It used to be said that rap's a war zone and that nobody's safe. And, like real war, its veterans can be left with their mental a little out of place. Some retreat from the limelight to try and rebuild their lives, while others attempt to retool their act for a much-hoped-for revival. Then there are those who are so troubled they could only find solace is in the arms of the Lord.
Yesterday, we learned via Middle Eastern news channel Al Jazeera (where else?) that former Bad Boy artist, Loon, has given up his secular ways and converted to Islam. Forgive us for the yawn that followed our initial WTF, it's just that we've seen this before. Loon is only the latest rapper to find religion, check out some more...
Rapper:Ma$e
Real Name: Mason Betha
Converted To: Christianity
Year: 1999
Reason: Cam'ron and Jim Jones say Betha "ran to Atlanta" 'cause some dudes in NYC wanted to extort money from him. But Ma$e claims to have heard the Lord's calling (while high on weed), and that's what lead him to leave behind his multi-platinum rap career to start Mason Betha Ministries with his wife.
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Rapper: MCA
Real Name: Adam Yauch
Converted To: Buddhism
Year: 1993
Reason: After a snowboarding trip in the Himalayas in 1993, MCA returned with a newfound outlook on the world and an all-together matured personality. Known as one of the most tongue-in-cheek rappers in the game, MCA came back dropping nuggets like this: "We have a lot of machines and we think of ourselves as really advanced. But in fact we're not very modern compared to the Tibetans, who have a more inwardly evolved society in terms of their psychology and philosophy. And without adopting some of that understanding and learning from the Tibetans and from Buddhism, we're basically going to destroy the planet for everyone." Zing!
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Rapper: Kurtis Blow
Real Name: Curtis Walker
Converted To: Christianity
Year: '90s
Reason: Tired of the increasingly negative images the music he helped usher into the mainstream was putting out for kids to digest, the first rapper to sign a major deal partnered up with Holy Hip Hop Music and EMI Gospel to release the Christian rap album "Kurtis Blow Presents: Hip Hop Ministry." We're still waiting for him to change his name to something that's not a cocaine reference.
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Rapper: Shyne
Real Name: Moses Michael Leviy (Previously Jamal Barrow)
Converted To: Judaism
Year: 2006
Reason: While locked up for the infamous club shooting involving Diddy and his flavor of the month J. Lo, Shyne discovered his bloodline descended from the original 12 tribes of Judah and immediately changed his name to Moses Michael Leviy. Mazel tov!
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Rapper: Ice Cube
Real Name: O'Shea Jackson
Converted To: Islam
Year: 1992
Reason: Back in the early '90s, Cube declared the Nation of Islam, "the best place for any young black male". Already militant, he promptly shaved the jheri curl and recruited Khallid Abdul Muhammad for his album "Death Certificate". Although he's still Muslim, later in his life Cube has shied away from his affiliation with the nation, calling himself a "natural Muslim".
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Rapper:Doug E. Fresh
Real Name: Douglas E. Davis
Converted To: Scientology
Year: 2000's
Reason: The worlds greatest entertainer said that after looking at a number of different religions, he choose to study Scientology, stating that it's a "useful tool for out here in the world, it gives you clarity on a lot of different things." That and he got to chill with Tom Cruise.
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Rapper: Everlast
Real Name: Erik Schrody
Converted To: Islam
Year: 2004
Reason: According to Whitey Ford, a friend introduced him to Islam and explained to him how the religion is "all-encompassing, uniting all religions and Prophets in itself." All we wanna know is: do he and Michael Muhammad Knight sit together at mosque?
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Rapper: Rev Run
Real Name: Joseph Simmons
Converted To: Pentecostalism
Year: '90s
Reason: "A religious awakening" is what pushed Run to become an ordained minister with Bishop E. Bernard Jordan's Zoe Ministries, add the word "Rev" in front of his name, and start wearing those ugly-ass capes.
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Rapper: BG Knocc Out
Real Name: Al Hasan Naqiyy
Converted To: Islam
Year: 1999
Reason: Before he was sentenced to 10 years for attempted murder, this former Eazy-E associate researched the Nation of Islam, but was turned off by some of their beliefs. Once in prison, BG met some Orthodox Muslims who won him over (pause) and convinced him to convert.We're assuming he spells "kufi" with a "c" too.
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Rapper: Loon
Real Name: Amir Junaid Muhadith (Previously Chauncey Lamont Hawkins)
Converted To: Islam
Year: 2009
Reason: After tiring of playing Mase-lite, this former Harlem World star left Bad Boy in '04 to start his own Boss Up Entertainment imprint, which turned out to be a complete failure. Not to mention he started beefing with his old uptown buddies, Ma$e and Jim Jones (who claimed that he saw Loon in the South selling pre-paid cell phones). But that's in the past now, and Loon claims that he's "happy to be accepting Islam and finding the piece of mind that I was always searching for in the music business."
