Religion is such a divisive topic because Americans believe Christianity or Catholicism are the only correct ways to worship. The more you listen to ‘Vice Versa’ you begin wondering if your belief system is the right one. At first it sounds like a discussion you would have with your friends after smoking or drinking a little too much on a Saturday night when the party is ending at 4am. This is one of the first records to ever make me question my beliefs. Pastor Troy’s ‘Vice Versa’ is nearly 4 minutes of discussion about spirituality. “Y’all don’t hear me you just wanna dance” would be the prime quote for most people who heard the likes of Outkast, Goodie Mob, Scarface, and more as there were plenty of artists who had a message they just styled it in a way that was more fun to digest. The south has always been portrayed as a region that didn’t have “lyricists” or “conscious” sounding artists for many years.
“Again I ask heaven was hell or vice versa/would you start doin’ evil in order to nurture” -Pastor Troy Yet Pastor Troy, a southern rapper, questions everything from the beginning of his long verse on this classic record. As we got older we were able to develop our own beliefs based on life experiences, world events, and many other things (religion is always a circus freak show to talk about between my brother and my mom at Thanksgiving).
It wasn’t necessarily the notion of us questioning if it was the right thing to believe in, moreso the demand of going so many times that we opted not to attend once we were able to make decisions for ourselves. My brother and I were in church three times a week while living with my mom. Any sort of a challenge is looked at as disrespectful rather than discussion on why someone’s belief system is like this. What if heaven is really hell? Could you imagine believing one thing for your entire life that’s supposed to be good, only to end up being lied to and it being the worst fate you could imagine for the after life? We’re brought up to believe what we’re taught at young ages are absolutely right but aren’t taught to question them. “What if heaven was hell and vice versa? If I told you go to hell would you tell I cursed ya?” PT Cruiser begins the Carl Mo produced record, offering a thought provoking question. The Atlanta, GA rapper didn’t garner much commercial success during his career but ‘Vice Versa’ will go down as his Mona Lisa.
Unless you’re a Hip-Hop enthusiast or a fan of southern Hip-Hop you may have never heard of Pastor Troy. ‘Vice Versa’ is a record that is criminally slept on.
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