Crowley is just one of Jay-Z's many musical influences

[Cain]

OK, I never expected to see this as a headline:

Jay-Z: A Master Of Occult Wisdom?

But wait, it gets better!

Mitch Horowitz, author of American Occult says that Jay-Z has a keen grasp of certain esoterica, especially in the music video for his new single, "Run This Town."

In an interview with Guy Raz, Horowitz pointed to Jay-Z's use of the phrase "Peace God" as an allusion to the Five Percenters. Also known as the Nation of Gods and Earths, they teach that the original black man is God — and that all men are potentially God. "Peace God" is a typical Five Percenter greeting.

"A phrase like 'Peace God' does not find its way into someone's vernacular by accident," Horowitz says. "He's making a very definite statement."

Of course, Five Percent Nation teachings have had a deep impact on hip-hop for many years. Though not a Five Percenter himself, Jay-Z was born and bred in New York, the birthplace of the movement. So it's common to find such references in rap.

But Jay-Z's connection to the occult may extend a bit further. In the making-of video for "Run This Town," he's pictured wearing a sweatshirt with the phrase "do what thou wilt" printed across the chest.

"Yes, that has very deep roots in modern occult culture," Horowitz says. "The full expression is 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.' That was one of the key maxims of the British occultist Aleister Crowley. So when Jay-Z appears in a hoodie with that phrase on it in public, that's exactly what he's referencing."

Jay-Z's Rocawear clothing line also often draws upon masonic symbols: pentagrams, obelisks, pyramids, the all-seeing eye. Of course, that pales in comparison to the near-obsession with the occult of someone like, say, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page.

"I would say that a figure like Jay-Z is probably borrowing some of this material," Horowitz says. "But Jimmy Page was imbibing it even more deeply."

Horowitz says he takes a positive view of freemasonry and occultists — many of the country's founding fathers were masons, he says. He does stop short of calling Jay-Z an actual member of a secret society.

"I think he's a very shrewd man," Horowitz says. "I think he's a keen observer of everything going on around him. He's a master at using subversive imagery. You don't find your way to Five Percenter material unless you are very aware of what's going on around you."

More at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112998783

[LMNO]

[Corvidia]

[Cramulus]

somehow I thought the intersection of hip hop and the occult would provide more lulzy bling

[Dysnomia]

[LMNO]

I blame both Sun Ra and Afrika Bambaata simultaneously.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I love this shit.   

[Iason Ouabache]

The Vigilant Citizen did a whole article on this: http://vigilantcitizen.com/?p=1948  I honestly can't tell if they are serious or not.

[Triple Zero]

I don't understand why you're angry?

I mean if he wears a shirt with "do what thou wilt" and pyramids with eyes and shit, it's pretty obvious what he is referencing, right?

Of course that doesnt make him a "master of occult wisdom", rather some artist that prefers different symbology than christian.

[Shibboleet The Annihilator]

[Mangrove]

I saw this article over at lashtal.com

I'm having trouble in replying to this development other than --> 

[Reginald Ret]

I want a do what thou wilt T-shirt.
Anybody who asks what it is about shall be told that it is a declaration of love for Jay-Z.

[Mangrove]

http://www.zazzle.com/thelema_tshirt-235688294708397128

http://shop.cafepress.com/design/16511762

http://www.cafepress.com/witchwearstore.12827981

[Template]

http://www.zazzle.com/thelema_tshirt-235688294708397128
Hideous

http://shop.cafepress.com/design/16511762
Hideous

http://www.cafepress.com/witchwearstore.12827981
Obvious

Better to do it oneself, for cheaper.  Tshirt+fabric paint.

[Rococo Modem Basilisk]

I question how much of this is Lo5. I mean, I have been known to (semi seriously) make an argument that Trent Reznor is a master of ancient gnosticism (along with Hideaki Anno, whose public take is that he cut and pasted gnostic references without understanding them and added those elements because 'christianity is exotic'). It's not that hard to make any artist out into a closet thelemite or laveyan satanist or whatever, if you know their work backwards and forwards.