To me, one of the dopest things about music in general and Hip Hop in specific is the ability to relate certain knowledge without necessarily intending to.
The fact that we think something is dope or relate to it in a certain way sometimes causes us to do some research of our own pertaining to the content of either lyrics or videos, and we learn some dope lessons, as is the case with Prozak’s newest video for “No More” off of his new Nocturnal EP.
The focal point of the visual is a character in a goat mask, seemingly portraying the infamous symbol of Baphomet, which a lot of people associate with Satanic or evil meanings. Just to add some extra meaning and education to the video, I thought I’d share some of the research I did on the history and true meaning behind the symbol of Baphomet, or the Sabbatic Goat.
Baphomet (somehow derived from the name Mohammed), as most of us know it, is the drawing above or a symbol derived from it, and has come to be synonymous with devil worshiping or demonic traits, thanks to guys like Aleister Crowley and Anton LeVay.
Basically, the image above is meant to symbolize the both the harmonies and differences of life, whether it be the difference between male and female, light and day, good and evil, and the unity that connects them all. I know, it looks way creepier than that.
If you look closely, the words on the goats arms are “Solve” and “Coagula” which are latin for “Dissolve” and “Congeal”, symbolizing the primal duality of creation and destruction. Fancy (wikipedia provided) words aside, think of it as a yin-yang covered in hair.
Yeah, like that, except I think there was a rule back then that all drawings had to be really creepy lookin’.
The symbol of the Sabbatic Goat was adopted by occultists like Crowley and others to portray both harmonies and dualities that are important to the world of the occult, and a more demonic version of the symbol was later adopted by Anton LeVay, founder of the Church of Satan (this is where the devil stuff comes in).
So, the Sabbatic Goat was originally meant to symbolize some cool shit, but it takes diff’rent strokes to rule the world, so people put their own twist on it. Keep in mind, that’s a REEEEEALLY condensed (and possibly misunderstood) version of the story, so by all means do your own research and come to your own conclusions.
I’m not here to say what was or wasn’t going through Prozak’s mind when he came up with the concept for the “No More” video, but like I said before, I think it’s pretty dope when a song/visual causes the listener/viewer to go out and do some fact-finding.
Let us know in the comments section below!