Would you believe me if I told you Socrates and Plato, whom many consider to be two of the greatest thinkers who have ever lived, were referenced in a rap song by two of the most popular artists in the 21^st century, Jay Z and Kanye West?

It seems unlikely there would be a connection between these groups of people, but it’s actually quite the opposite that is true. The first track, “No Church in the Wild,” of Kanye West and Jay Z’s 2011 certified platinum album Watch The Throne shows that these people could be more alike than you might think. 

Piety

The reference to Socrates is very explicit in “No Church in the Wild.” Jay Z raps…

“Is Pious pious ‘cause God loves pious?”

This phrase will sound extremely familiar to anyone who has read Plato’s Euthyphro because it was the central question of the dialogue. In this dialogue, Socrates and Euthyphro discuss piety, or holiness, and what classifies something as being pious. The famous question from Socrates comes after Euthyphro tells him that things that are holy are what is approved by the gods. 

In response, Socrates asks “Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?” 

It is clear this was the line that Jay Z gets his lyric from, but what makes this song an interesting afterlife is that the answer the rappers give is different than what Socrates says in the text. After some contemplation, Socrates comes to the conclusion that pious is loved by the gods because it is pious. In other words, just because something might be loved by the gods does NOT automatically make it pious. 

The rappers’ answer comes in the following line when Jay Z continues

“Socrates asked, whose bias do y’all seek?”

Here he answers by saying that each person will believe what they want to be true based on biases that exist, suggesting there is not a definitive answer to Socrates’ original question. From this line, we are under the impression that everyone will “seek” out a certain bias, which just means that everyone will search for the answer that satisfies them the most. This might look different for different individuals depending on how someone is influenced.

This means that in the song, the question of who or what is determining piety is not gods, but rather nothing at all, because each person chooses values for themselves. While Socrates is focused more on an answer involving the gods, Jay Z says that people form their own opinions and biases, without considering any gods if they do not choose to. 

This also might mean the artists would question the need for a figure to worship, like what is present in other religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Perhaps they would consider individuals focusing more on becoming clearer with their own values and beliefs to be more important, similar to teachings of Buddhism. 

Should we actually be comparing Kanye to Socrates?

There is no chance that Kanye could be thought of as a Socratic figure…right? As surprising as it might sound, Kanye himself seems to think he is and I will argue that he makes a strong case. Socrates called himself a gadfly because of how he questioned the typical beliefs of the time. Kanye has a similar gadfly mentality, and of course is not afraid to let us all know.

In the past Kanye has referred to himself as Socrates, because he thinks freely and “speaks unpopular truths.” Socrates’ mentality of questioning norms got him put on trial, eventually leading to his death. Similar free thinking is what causes many current people to think Kanye West has gone crazy. Both of them went against the grain of “normal” society, creating many enemies in the process, and therefore have both earned the title of a gadfly. 

 Ultimately Kanye, just like Socrates, wants people to think about our actions and what we believe in and the reasoning behind them especially when it pertains to God and religion. 

Ryan Moffatt

Author

I am a sophomore at Colgate University from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I plan on majoring in Economics.