Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
JesuiticalFebruary 17, 2023
Photo by aiden marples on Unsplash

Catholics probably won’t hear hip-hop at Mass anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean the genre doesn’t have a lot to say about God and the plight of God’s people. Much like liberation theology starts from the experience of the poor when talking about God, hip-hop, which originated in the South Bronx in the 1970s, expresses the struggles for justice and freedom of people living on the margins of America. That’s the case this week’s guest, Alex Nava, makes in his new book, Street Scriptures: Between God and Hip-Hop. Zac and Ashley ask Alex about the history of liberation theology and about the liberating potential of hip-hop.

In Signs of the Times, we give an update on the crackdown Catholics and other opponents of the Ortega regime in Nicaragua and discuss the slick “He Gets Us” ads for Jesus at the Super Bowl. Were they an effective way to evangelize—or a massive waste of money?

Links from the show:

What’s on tap?

French 75

More: Theology / Music

The latest from america

Catholics across Texas and the world, including Pope Leo XIV, are offering their prayers and support after deadly flooding struck Texas on July 4.
Each year at this time, near the Fourth of July, we contemplate freedom. But maybe we are also being called to do an extended examination of our own fears.
George Drance, S.J.July 07, 2025
Is it possible to embrace the idea of a special, evenly divinely ordained mission for America without violating Christian ethical principles?
Thomas J. MassaroJuly 07, 2025
Pope Leo XIV arrived in the papal summer retreat of Castel Gandolfo on Sunday to start a six-week vacation, giving the hilltop town back its most illustrious resident after Pope Francis stayed away during his 12-year pontificate.