Hip Hop/Rap and Psalms and Lamentations

[Jay Anderson]

I don't know if I have ever said this to anyone because it was obvious to me but, can anyone else see a correlation between the books Psalms and Lamentations in the "Holy Bible" and the lyrics of Hip Hop and/or Rap songs such as those by Bone Thugs n Harmony, Tupac, and GURU (Gangstarr and the Jazzmatazz compilations)?  Well I have, I mean of course growing up on a Puritan/Protestant and British influenced society such as the United States of America The Bible (especially the King James Version) is going to leave a subconscious if not conscious mark on one's psyche. 

But to look at some examples one can take the song "Tha' Crossroads" by Bone Thugs, which describes loved ones who have died and will be joined again at the crossroads: which could be where the souls of the dead are sorted into their respective destinations e.g. heaven or hell, etc.  The Crossroads could also be any decision one makes in life.
Many of Tupac's songs were songs about how people had done him wrong and how he would take revenge, just like many of the Psalms, especially those attributed to David. Tupac also had songs in which he would say "it's hopeless..." this is coming right out of Lamentations and reminds me of the song "By the Rivers of Babylon."

this song "Next Time" by Gangstarr (GURU and DJ Premier): to me exemplifies Psalm 35, except (unlike many of Tupac's songs) actually takes a more positive approach and is not as extreme as "oh this was the worst thing that ever happened to me, now I want your whole family dead 3 times over," which basically paraphrases Psalm 35 and maybe 110 as well as many songs of what is called by some as "gangsta rap" even though many of those very artists labeled as being in this genre (when the title first came out, not now in the 2000s) said they were not "Gansta Rappers" but that discussion is another entry.

Let me know what you think!