Seems like everyone is noticing those rapsters talking about Jesus. At least Kanye West anyway. This time around it’s The Washington Post, focusing mainly on the Stellar Awards committee nominating Kanye West for best rap/hip-hop album and then taking it back.

Apparently you can rap about Jesus and despite what West says, the radio will play it. It seems Christians, however, might not.

The embrace of pop music and spirituality is getting more and more attention, especially in the hip-hop scene (note the earlier entry), but one recent article quotes Philip Goth, director of the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at Indiana University:

“Religion and American culture almost dance with each other,” says Goff, who point to a long history between pop music and religion, including Elvis scoring his first Grammy for a gospel album. The article goes on to cite Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and U2, along with current spiritual-popsters Kanye West, Creed, Los Lonely Boys, Switchfoot, Lenny Kravitz and others.

The lead singer of All Star United, Ian Eskelin, is releasing his first solo album in ten years, Save the Humans, which comes out Sept. 21. You can get a taste for his solo sound with two free downloads from his site. For those hoping for a nostalgic trip, his new material is more akin to All Star United than his early 1990s solo work.

Last night I listened to coverage of the Republican National Convention on NPR as echoing guitars and the distinctive voice of lead singer Mac Powell from the Christian rock band Third Day unexpectedly drowned out the announcer. The band, along with fellow Christian music artists Michael W. Smith and Nicole C. Mullen, had a prime time, main stage slot during the convention. Oddly enough, NPR continued with their report from the floor of the convention, going head to head with Third Day. I think it’s fair to say they lost.

MTV covers the rise of religion in hip-hop, from the success of Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks” to rapper-turned-minister Mason “Mase” Betha.

While Five Iron Frenzy fans everywhere have skanked their last dance, there’s still plenty of musical mayhem to be had. Former Five Iron frontman Reese Roper is back with a pop-punk four-piece, creatively named Roper. The album comes out October 19, but you can hear some early snippets now.

You can’t help comparing Roper to Five Iron or Brave Saint Saturn, and at first listen Roper sounds like an interesting mix of the two. There’s not as much jumping energy as Five Iron, or the spacey atmospherics of BSS — but the humor is still there. Of the five sample tracks one is called “Hello Lamewads” and another is “You’re with Stupid.”