Tupac (2Pac) and Black Jesuz

 In Dr. Daniel Hodge's paper:
'No Church in the Wild: An Ontology of Hip Hop's Socio-Religious Discourse in Tupac's "Black Jesuz"'

He states, "The Church,as an institution, for Tupac and The Outlawz, is no different. In their estimation, if the cops beat you, schools lie to you, and systems fail you, why would the Church be any different?"
 ...

Quoting, African American studies and Hip Hop Scholar, Michael Eric Dyson:

"Black Jesus for Tupac meant for him that figure that identifies with the hurt, the downtrodden, and the downfallen. The Black Jesus is a new figure; both literally within the literary traditions of black response to suffering, but also religious responses to suffering. If this is the Black Jesus of history, it is the Jesus that has never been talked about and most people who talk about Jesus would never recognize." 

I can't attest to what most people who talk about Jesus understand about Jesus but I think both Hodge and Dyson are poignant to point out the push Tupac was trying to make in his appeal to "Black Jesuz"

Dyson talks more here:

 

Black Jesuz (1999)
 


Now that I'm on a Tupac tip, there are quite a few songs in which Tupac utilizes religious themes to make social and political points and commentary:


Holler if ya hear me (1993)


So Many Tears (1995)



I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto (Posthumous;1997)



Only God Can Judge Me (1996)



Ghetto Gospel (2004)


And of course there are more by Tupac that plays on this: Hail Mary, Lord Knows, Death around the corner, Heaven ain't hard to find, and more.