Individual articles from this issue of Black Sacred Music are available for purchase at read.dukeupress.edu/black-sacred-music. "The Emergency of Black and the Emergence of Rap" focuses on rap music as a new form of African American oral expression, capable of voicing the full range of concerns within the black community, from sexuality to spirituality. Featuring a poetic postscript by C. Eric Lincoln, this volume also presents essays on hip-hop, the debate over obscene lyrics, ghetto culture, and Islamic ideology. Public Enemy, Kool Moe Dee, and MC Hammer ar among the many performers discussed in this volume.