Deadest Rapper Alive

Deadest Rapper Alive: The Rise of Lil’ Wayne and the Fall of Urban Youth is a Christian polemical book written by Pastor Jomo K. Johnson of Philly Open Air Church. The book details the rise of rapper Lil' Wayne while seeking to show the consequential effects of his music and image upon urban youth. Johnson stated that he decided to write the book after seeing strange sexual and behavioral trends in young Lil’ Wayne fans near his church. The book was released on October 1, 2011 and quickly became a literary effigy among many Lil’ Wayne fans.
The title of the book is a play on Lil’ Wayne’s self acclaimed moniker ‘Best Rapper Alive’. The author switched the title to ‘Deadest’ after reading the Bible which referred to those living in pleasure as “living but dead.”
Synopsis
Johnson begins the book by asserting that all art reflects a certain philosophy. He thus concludes that because this is so, every philosophical system must be examined as to whether it is helpful or harmful. He then seeks to show how Lil’ Wayne’s music has embodied an amoral philosophy that has begun to have effects on urban youth and teenagers. He cites certain sexual trends such as teens soliciting as prostitutes and flash mobs as evidence of this philosophy. Johnson then points out that his desire is not to demean or castigate the genre of hip hop but to write a warning of the dangerous consequences that follow amoral philosophy.
Themes
The book relies heavily on Lil’ Wayne’s biographical career, social statistics, and Biblical scripture. The book includes 4 main themes:
* Hidden social factors that contributed to the successful rise of Lil’ Wayne.
* The embedding of Amoral Philosophy in the music and its subsequent effects on youth.
* The spiritual and occultism that can be seen in the music of Lil’ Wayne.
* Predictions of what will happen to Lil’ Wayne and youth who follow this philosophy.
Reception
The book was one of the most polarizing urban releases of 2011. This polarization had been divided into three groups. The first group believed Johnson was an extremely gifted writer but felt that the book was placing too much blame on one artist. One blogger wrote, "How much of Wayne's music is believable? Like who really believes he will shoot & kill someone if someone plays with his money? He would never resort to that." The second group who positively received the book were Christians who generally agreed that the state of mainstream rap music had become deplorable. The book has been used by various ministries including Mercer County Corrections Facility to help deal with their gang problem. Johnson was featured on numerous Christian media outlets to discuss the book. The final group were Lil' Wayne fans, some who called the book a cheap and gimmicky stunt.
Review
The book was reviewed by pastor and rap artist , who wrote "Jomo Johnson has done his research. There are millions of youth being led astray by today's media and pop culture and many of them even come from Christian homes. So many parents and church leaders are clueless to the radical shifts that are happening right under our noses. Jomo helps open our eyes to one of our culture's largest influencers "Lil' Wayne". The book gives some great insights on his life, his effects and what we can do to reverse the fall of urban youth around the world."

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu