Popular musicians look a lot of places for inspiration: Love, money, sex and drugs are just a few. But some choose a more nontraditional route and turn to spirituality and religion.
Jewish rapper Kosha Dillz will perform tonight with fellow Hebrew musician Shi 360 at Ohio University's Baker University Center Theatre and 19 South on Court Street as a collaboration between the OU Hip-Hop Congress and Hillel, a Jewish
student organization.
Kosha Dillz and Shi 360 are just a few musicians who reflect their religious and spiritual beliefs through
their music.
A lot of music has to do with the individual's or group's upbringing and background, said Jesty Beatz, a rising rapper who graduated from OU in 2006. People use music as a unifier to share common experiences.
Music is a way to express yourself and to unite people
Jesty Beatz said. (If you identify by a certain religion) there's someone else who kind of shares that viewpoint and music has always been able to bring those people together.
Performers who identify as Jewish rappers or Christian musicians aren't mainstream, said Jeremy Wright, a senior health services administration and long-term health care double major. Many times, musicians classify themselves by their spirituality so they can reach out to an audience who will support them and who want to hear that message.
A licensed minister and member of the gospel group Divine Covering Praise Team, Wright said God is in every facet of my life. He enjoys music, so naturally his religion reflects in his song. And biblically, singing is a form of praise, he added.
Religion is an important aspect of people's lives that helps with their identities, and often their beliefs will leak into their music ' especially in hip-hop, said Acie Middleton, a senior African American studies major and president of the Hip-Hop Congress.
I think it's good that a lot of these emcees acknowledge the spiritual aspect (in their music) because your experiences influence you ' whether it be secular Christian
Muslim or Jewish
these all play a part on your experiences and outlook on life
Middleton said.
But many artists share their religious beliefs differently through music. While religious groups, such as Divine Covering, might praise through song, others use their religious experiences as a basis for their music.
Danielle LeShaw, a rabbi and director of OU Hillel, said Kosha Dillz and Shi 360 will bring music with a different message that students might not otherwise experience on campus. Jewish hip-hop artists often use the genre to create a dialogue to educate and inform their listeners about spiritual yearnings, she added.
When I hear a Jewish rapper
it's not necessarily a person that's speaking from scripture or talking about the covenant with Abraham
Jesty Beatz said. It's more so a person's actual background versus their spirituality.
Kosha Dillz' Jewish background influences his music by representing topics that affect the Jewish community, such as loss and struggle ' topics that secular rappers might not discuss in their lyrics.
It's just nice that (Jewish rappers) get to reach out to our people
said Kosha Dillz, who performed with the famous Orthodox Jewish rapper Matisyahu a few years ago.
There's a lot of activism in religious music, especially in Jewish music, said Lisa Rome, a junior English major and president of Hillel.
It's sort of about having a message and taking pride in where you come from (regardless of your religious affiliation)
Rome said.
Kosha Dillz and Shi 360 will perform tonight at OU as a late celebration of Israel's 60th birthday, which is celebrated worldwide this month, Middleton said.
This is a concert that is meant to acknowledge Israel's place in hip-hop.
