OK, I never expected to see this as a headline:
QuoteJay-Z: A Master Of Occult Wisdom?
But wait, it gets better!
QuoteMitch 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
:crankey:
:facepalm:
somehow I thought the intersection of hip hop and the occult would provide more lulzy bling
(http://mrinfouk02.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/jay-z-death-of-autotune-1.jpg)
I blame both Sun Ra and Afrika Bambaata simultaneously.
I love this shit. :lulz:
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.
Quote from: LMNO on September 21, 2009, 06:51:48 PM
:crankey:
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.
:lulz:
I saw this article over at lashtal.com
I'm having trouble in replying to this development other than --> :lulz:
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.
http://www.zazzle.com/thelema_tshirt-235688294708397128
http://shop.cafepress.com/design/16511762
http://www.cafepress.com/witchwearstore.12827981
Quote from: Mangrove on September 22, 2009, 09:10:09 PM
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.
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.
Are those legit, or are you pulling my leg?
If they are legit, then an association with thelema shouldn't be news.
Man could learn some subtlety.
Quote from: Broken AI on September 28, 2009, 02:49:25 AM
wow you can clearly see it in these lyrics:
QuoteWe balling, bitches,eating y'all food leaving dishes
Why these niggas always talking lead talk when I am the master of the coven Ye?
Why I never see them at the ?claire port? Ye?
Why I always hear they at the airport
Why I fly daily like I'm in the airforce
Therefore, please stop talking my ears off
Millionaire talk, you haters, 23skidoo INitiate!
You mad at me 'cause your paper,
?need to get his mother fucking weight up?,
Wait up, GET OUT!
I ain't done, name one thing that I ain't done
It hurts when you say that I ain't the one,
you haters, How do I gain your favor,
I need to know cause I care I AM the GREAT BEAST!
I need you to love me I swear, look here 666 on ma head nigga,
See Ye is, runnin' the Chi like Gale Sayers,
I'm runnin' new york, I got the payer, on my pager, eye of horus YO!
You cant fade us, you hate us
I need you, stay there
I breath you, like air, which is a sacred element,
Air
Where are my haters,
I love all my haters
I love all my haters
I love all my haters
One of my favorite songs of all time man