Convocation: Ebony Utley (Audio)

Ebony Utley, associate professor of communication studies at California State University Long Beach, is an expert in popular culture, race, and romantic relationships. Her critically-acclaimed book, Rap and Religion: Understanding The Gangsta’s God, addresses all of the above by closely examining the juxtaposition—and seeming hypocrisy—of references to God within rap music. Rap music has been condemned for inciting violence, promoting misogyny, perpetuating racial stereotypes, and encouraging religious blasphemy. Despite these assessments, Utley asserts that religion has always been part of the urban environments that birthed rap music, and she shows exactly how a God-sanctioned gangsta identity can be empowering. The title of her presentation is "The Rap on Rap and Religion." This Black History Month Convocation is sponsored by the Office of Intercultural and International Life.