The intersection of religion and music offers opportunity for a profound exploration of meaning-making. Musical lyrics create a rich narrative that reflects not only personal experiences but also broader cultural, social, and spiritual realities. Over the years, Anthony Pinn has explored this intersection, shaped by academic inquiry, personal reflection, and an evolving understanding of the world. My Jams traces the evolving understanding of purposeful existence, exploring themes of manhood, social transformation, gender, culture, humanism, freedom, and mindfulness. Through these reflections, Anthony Pinn aims to illuminate the ways in which music serves as a catalyst for introspection, growth, and societal change. Pinn delves into the theological dimensions of music, examining its role in protest, Black religion, conversion, popular culture, demonology, and divine authority. The book reflects Pinn's engagement with the complex intersections of music, spirituality, and cultural identity, offering insights into the diverse ways in which music shapes our understanding of the sacred and the profane.
Anthony B. Pinn is Agnes Cullen Arnold Distinguished Professor of Humanities and professor of religion at Rice University and teaches courses on African American religion, the history of Black religious thought, humanism, and Black theology. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and recipient of president's lifetime achievement award for volunteer service (2024). Pinn is also the author of more than thirty-five books, including, Varieties of African American Religious Experience, 20th Anniversary Edition (Fortress Press, 2017), Terror and Triumph: The Nature of Black Religion, 20th Anniversary Edition (Fortress Press, 2022) and What Is African American Religion?: Expanded Edition (Fortress Press, 2024).
Anthony Pinn's My Jams instinctively weaves theory, embodiment, and personal experience into a reflective exploration of hip-hop's sonic and lyrical landscapes. Pinn fuses musicology with deep theoretical insight, crafting an inventive narrative where rhythm, philosophy, and ethics collide. His unique voice moves between autobiographical reflection and intellectual critique, making hip-hop's beats pulse with new meaning. This work not only celebrates the music but offers a profound understanding of its cultural and epistemic power, making My Jams an essential read for anyone seeking a fresh, interdisciplinary look at hip-hop's transformative impact on identity and society. --Robert Beckford, professor and broadcaster The brilliant and often infamous Dr. Pinn once again shows us the deep intersections of rhetoric, race, religion, music, and popular culture. This book adds a much-needed conversation around manhood and what masculinity looks like in a post-truth world. Dr. Pinn, in his poignant voice, has given us a guide to better understanding the myriad of complexities embedded in the music we listen to. As always, his work is a must-read! --Daniel White Hodge, professor of communication arts, North Park University; coeditor of Marveling Religion: Critical Discourses, Religion, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe and author of Baptized in Dirty Water: Reimagining the Gospel according to Tupac Amaru Shakur If William James and Lauryn Hill had a love child, his name would be Anthony Pinn. My Jams brilliantly chronicles varieties of religious experience that intersect with artistic imagination and forms of resistance, recuperation, and restoration found in the bodies of belief, flesh, and music that bridge the human and the divine. This beautiful book is a monumental spiritual and cultural jam session. --Michael Eric Dyson, author of Entertaining Race: Performing Blackness in America
