The best rapper from all 50 states

Utah

Artist – Jamesthemormon

Years Active – 2016?

Notable Track – “Motivation”

Sample Rhyme:

“Trying to buy my great grandkid a house

So I can say I got ’em even when I’m out

That’s the only thing that matters to me now

I pay no mind to the haters cause they’re only talking shop

Put a drive on those and don’t stop until I say so

Gotta turn these tracks into pesos”

—

It doesn’t seem like the holy land of the Church of Latter Day Saints would ever inspire anyone to rap. Maybe pick up a guitar. Maybe write a few lines to a poem. But definitely not rap.

That’s admittedly a pretty narrow view. While Mormonism has a reputation for being very conservative, there’s still plenty of room in 2016 within conservatism for something like rap.

That’s particularly true when the church is aggressively trying to inspire a new generation to follow in their parents’ footsteps. Not to be too cynical, but rap in the right hands is an excellent marketing tool.

To Jamesthemormon’s credit, he’s not half bad at what he’s setting out to do. He and his posse have the aesthetics of rap down to a T, so much so that you might not even notice that he’s rapping about wanting to have a family and settle down instead of about inner city life, sex or violence.

Next: Vermont