Freeartists: Occult Symbolism or Coincidence?
How well do you really know the artists you listen to? Did the thought that Rihanna and Jay Z worship the devil ever cross your mind? It’s true; Jay Z has been thought of to be a member of the Freemasons and a follower of Lucifer. The worshipping of Lucifer has actually been linked to a wide range of artists. These very ideas have been integrated throughout the music and music videos they have created in what is known as subliminal messages. The thought of it frightens most critics. Can you imagine, the music being listened to right now have subliminal messages in it that are being sent out to the youngest generation on a daily basis. The controversy this is creating is linked to the fact that the subliminal messages are linked to Lucifer, the Freemasons, and the Illuminati. Obviously, these are topics that are not common in normal conversation and are often avoided at all costs due to the uncertainty that people have about them. The question of whether these allusions exist remains open for interpretation. What do you think?
Within the recent artists of the last decade or so, Jay Z has been a very popular artist that has attracted a lot of attention; Most of this attention coming from the fact that many believes he is a part of the fraternal group, the Freemasons. In recent interviews, Jay Z has been seen wearing a familiar saying: “Do what thou wilt”. This saying itself is very controversial because Aleister Crowley was the first man to adopt it into his lifestyle. An English writer and famous occultist who emerged himself in magic, sex, and drugs, Crowley called himself the “Great Beast” and society called him the “Wickedest Man in the World”. He went on to become a member of the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O) and they adopted this way saying as their motto. Although the group started off primarily as a type of Freemasonry group, it established itself around Crowley’s motto. The beliefs of the O.T.O. fully embrace the Luciferian doctrine and it’s members are always thought of in the highest light.With this in mind, has your mind started reeling yet? To go off of it, the ideas that Jay Z expresses by representing this motto has in itself, caused much controversy. But to further his affect on society, he has also been seen to plant subliminal messaging directly into his music videos. “Run this Town”, a 2009 single, caused uproar for critics. The imagery he established throughout the video was mind boggling. If people had questions about his involvement with the Freemasons, all questions seemed to be answered in this video. They blinding of the people throughout the video symbolized the Freemasons blindfold, which was a ritual they use when initiating members. He also frequently made triangles around his eye which is the famous symbol that the Freemasons use as their icon.
Convinced yet? If not, listen to this. If Jay Z was subtle in that music video, he has recently started to be blunt with his beliefs. Many people believe that Jay Z puts direct references to Lucifer in his music. This is evident simply if any person looks at one of the songs he recently put out named “Lucifer” (Read the lyrics to this song in the side article.) Another one of his most recent creations that have hinted toward his membership within these controversial group, the song that endorses this idea and provides symbolism for it is called “On to the Next one” which was released on January 1, 2010. The song talks solely about Jay Z being a step of everyone else which is seen as a connection between him and the idea that he is chosen to be a part of the “elite” or the occult elite. Many believe that Jay Z is a part of the Freemasons. The Freemasons are defined as a public spirited fraternal organization that has existed since the 17th century. Freemasonry’s have and are prone to controversies due to actual secrets buried deep in its long history. It has been said that Masons claim that Masonry is open to any one of any faith and that it is a brotherhood to help any other Mason out. But this is only stated to attract more people to the society. The real meaning behind the society is seen in their symbol. The symbol G used in their signs actually translates to a Masonic generation with their God as Lucifer and main enemy being Christianity.
The opening of the music video conveys Jay Z in darkness with a ray of lights surrounding his head. It is eerily similar to that of a halo. It’s familiar to most Christians because this very image of the halo surrounding his head is given by Jesus Christ in almost all depictions of Him. The halo is an iconic image that identifies holy and sacred figures. Throughout the entire video, there are several references to Baphomet which is an icon for the Church of Satan. Because of this presence, the halo takes on an ominous meaning and becomes negative. This image is suggesting the idea that Jay Z is supporting the icon and the idea that he may somehow be seen as a god
Verification of more occult symbols is presented when images of silver and black skulls have liquid being poured over them. The skull has always been important when it came to occult Brotherhoods. More specifically, the Knights Templar (which are ancestors of the Freemasons) made new members drink wine from human skulls as a part of their initiations into the brotherhood. These particular human skulls were found to be very important to the Templars because they were believed to hold the spiritual power of the original owners. They also partake in blood oaths which mean that they can partake in each degree of blood oath up the 33rd oath. They swear allegiance to the Freemasons above all and swear to never reveal the secrets that are shared amongst the fraternal group. These rituals are what are taken during their initiation and made people have come to the conclusion, with evidence such as this, that Jay Z in fact partakes in the Freemasons which some believe is a group that worships the Devil.
