Introduction

The introduction provides the primary argument of Beyond Christian Hip Hop, how scholars have discussed “Christian Hip Hop,” and discusses the following aspects of Christians and Hip Hop: definitional, historical, and categorical. Definitional: The volume co-authors seek to add both clarity and expansion to the label “Christian Hip Hop” by delineating its major definitions proffered by both practitioners and scholars. Historical: Several earlier and more recent works have added to the “Christian Hip Hop” catalog on history. This work examines both how we historicize Christians and Hip Hop and what may be absent from these conversations. Categorical: In situating Christians and Hip Hop intersectionally, we take up a variety of ways of thinking about Christians’ engagement with Hip Hop culture and persistent topics in Hip Hoppas’ work that offer some thematic boundaries or ways of categorizing artists and observers who identify as Christian. The following introduction foregrounds the definitional, historical, and categorical discussions of Christians and Hip Hop.