Holy War: Rap vs. Religion

When religious leaders and MCs trade barbs.

Holy War: Rap vs. Religion - Kanye and Pusha T may have that "New God Flow," but according to a Philadelphia pastor, Meek Mill most certainly does not. Earlier this week, Pastor Jomo K. Johnson called for a boycott of Meek's single "Amen," off his acclaimed Dreamchasers 2 mixtape, calling the song blasphemous for its use of religious imagery in a raunchy way. We've seen this before: Johnson's broadside against Meek reminded us of rap and religion's long history of beef. Click on for other notable examples of religious leaders and rappers trading barbs. —Alex Gale(Photos from left: Jomo K. Johnson, Michael Buckner/Getty Images For BET)

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Holy War: Rap vs. Religion - Kanye and Pusha T may have that "New God Flow," but according to a Philadelphia pastor, Meek Mill most certainly does not. Earlier this week, Pastor Jomo K. Johnson called for a boycott of Meek's single "Amen," off his acclaimed Dreamchasers 2 mixtape, calling the song blasphemous for its use of religious imagery in a raunchy way. We've seen this before: Johnson's broadside against Meek reminded us of rap and religion's long history of beef. Click on for other notable examples of religious leaders and rappers trading barbs. —Alex Gale(Photos from left: Jomo K. Johnson, Michael Buckner/Getty Images For BET)

Lil Wayne vs. Pastor Jomo K. Johnson - We knew his name sounded familiar. Pastor Jomo K. Johnson first made noise in hip hop circles last year, when he released a book titled Deadest Rapper Alive: The Rise of Lil Wayne and the Fall of Urban Youth, which claimed that Weezy was "under the influence of demonic spirits." (Photos from left: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images, Jomo K. Johnson)

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Lil Wayne vs. Pastor Jomo K. Johnson - We knew his name sounded familiar. Pastor Jomo K. Johnson first made noise in hip hop circles last year, when he released a book titled Deadest Rapper Alive: The Rise of Lil Wayne and the Fall of Urban Youth, which claimed that Weezy was "under the influence of demonic spirits." (Photos from left: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images, Jomo K. Johnson)

Al Sharpton vs. Lil Wayne - Like Johnson, Weezy is also a repeat offender when it comes to the holy war between rap and religious leaders. Rev. Al Sharpton and Wayne got into a war of words back in 2008. Sharpton criticized Weezy for his use of the N-word and B-word, and the rapper wasn't happy about it, addressing the reverend directly on "Don't Get It" from his Tha Carter III. "You see, you are no MLK," Wayne said. "You are no Jesse Jackson. You are nobody to me. You're just another Don King—with a perm." Sharpton was quick to respond: "Why dignify a response to one rap artist who doesn’t even say anything substantive?” (Photos from left: Christopher Polk/Getty Images For BET, Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment)

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Al Sharpton vs. Lil Wayne - Like Johnson, Weezy is also a repeat offender when it comes to the holy war between rap and religious leaders. Rev. Al Sharpton and Wayne got into a war of words back in 2008. Sharpton criticized Weezy for his use of the N-word and B-word, and the rapper wasn't happy about it, addressing the reverend directly on "Don't Get It" from his Tha Carter III. "You see, you are no MLK," Wayne said. "You are no Jesse Jackson. You are nobody to me. You're just another Don King—with a perm." Sharpton was quick to respond: "Why dignify a response to one rap artist who doesn’t even say anything substantive?” (Photos from left: Christopher Polk/Getty Images For BET, Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment)

Reverend Calvin Butts vs. Everybody - Rev. Calvin O. Butts, pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, led a well-publicized campaign against explicit rap lyrics in 1993, highlighted by him literally driving a steamroller over CDs, videos and tapes from 2 Live Crew, Apache, Scarface and N.W.A. (Photo: Thos Robinson/Getty Images for NBLCA)

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Reverend Calvin Butts vs. Everybody - Rev. Calvin O. Butts, pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, led a well-publicized campaign against explicit rap lyrics in 1993, highlighted by him literally driving a steamroller over CDs, videos and tapes from 2 Live Crew, Apache, Scarface and N.W.A. (Photo: Thos Robinson/Getty Images for NBLCA)

Lauryn Hill - Reppin' South Orange, New Jersey, Lauryn Hill started her career by getting booed off the Apollo stage. She turned that around, though, with a role in Sister Act 2. After her short-lived film career, Lauryn joined the Fugees before releasing her critically acclaimed debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. (Photo: Christie Goodwin/Redferns via Getty Images)