The appearance of crows within the video also hints to some type of dark force. To most people, crows are sometimes considered to symbolize an omen. They can be good or bad depending on the context they are being used in. But since they are in the same family as the raven, they are often associated with death and darkness. In that, they are usually a symbol of a bad omen. What’s interesting about the shot of them in the video is, Casper David Freidrich was a famous painter who painted an image of crows. This image is now very famous. It has also been made a fact that Freidrich was connected to the Freemasons.
The references Jay Z makes to Baphomet are brief and only kept on the screen momentarily. However, the appearances of them are very important to the overall video. The images cast about an evil sort of reaction to the video and give the watcher the impression that Jay Z may in fact be a worshiper of the Church of Satan. As stated before, Baphomet is a pagan deity which represents Satan. The appearance of the Baphomet has also been rumored to represent any video as a mark of an Illuminati video based off of the idea that the Illuminati are seen as a group that regard Lucifer as very important.
The connections made to baphomet do not remain solely in Jay Z’s videos. In fact, a very famous singer has been found to follow the same ideas as JayZ. In 2004, he signed on a popular artist named Rihanna into his company of Dem Jam Records. The first couple of albums released by her were successful and often peaked in the Billboard Hot 100. Some of these albums including, A Girl Like Me (2006), Good Girl Gone Bad (2007) and Rated R (2009). Varieties of different tracks have hit the radio stations and become immediately successful, one of these songs being “Umbrella”, which was released on Good Girl Gone Bad in March 2007. The song is played by DJs, radio stations, and displayed on television sets around the world and passes by without critique to some people. Others, who have listened closely to the lyrics have discovered something else. The song does not talk about the relationship between two lovers or anything of the sort. The lyrics in fact, make no sense at all. Critics of the music industry have found that the song is about a subject matter much more disturbing and dark: becoming possessed by evil. These connections are mainly present because of the presence of Jay Z within Rihanna’s music. In this particular song, Jay Z opened up the song with his own lyrics.
Generally, “Under my umbrella” in itself has an interesting interpretation. It relates to the idea of being under some type of protection. Normally, when you are under someone’s protection, you greatly depend on them, in the sense that they overall have some type of control over the choices you make and what you do. In other words, it can be seen as possession. This song is evident of that possession and how an evil entity goes about obtaining it. The first analysis of the song took into account that Rihanna took on two roles while singing the song; One of these roles being an evil entity and the other role being her singing as solely herself. So throughout it all, these roles are singing back and forth to each other. The song first starts off with the artist of Jay Z singing. The lyrics he recites are as follows:
No clouds in
my stones
Let it rain, I hydroplane in the bank
Coming down with the Dow Jones
When the clouds come we gone, we Rocafella
We fly higher than weather
And G5’s are better, You know me,
an anticipation, for precipitation. Stacked chips for the rainy day
Jay, Rain Man is back with little Ms. Sunshine
Rihanna where you at?
Jay Z refers to a “storm” that can be related to the economy and the financial world that we are surrounded by. “Coming down with the Dow Jones” is reflecting on this situation. The Dow Joner is in fact a representation and main indicator of the health of the stock market. According to the WorldNetWeb at Princeton University, A Dow Jones is defined as, “an indicator of stock market prices; based on the share values of 30 blue-chip stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange).” It also states that the Dow Jones Industrial Average is the most widely cited indicator of how the stock market is doing in general.If it crashes, then it will result in a market crash. Jay Z constantly remarks “let it rain” which shows that an interest in the financial crisis is not present. “I hydroplane in the bank” means that the bank is being flooded by the storm and people are drowning within it and Jay Z is above it, surviving the crisis.
Whatever the case, Jay Z makes references to the fact that he’ll be above the problem and be living in luxury in his “G5” which is a type of jet and will aid him in staying above the problems. An anticipation for this crisis to occur is also apparent when Jay Z says that an anticipation for precipitation is evident. Overall, this portion of the song can be seen as Jay Z tempting Rihanna to join sides with him. For, when they join together, they can see through all the turmoil and be above it at all times. The remainder of the song is a conversation between Rihanna and in this case, the devil. They simultaneously sing back and forth to each other throughout the song. Most of the words are said by the Devil to join his side and in return, he promises her a lifetime of riches and security. In a particular verse, Rihanna sings, “You’re part of my entity, I own you, until the end of times,when the crisis has ravaged the world, when we’ll know the final outcome of the world”. Entity is a strange word to compare a loved one too. In fact, an entity is not a human. It’s defined as a “distinct, separate existence, though it need not be a material existence”. “Here for infinity” is also evident of immortality. Infinity gives the song a sort of non-human feel which is also a strange thing to make with a loved one.
