baptazia

Airloaf – Extra Thick
Country: United Kingdom
Music: speedgospel

This meme combines elements of church environments coupled with scenes of ecstatic dance and typically an "MC" who in reality is a preacher holding a microphone as the main visual element. The audio element is heavy UK style drum n' bass/jungle music synced to go along with the over zealous dancing. It essentially does an excellent job of being an precise analogy of a rave in which the space and its dancing participants use music to elevate their conscious states towards notions of "holiness". The underlying notion behind this meme is that music can and will induce a religious/spritual/trancendent experience.

A more subtle aspect of this meme is the idea of the "Jes Grew Carriers" from Ishmael Reed's 'Mumbo Jumbo' which literary critic Harold Bloom has cited as one of the 500 most important books in the Western canon.

"An epidemic is sweeping the nation. You have probably not heard about it because powers that be find it in their best interests to keep you in the dark. People you know may have even detected inklings of its presence, but kept quiet, hoping that ignoring it would make it disappear. Nothing could be further from the truth. This epidemic is called jes’ grew, and you might have it already.

Symptoms of jes’ grew include: mediocrity intolerance, chronic questioning of authority, and uncontrollable shaking of the hips and ass. As of this writing, medical science remains baffled. They can not point to a viral or bacterial pathogen responsible for the disease. Some unorthodox researchers have suggested that it may be neither, and that jes’ grew may be caused by something else entirely. So far, however, no papers have been published in any major medical journals on the subject.

Jes’ grew is unique as a sickness in that it does not waste the victim away. Instead, it builds them up. It does not cloud their vision; it makes it clearer than ever before. Essentially, this disease spreads itself by making itself attractive; patients infect themselves gladly, seemingly unaware they are helping a pandemic affliction. Therefore, the disease acts as a social and biological defense mechanism against a world and a people which betrayed them. It makes the oppressors seem that much more evil for suppressing a people so ‘cool.’"

http://townhall.tripod.com/JesGrew/jesgrew.html

Here is a good example of the meme continuing:

http://www.baptazia.com/

guess it jes' grew…