This 6-week weekly Zoom meeting will focus on the catalog of the alternative underground rap duo Armand Hammer and a dialogue between them and the work of philosopher of religion D.Z. Phillips to investigate regions of similarity in questions of the boundaries between religion and life.

Armand Hammer is known for a dense style of lyricism and soundscapes that engage the darker sides of existence with little to no hope of relief. Phillips presents a philosophy of religion that takes seriously the sense of religion, with its value extending outside of the realms commonly thought of as “religious,” such as the sonic textures and dissonant verbal offerings of Armand Hammer. Each week, we will discuss a different Armand Hammer album in concert with an essay from Phillips’ collection entitled Recovering Religious Concepts: Closing Epistemic Divides, looking at how both can inform each other in explorations on the supposed gap between the idea of God and the world. Every Friday at 12:30pm PDT to 1:30pm PDT, June 3, 2022 to July 15, 2022.