Lost in the City and Lost in the Self: Sin and Solipsism in Hip-Hop’s Dystopia; St. Augustine, Toni Morrison, and Paul Tillich

Abstract

Hip-hop originated in the urban streets of New York in the 1960s. ¹ Through the decades, hip-hop did not just became a music or art genre; it also became a global social movement, whose influence has permeated almost all aspects of life outside music, such as dance, literature, arts, advertising, the general way of life, and the discourse of many societal issues, such as race, gender, and identity. ² Hip-hop was not just street poetry turned music; it was the voice, the very pulse that the so-called ghetto environment breeds. ³ As the genre has evolved, many have interpreted hip-hop and these interpretations rarely failed to depict a society that is full of violence, chaos, and discrimination. Why this depiction of violence and pessimism in hip-hop?