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Lauryn Hill vs. the Catholic Church - Lauryn Hill ain't never scared. In 2003, in a concert at the Vatican, the singer-rapper attacked the church for its rampant sex-abuse scandals. "God has been a witness to the corruption of his leadership, of the exploitation and abuses ... by the clergy," she said, standing just feet from several high-level cardinals.   (Photo:  Christie Goodwin/Redferns via Getty Images)

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Eminem vs. Irish Churchgoers - In an unholy coincidence, Eminem played a massive concert in Bangor, Northern Ireland, last year on the same day the town played host to a missionary convention. Upset churchgoers lobbied officials to have the concert canceled, calling Slim "a performer who uses the crudest language — language that degrades women and has the foulest, most twisted content.'  (Photo: Samir Hussein/Getty Images)

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Eminem vs. Irish Churchgoers - In an unholy coincidence, Eminem played a massive concert in Bangor, Northern Ireland, last year on the same day the town played host to a missionary convention. Upset churchgoers lobbied officials to have the concert canceled, calling Slim "a performer who uses the crudest language — language that degrades women and has the foulest, most twisted content.'  (Photo: Samir Hussein/Getty Images)

Rev. Delman Coates vs. Everybody - In 2007, Rev. Delman Coates of Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Maryland, criticized the NAACP Image Awards for featuring the likes of Jay-Z, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Diddy and Dirty Money, B.o.B. and other rap acts who use the N-word. "The NAACP ceremonially buried the N-word in July 2007, and yet, many of its Image Award nominees unashamedly use the N-word and other derogatory and offensive language in their music," an open letter on the website for Coates’ organization Enough Is Enough Campaign for Corporate Responsibility in Entertainment read.   (Photo: Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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Rev. Delman Coates vs. Everybody - In 2007, Rev. Delman Coates of Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Maryland, criticized the NAACP Image Awards for featuring the likes of Jay-Z, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Diddy and Dirty Money, B.o.B. and other rap acts who use the N-word. "The NAACP ceremonially buried the N-word in July 2007, and yet, many of its Image Award nominees unashamedly use the N-word and other derogatory and offensive language in their music," an open letter on the website for Coates’ organization Enough Is Enough Campaign for Corporate Responsibility in Entertainment read.   (Photo: Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Nelly vs. Arkansas Ministers - Back in 2005, ministers from 20 churches teamed up to protest a Nelly show at Arkansas State University. "When we started seeing some of the vile and filthy lyrics ... we thought we should get involved," said Rev. Adrian Rodgers of the Fullness of Joy Church. "Tear the tickets up. Do not go and do not allow your children to go."  (Photo:  Chris McKay/Getty Images)

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Nelly vs. Arkansas Ministers - Back in 2005, ministers from 20 churches teamed up to protest a Nelly show at Arkansas State University. "When we started seeing some of the vile and filthy lyrics ... we thought we should get involved," said Rev. Adrian Rodgers of the Fullness of Joy Church. "Tear the tickets up. Do not go and do not allow your children to go."  (Photo:  Chris McKay/Getty Images)

Shahin Najafi vs. Shi'ite Extremists - This past May, an Islamist website placed a $100,000 bounty on the head of Shahin Najafi, an Iranian rapper living in Germany, over a song that satirized the Islamic Republic and "grossly insulted" imam Ali al-Hadi al-Naq. (Photo: Wikicommons)

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Shahin Najafi vs. Shi'ite Extremists - This past May, an Islamist website placed a $100,000 bounty on the head of Shahin Najafi, an Iranian rapper living in Germany, over a song that satirized the Islamic Republic and "grossly insulted" imam Ali al-Hadi al-Naq. (Photo: Wikicommons)

Nicki Minaj vs. The Catholic League - Fans weren't the only people put off by Nicki Minaj's 2012 Grammys performance, which featured Catholic symbols and a dramatization of an exorcism. (Nicki also hit the red carpet wearing a red Versace nun's habit, accompanied by an older white man dressed as the Pope.) Catholic League president Bill Donohue condemned Minaj's performance as disrespectful to the church. "Perhaps the most vulgar part was the sexual statement that showed a scantily clad female dancer stretching backwards while an altar boy knelt between her legs in prayer," Donohue wrote in a statement on the group's website.  (Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images For The Recording Academy)

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Nicki Minaj vs. The Catholic League - Fans weren't the only people put off by Nicki Minaj's 2012 Grammys performance, which featured Catholic symbols and a dramatization of an exorcism. (Nicki also hit the red carpet wearing a red Versace nun's habit, accompanied by an older white man dressed as the Pope.) Catholic League president Bill Donohue condemned Minaj's performance as disrespectful to the church. "Perhaps the most vulgar part was the sexual statement that showed a scantily clad female dancer stretching backwards while an altar boy knelt between her legs in prayer," Donohue wrote in a statement on the group's website.  (Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images For The Recording Academy)