Christian Post. Retrieved From http://www.christianpost.com/news/jay-z-embraces-five-percent-nation-addresses-illuminati-and-questions-other-religions-99848/
Another article from a Christian perspective; Furano reveals Jay-Z's association with the Five Percent Nation spiritual group and explains the group's Islamic ties. Although it is overly critical in places, accusing Jay-Z of dabbling in the occult, this article gives a factual explaination of the Five Percent Nation and how it relates to the Hip Hop community.

 

Griots, E. (2013) RapGenius: Jay-Z - Heaven Lyrics. Retrieved From http://rapgenius.com/Jay-z-heaven-lyrics

Witte, N. (2012) RapGenius: Kanye West – No Church in the Wild Lyrics. Retrieved From http://rapgenius.com/Kanye-west-no-church-in-the-wild-lyrics
RapGenius is an increasingly respected medium for analysing Hip Hop and Rap lyrics. It allows users to annotate songs and verses as they see fit, which are then edited by a scholar on the subject. This allows multiple perspectives and analogies of lyrics which one may not think of otherwise. RapGenius is a perfect source for discovering each and every religious allusion and symbol in Kanye and Jay-Z's lyrics. 

 

Hart, H, Rutberg, E., West, K. (2013) I Am A God [Recorded by Vernon, J., and West, K.] on Yeezus [Digital Download] New York, NY: Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam Records

 

Parsons, B. (2013, August 5) Jay-Z’s New Magna Carta: Follow the Religion of Self. Retrieved From http://www.raanetwork.org/2013/08/jay-zs-new-magna-carta-follow-the-religion-of-self/#.UlbP5lCsiSp
This article gives a clear description of Jay-Z's spiritual beliefs, including statements from the rapper himself that although he believes in one God, he does not believe in religion. Parsons provides a thought-provoking argument on whether Jay-Z is questioning religion to seek truth, or is simply just undermining religious authority. The question of Jay-Z being anti-Christian is addressed, and is excellent in understanding the Christian perspective on mainstream rappers' religious lyrics.

 

Smith, C. and West, K. (2004) Jesus Walks [Recorded by West, K.]  on The College Dropout [CD] New York, NY: Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam Records

 

Tyrant, X. (2013, January 11) Religion in Hip Hop: A RapGenius Overview. Retrieved From http://rapgenius.com/posts/1560-Religion-in-hip-hop-a-rapgenius-overview
Although only an overview, this article not only tells the history of religion in Hip Hop, but is also very up to date in the songs it references. Writing one of the only articles found to discuss No Church in the Wild, Tyrant explains the spiritual evolution of Kanye West, as well as the Hip Hop community in general.