Giving Silence a Voice: Exploring Religion, Spirituality, and Rap Music as a Medium for Mindfulness

Mindfulness has become increasingly popular in the modern world as a way to find balance in one’s everyday life. A challenge affecting the growth of mindfulness as it continues to gain recognition is the relationship between mindfulness and traditional religious frameworks. Music is an important area of interest in this discussion as research has revealed changes in trends towards contemporary music in favor of classic songs and hymns as markers of personal truth, and the embodiment of celebration and significant events. Rap music has a deep cultural connection and has been used throughout history to depict the lives of the people who participate in the genre. Rap songs can be found expressing ideas of both the religious and secular world suggesting a unique ability to exists with significance across domains. Therefore, the creation of a rap album may potentially serve as an effective method to discuss mindfulness within both the religious and secular realms and help to create mutual understandings of mindfulness through use of a shared medium as well as contribute to the growth of mindfulness through the introduction of mindfulness into new communities.