“The Rap on Rap and Religion”
Rap music has been condemned for inciting violence, promoting misogyny, perpetuating racial stereotypes, and encouraging religious blasphemy. Despite these assessments, Dr. Utley argues that religion has always been an integral part of the complex urban environments that birthed rap music.
“Why All The Silly Devil Talk Should Be Taken Seriously”
Dr. Utley breaks down the race, gender, and class implications of the accusations that popular culture’s mainstream artists are devil worshippers and witches.
“Who is the Gangsta's God?”
Dr. Utley characterizes the gangsta’s God and discusses how a God sanctioned gangsta identity can be empowering.
“Rap. Religion. Women.”
Using lyrics from the most prominent women rappers, Dr. Utley explains how women’s ideas about God can be empowering by resisting patriarchy and how they can be disempowering when they perpetuate domination and submission.
“Sex, Sexism, and the Search for Pleasure in Hip Hop”
Dr. Utley explores women’s representations within hip hop and clarifies how and why oppression becomes seductive.
“Black Women's Relationships”
Dr. Utley analyzes popular culture’s controlling images of black women and compares them to the lived experiences of the participants in her research studies about love and marriage.
“Shades of Infidelity”
Dr. Utley defines and describes infidelity from the perspective of American women.