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Overview

The intensity and enthusiasm accompanying a well-executed gospel song have all the trappings of engaging music that arrests the listener's attention. Its global exportation to other parts of the world or even just across state lines attests to this fact. Furthermore, each time someone outside of the African American community learns to perform gospel music, that contributes to the globalization of African American music in general. This lesson will expand on the development and globalization of gospel music.

Be ready to:

Name the essential musicians and describe the three watershed moments that were important to the globalization of gospel music.

Name and write about countries outside of the United States where gospel music has taken a foothold.

Articulate the importance of Kurtis Blow to the dissemination and expansion of rap and hip-hop music into the church's liturgy.

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References

Black Musical Influences on Christian Rap 1

Gospel music has evolved from Thomas Dorsey to the present, as seen in the various gospel subgenres that have emerged from then to now. In the article "Can Gospel Music Survive the Rise of Hip-Hop?", Andre Kimo Stone notes that "tradition is losing out as different expressions of praise and worship overtake traditional gospel music and choirs" (Stone 2018). The list below shows the different types of gospel music genres that dominate the world's musical landscape. The question is, what will Black gospel music sound like a decade from now?

What follows is an overview of Christian (gospel) musical genres:

Pre-Gospel Music (Late 1800s)

Southern Gospel Music (1910-present)

Black Gospel-Traditional (i.e., Historic) (1920s-?)

Gospel Blues (1930s-?)

White Gospel (1940s-1955)

Celtic Gospel-Grew out of Southern Gospel Music (1950s-present)

Progressive Southern Gospel-Grew out of Southern Gospel Music (1950s-present)

Christian Hip-Hop (1980s-present)

Gospel Rap (1990s-present)

Urban Contemporary Gospel (1980s-present)

Blue Grass Gospel (1990s-present)

Christian Rap (1990s-present)

Catholic Hip-Hop (2000s-present)

What will gospel music sound like in a decade from now?

By far one of the most popular subgenres of contemporary gospel music is Christian hip-hopA subgenre of hip hop music characterized by a Christian worldview, with the general purposes of evangelization (Christian mission work), edifying some members of the church, or simply entertaining. and rap. The Christian rapper known as KB, short for Kevin Burgess (b. 1988), justifies Christian hip-hop in the article titled "Against the Tide, Christian Rap Grows and Goes Mainstream." He writes that "Hip-hop is an expression of what is dearest to [me]…. It's coming from whom I love. And who I love is Jesus" (Pric 2014, n.p.). He goes on to reinforce this assertion of his love for Jesus by stating, "I want to help people. I want folks to walk away from my music feeling lifted; that they can see a bit more clearer" (Spectrum News Staff 2020, n.p.). Listen further to what he has to say concerning the message he wants to give to his fan base: "Kevin Burgess AKA KB Is a Rapper With a Religious Message for Today".

Like Kirk Franklin and many others, KB uses his celebrity platform "to reach nonbelievers in nontraditional ways" (Franklin 1998, 21).

Kurtis Blow

Hip-hop is incredible. If you travel outside of the country, everybody is into hip-hop. We live in a hip-hop generation. Hip-hop is the number one music in the whole world.

Thomas A. Dorsey

I was always a person who could not be stepped on easily. When I realized how hard people were fighting the gospel idea, I was determined to carry the banner.