Hip Hop

TBC: An ad for "The Hip Hop Prayer Book" includes a version of the 23 Psalm as rendered in Hip Hop jargon.

The Hip Hop Prayer Book

"If Jesus were alive today, he would have been a rapper."--The Rt. Rev. Catherine Roskam.

A powerful evangelism tool, developed at Trinity Church of Morrisania in the birthplace of Hip Hop, the South Bronx, The Hip Hop Prayer Book offers a means to worship that will draw in the young and speak to those not generally spoken to by the Church. Containing daily prayers, psalms, a variety of services (including a Eucharist), and a selection of bible stories all designed with the enlivening power of Hip Hop in mind, and prefaces by two bishops of the Episcopal Church and a wealth of contextualizing materials, The Hip Hop Prayer Book is designed for in personal worship and by church leaders looking for ways in which to broaden the reach of their congregation.

Psalm 23 as adapted by Ryan Kearse

The Lord is all that, I need for nothing.

He allows me to chill.

He keeps me from being heated

and allows me to breathe easy.

He guides my life so that

I can represent and give

shouts out in his Name.

And even though I walk through

the Hood of death,

I don't back down

for you have my back.

The fact that you have me covered

allows me to chill.

He provides me with back-up

in front of my player-haters

and I know that I am a baller

and life will be phat.

I fall back in the Lord's crib

for the rest of my life.

http://www.churchpublishing.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Product&Productid=426

[TBC: This hip hop version of the 23rd Psalm fails to communicate on more than one level. The obvious failure is that it only communicates to those familiar with hip hop slang. Yet, even for those involved in hip hop culture, this paraphrase fails to deliver. The Lord closed out Psalm 23 by saying, "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." The paraphrase limits the promise to "the rest of my life." For the believer, that is not enough.]