What if a 1997 neo soul classic accidentally opens the door to one of the most misunderstood truths in Catholic theology? In this video, we take a deep dive into Erykah Badu’s “On & On”, the Five Percent Nation, and the infamous phrase “ye are gods” to expose something most people never see coming.

This is not a music review. This is not culture war bait. And this is definitely not surface level theology.

This is a theologically dense conversation about identity, divinity, authority, sacrifice, and what Christianity actually teaches versus what modern spiritual systems borrow, flatten, and distort.

We examine how Five Percent ideology reframes God as self proclaimed identity rather than transcendent Creator, why that resonates deeply in Black consciousness movements, and where those instincts brush up against biblical truth without ever crossing into fullness.

From Genesis, to Psalm 82, to Christ standing in Jerusalem accused of blasphemy, we trace the difference between grasping at divinity and receiving sonship.

Because Christianity does not tell you that you are God.

It tells you something far more dangerous.

It tells you that God became man so that man might share in God’s life.

This video is especially for reverts, seekers, and anyone who has spent time in Afrocentric, conscious, or “spiritual but not religious” spaces and is now trying to make sense of what felt true versus what is true.

Strap in.
This one goes deep.

MEMBERS NOTE: There is an exclusive follow up video for members where we go further into divinization, discernment, and how Catholics should engage culture without fear or naivety.

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL

• Join the Members Section for deeper formation
• Like, subscribe, and share with someone who is asking real questions
• Leave your thoughts below. I read them.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:43 Badu’s Lyrical Genius
01:56 Who This Is For
04:04 Who Is Erykah Badu
08:01 Who Is the Five Percent Nation
09:32 The Nation of Islam Connection
13:28 What the Five Percent Nation Believes
18:19 Black Consciousness – Why It Exists
22:42 Lyric Breakdown – I Was Born Underwater
24:18 Jesus Is the Cipher – Alpha and Omega
27:13 Supreme Mathematics Explained
28:27 Knowledge, Wisdom, Understanding – Five Percent Nation
29:39 Knowledge, Wisdom, Understanding – Catholic Virtue
31:34 Lyric Breakdown – My Cipher Keeps Moving Like a Rolling Stone
32:30 Catholicism Teaches Constant Growth
34:46 Lyric Breakdown – Ye Are Gods, We Were Made in His Image
36:02 Catholic Anthropology – Who Is Man
37:32 Psalm 82 – Ye Are Gods
39:46 Divinization Through the Eucharist
43:00 Final Thoughts