Finally, by the end of the song, Rihanna sings, “come into me” which is evidence of her accepting evil into her. In other words, she lets the devil get the better of her and the remainder of the song is of her starting to be possessed by this power. Generally throughout the song, there is a repetition of words. The “Ella Ella Eh’s” that are sung repeatedly throughout the song are similar to that of the hypnotic rhythms that exist in conjurations or chants. The music video is also evidence of the evil that is present within it. There’s a portion of the video when silver like substances are attacking Rihanna with her white clothes on, which is evidence of her cleanliness. She is soaked with the silver substance (which is the devil in metaphorical terms) 6 times which symbolizes 666, the beast’s number. 666 embodies the idea that someone’s name can be found within it and therefore be identified as the Antichrist. As evidence of her ownership, she is found within a triangle at a point in the song which holds strong symbolism. Occultists find the triangle to represent the phallus or male energy. Rihanna being inside it shows her “ownership” to the devil. There is another message sent within the video that captures the idea of Baphomet. Baphomet is imagined pagan deity revived in the 19th century as a figure of Satanism. Many describe the idol as a monstrous head; a demon in the form of a goat, a figure with a goat's head and a body made up of a dog, bull, and donkey. It is usually associated with the Knights of Templar and seen as their idol. This is important to know because the symbol Baphomet holds is evil and evidence of this wickedness. There is a frame in the music video that pauses on Rihanna bent on her knees with her head facing towards the ground. The shape of her body is actually making the snout, two eyes, and horns that are on the head of the Baphomet. The image is placed in the music video for a fraction of a second and then instantly removed. It’s classical subliminal messaging and quite alarming for those who hadn’t noticed it before. The remainder of the song is Rihanna overcome by the devil and accepting the possession it has over her.
This possession is evident in the song that she released soon after this song was released. It can be seen as a part two to the story. “Disturbia” was debuted in September 2008 and the music video caused much of an uproar. The video was seen as her establishing her possession and trying to escape it. In fact, you should go ahead and watch it now to see what you think. The video has a creepy feel to it that definitely gives the second story after Rihanna accepts Lucifer and evil into her life. This acceptance doesn’t remain solely for just Jay Z and Rihanna. In fact, these images have been seen in many videos that have recently been released. A very crazy and creative Lady Gaga has been linked to these ideas through the release of her recent music video, “Bad Romance”. However, the interpretation of this music video will have to remain in the next issue.
So what do you
think? Is it possible that these ideas exist? The symbols and ideas are there,
and it depends solely now on whether or not the reader chooses to believe them
or not. Many believe that these ideas are sought out and don’t generally exist.
What is meant by this is others don’t know to look for these ideas until
someone else points them out. Even if this was the case, what is the purpose to
these symbols? Is it pure coincidence that they are directly linked with all of
these groups? But how much innocent coincidence can exist before it just
becomes a truth? As a last first thought, these artists didn’t write these
songs or personally direct their music videos. But Jay Z consistently comments
in interviews that he works with his directors to integrate his ideas together
with theirs. The coincidences exist and whether or not you decide it’s coincidence
is your decision. But from this point on, pay more attention to the music you
listen to and the music videos that are made for them. You never know what
symbols you might discover yourself.
References:
"Freemasonry." Cults - AllAboutCults.org. AllAboutCults.org, 2010. Web. 18 Apr. 2010. <http://www.allaboutcults.org/freemasonry.htm>.
Jay Z. "On to the Next One". Def Jam Records. 2010.
"Jay-Z's "Run This Town" and the Occult Connections." The Vigilant Citizen. The Vigilant Citizen, 27 Aug. 2009. Web. 18 Apr. 2010. <http://vigilantcitizen.com/?p=1948>.
Liukkonen, Petri. "Aleister Crowley." Www.kirjasto.sci.fi. Books and Writers, 2008. Web. 18 Apr. 2010. <http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/crowley.htm>.
"On to the Next One" Analyzed. Perf. Jay Z. Youtube. Youtube, Jan. 2010. Web. 17 Apr. 2010.
Rihanna. "Umbrella". Def Jam Records. 2009.