Katie Grimes' article "But do the Lord Care?”: Tupac Shakur as a Theologian of the Crucified People.” answers the question through theology, stating that much significance has been placed on the connections in hip-hop. She begins by studying the theme of Christianity in the lyrics of Tupac. She argues the connection of Christianity and rap comes from a desire to illuminate “the injustice and Christological implications of the hypersegregated ghetto and the black mass prison” (327). This perspective is very important to the understanding of the connections in rap music, it also connects to Buis’s study of Religion in popular black music.
Tupac often would question the imperfections of Christianity. He lived in a world where he was a minority and was oppressed. God was someone he leaned on, respected, but questioned. He knew God had a purpose for him, but some times wondered why He took the routes that he did.
He also talks about the fact that some religious groups care more about the glamour, such as fancy churches, rather than giving that money to the people who truly need God. This is not to say that this is the truth for all Christianity. It was just an opinion of his during his life, which there could be some truth in.
He also believed that if it were God's will, and he lived for many more years, then he could use that life to make changes in a corrupt and sinful world. Tupac knew of the suffering in some parts of the world, he lived it. He felt that with the grace of God he could make a difference for those who needed him, whether they were sinful or not.
Tupac was a man of faith in every way. From his every day speech, to his album covers, to the way he chose to decorate his body. He was never a man who shied away from admitting and celebrating his faith. He believed you had to have faith, and faith in the world. He was a man on a mission, and spread his feelings about God while he had the chance to do so.