How my demons look: rap’s complex relationship with the devil – The Face

The popularity of horrorcore declined during the 2000s, but hip-hop’s relationship with Satan was resurrected during the blog era. Tyler, the Creator​’s debut mixtape Bastard opened with him describing himself as ​“Satan’s son”, while Odd Future made references to the occult in their lyrics and imagery, often using the Mark of the Beat and inverted crosses in artwork. Lil Uzi Vert also uses the inverted cross, devil horns, skulls and more satanic symbols in their work, and some critics even believe that their name is an ode to the devil – say ​“Lil Uzi Vert” too quickly or too slowly and the word Lucifer (kind of) comes out. Bloggers and YouTubers were quick to denounce both rappers as satanists in the late 2000s and early 2010s, but they didn’t care what the public thought. Instead, they capitalised on the backlash, using the controversy and hysteria to achieve notoriety.

Rap’s relationship with demonic imagery extends beyond the shock factor, though. DMX, for instance, used his demonic alter ego Damien to interrogate his troubled psyche. First introduced on his debut album It’s Dark and Hell is Hot on the track Damien, DMX went on to use the alter-ego to create a trilogy of songs across three albums, using the character to have an ongoing conversation with the demon in his mind.

Then there’s Lil Nas X, who, in the music video for Montero (Call Me by Your Name), descended into hell via a strip pole, where he mounted Satan, gave him a lap dance, killed him and then took his title as the devil. For Nas, the imagery was used to reclaim the cultural belief that gay people go to Hell, reframing eternal damnation as a place where a Black gay man can be king. The outrage sparked among right wing politicians and conservatives was further exacerbated by the rapper’s decision to sell unofficial Nike trainers, which included a bronze pentagram, samples of human blood in the shoes’ soles, and a reference to the Bible verse Luke 10:18 that states: ​“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

The prevalence of satanic imagery in hip-hop doesn’t mean that everyone in the community is on board, though. ​“The demonic influence is getting more and more blatant in this thing,” said Punch, the co-president of Top Dawg Entertainment, in a recent series of tweets. ​“The gradualism was numbing, now it’s just out loud.”

Punch’s comments are rooted in the centuries’ long relationship between African Americans and Christianity. Hip-hop may have originated from blues and jazz, but those genres came from the singing traditions of the Black Church and gospel. As such, there will always be a direct call back to divinity in all iterations of Black music. There’s little wonder that Black artists dabbling in the occult makes people uncomfortable.