Beyond Babylon: Geographies of Conversion

Building upon theories from critical human geography, this chapter explores how holy hip hoppers, in their search for Zion, made use of urban spaces in unconventional ways. In the midst of the Babylon of Los Angeles, they created lively and experimental zones of social and musical contact: The Row, Klub Zyon, and Club Judah. These geographies of conversion were characterized by both heterogeneity and intersectionality, where multiple religious sensibilities mingled, sometimes coexisting, sometimes colliding, sometimes converting both people and places. Whether converting a Skid Row street corner into an “airborne church” or transforming the burned-out carcass of a gun store into a holy hip hop club, the spatial practices of gospel rappers animated “off the map” levels of urban history and experience.