God Did (part 3) Psalm 151

 

And by the way, we should respect these artists’ skills.  The artists featured on Khaled’s title track each represent a distinctive style of hip-hop, each emerged from a different part of the country, and each represent the best in the game.  The Boss asks for forgiveness more than once and shows vulnerability when referencing significant tax-related problems that he experienced in the past.  Weezy shows his characteristic self-confidence as well as empathy for others, all while giving God the credit.  And as for Jay, much has already been said about his four plus minute verse – and for good reason. 

As we would expect, Jay’s verse is boastful, but it is also self-reflective and intellectual to a degree that is unanticipated.  Jigga not only takes over the song but likely inspired producer Khaled to extend the anthem far beyond the length of what is acceptable in the genre to accommodate the depth of the message.  Jay Z, on this verse, demonstrates that he is “the best rapper alive.” 

Let me illuminate.  Or better yet, Ari Melber brilliantly dissects Jigga’s God Did verse, in his 12-minute analysis on MSNBC’s The Beat.  The mogul rapper breaks down the hypocrisy of America’s War on Drugs, beginning with the Eighteenth Amendment and American prohibition in the 1920’s and up to contemporary times when nineteen states have legalized marijuana use.  This includes his disdain for policy makers who contributed to more than 250,000 disproportionately Black men being imprisoned for non-violent drug offenses, while Fentanyl distribution and abuse, more prevalent in white communities, has been largely disregarded as a criminal offense. 

In so doing, Melber also points out, that Jay paints a picture of our one of nation’s most serious contradictions.  Quoting Mike Wallace’s 1996 interview with Louis Farrakhan, in which the pair discussed corruption in Nigeria and in America, Hov, in similar context, says “Forgive me, that’s my passion talking… I think y’all should keep quiet.”  As did Farrakhan, in Melber’s way of thinking, Jay “dispatched the contradiction between America’s reality and perhaps her selective vision of herself.” 

Oh, but that’s not all.  Many have commented on the quadruple entendre that Jay includes when he raps “All this pain from the outside / Inspired all this growth within / So new planes gettin’ broken in…”  When you dig into it, that’s compelling – incredible even – but for Jay Z it’s almost basic.

Listening more carefully, what most captured my attention was Jay’s reference to Psalms 151.  “This the New Testament / the book of Hov.”  Blasphemy!

But I couldn’t leave it at that.  I was curious and wanted to understand, so I reached for the Bible nearby.  I couldn’t find Psalm 151.  So, I wondered if the Google would have an explanation – and there it was.  

Psalm 151 is most often excluded from the Christian bible.  Discovered as a part of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1946, it is not considered canonical in Protestant or Catholic faiths.  However, it is included in the bible used by the Greek Orthodox church. 

This lost chapter speaks of David’s musical gifts and of his unlikely anointing as a leader for his people.  Wait!  That parallel is an appropriate biographical comparison to Jay’s career and not blasphemous at all!  Sounds more like praise and thanks to me, particularly when the rapper also asks for forgiveness and proclaims, “God did.”   

“God has seen everything.  God has heard everything,” it says in the scripture.  God did.  Not only is that next level; that’s a whole new plane!  That’s exegesis that most ministers only wish they could pull off. 

Moreover, a 2022 rap star’s interest in making use of an iconic, yet 25-year-old, nearly forgotten, 60 Minutes interview and his ability to flow cryptically with biblical reference that most don’t even know exists makes him well-read, well-researched, or gifted.  Or all three.

It’s different.  I don’t understand it all.  But I’m paying attention.  These artists are skilled and talented, and from the record’s performance on the charts, it seems that you’re as curious as I am.  Maybe it’s new – its sincerity and blasphemy can be evaluated and debated.  But in any case, maybe we can all become better by considering new perspectives on the idea that God Did.