In Street Scriptures: Between God and Hip-Hop Alejandro Nava explores an important aspect of hip-hop that is rarely considered: its deep entanglement with spiritual life. Nava focuses our attention on this aspect of the music and culture in a fresh way, combining his profound love of hip-hop, his passion for racial and social justice, and his deep theological knowledge.

Drawing on the introduction to his new book, we’re excited to share this video in which he discusses the spiritual resonance of Childish Gambino’s “This is America.” What’s more, keep scrolling down for a curated playlist of awesome tracks featured in the book.

Alejandro Nava is professor of religious studies at the University of Arizona. He is the author of The Mystical and Prophetic Thought of Simone Weil and Gustavo Gutiérrez, Wonder and Exile in the New World, and In Search of Soul. He has discussed hip-hop and religion on NPR, Fox News, HuffPost Live, and MSNBC, among other outlets.

Street Scriptures is available now from our website or your favorite bookseller.