Inspired by Plato, Kanye West and Jay-Z’s song No Church in the Wild is a nihilist f**k you that questions individuals and their blind allegiance to organized religion.

You cannot think if you are stuck in a box. It can be argued that certain aspects of organized religion force you to think a certain way. No Church in the Wild argues that is the biggest sin.

Socrates was executed for new ideas. For new concepts. For simply questioning things. For “corrupting the youth.” Rap is also accused of corrupting the youth, the genre is said to have “poison[ed] [an entire] generation.”

Jay-Z and Kanye sampled Socrates to encourage their listeners to exemplify Socrates. Be yourself. Challenge the status quo and follow your inner divine voice. Only then can you establish your own reality and have the freedom to pursue your own ideas. In the words of Kanye West, “we formed a new religion.”

No Church in the Wild is treatise that draws from Plato and Socrates’ unconventionality in terms of cultural obedience and is a modern examination of religion and its relationship to the self discussed by Plato and Socrates almost 2400 years ago.

The Great Dilemma

Let’s go back to 399 BC Athens, where Socrates famously cornered a man named Euthyphro outside of a courthouse in Athens. Their conversation started with a general questioning of each-other’s reasoning for attending court, but later escalated into a jarring back-and-forth.

The discomfort Euthyphro felt (14 b-e) mirrored the awkwardness experienced during Kanye’s public embarrassment of Taylor Swift at the 2009 Video Music Awards.

Socrates’ paradoxical questioning revolved around the moral grey area of holy vs unholy actions.

“Is that which is holy loved by the gods because it is holy, or is it holy because it is loved by the gods?”

Plato, 10a

This vexed question addresses the internal flaws of simply defining things as right or wrong. To define things as right or wrong, holy or unholy, you must get at essence of piety and holiness. To Socrates, their definitions must be malleable.

Why?

In a polytheistic Greece, the Gods are in constant conflict and disagreement with each-other. Socrates argues that, how can the Gods universally agree on what actions are holy if they incessantly behave irrationally amongst themselves?

Then, Socrates argument launches an ad hominem attack of Euthphyro’s traditionalist beliefs and his literal interpretation of Hellenism. Socrates cannot even stomach Euthphyro’s genuine belief in the old legends. He detours from his core argument just to sarcastically mock Euthphyro’s devoutness (5e-6c).

Socrates is guided by an inner divine voice (3b-c). Remember, his relationship with spirits and spiritual things is part of the reason why he finds himself in court in the first place (Apology 27c-e).

Is Pious Pious?

Jay-Z, in a tribute to one of Western civilization’s original renegades, echoes Socrates’ questioning of the essence of holiness:

“Is Pious pious because God loves Pious?”

Kanye West and Jay-Z’s No Church in the Wild

Jay-Z asks, does God love something because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by God? Jay-Z and Socrates both seem to be questioning religion, and how does something become religious.

A closer look reveals that Jay-Z capitalizes “Pious.” A simple listen does not show this change, it can only be identified when looking at a transcript of the lyrics. He additionally alliterates the “P”, a literary technique not seen in Socrates’ original wording.

Does Jay-Z capitalize pious to turn it into a proper noun, effectively personifying it? Are the “Ps” capitalized and the words repeated to extenuate the rhythm of the sentence whether it is written or spoken?

Only Jay-Z would know.

But Jay-Z does seem to be referencing the teachings of Socrates. In 2010 interview at the NYPL, he said “I am Plato to Biggie’s Socrates.” In the same interview, he mentions that his interest in the teachings of Plato and Socrates began at a Princeton philosophy seminar by Cornel West.

It is clear that Jay-Z feels he has a relationship with the philosophers. Socrates’ agenda was to enlighten people and be a philosopher. Jay-Z feels his agenda is enlighten people and be a rapper.

Corruption of the Youth

Matt Salonich, in his essay Metallica & Moses, analyzes Metallica’s song Creeping Death and its criticism of Christianity. The song in part reveals the dark side of Christianity, asking why God sent the Angel of Death to slay innocent firstborn Egyptians.

Metallica, like Jay-Z, is saying “how do you claim we corrupt the youth?”

How are our lyrics the issue? The religion you follow writes of incredibly heinous acts. Is playing a guitar with distortion, or rapping about money and girls the real issue?

Jay-Z and Metallica are mirroring the ideology of Socrates. Don’t be a sheep, question everything, don’t allow yourself to be placed in a box.

“No Church in the Wild” is an afterlife of the thoughts and teachings of Socrates and Plato. Jay-Z and Kanye West were influenced by their philosophies and reimagined them for a modern audience.

Follow religion of self and find your inner divine voice. Only then can you establish your own reality and have the freedom to pursue your own ideas.

Miles Mcdonald

Author

Hello! I am a current sophomore at Colgate University in Hamilton, NY. My intended major is Political science. I am originally from Westport, CT.