Welcome to episode 23, Music of the Gods. Rather than focus on a single artist, this episode explores the role of the Five Percent movement in the origins and development of American hip hop. Founded in 1967 by Clarence 13X, having left the Nation of Islam, the Five Percent Nation proclaimed black men to be Gods. It’s teachings offered a new identity and symbolic language for self-empowerment, largely to teenagers caught up in the oppressive cycle of gang life and the prison system. There from the very beginning, the language, style, imagery, and message of the Five Percent took root in hip hop when it arose in the 1970s. And it’s fruits are heard in the recordings of an endless list of world famous and lesser known artists from Big Daddy Kane to Erykah Badu. We’ll explore the evolution from the Moorish Science Temple and the Nation of Islam to the philosophy of the Five Percent Nation, and trace the 5% influence throughout hip hop history. Welcome to the zig zag zig…