Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion

Tolentino describes the megachurch she attended growing up, which she jokingly refers to as the "Repentagon" because of its size. Tolentino explains her parents' history with the church. Though they'd grown up Catholic in the Philippines, they had become Baptists when they moved to Toronto. In Houston, they'd responded to the pastor's style, placing Tolentino in the school in first grade when she was four years old. She accepted the teachings easily, enjoying how easy she found it to tell what was good or bad according to doctrine. When she prayed, she felt blessed. However, by middle school, Tolentino had become more ambivalent towards her religion, which worried her. One day, she left church in the middle of a service to sit in the car and listen to the radio.

Tolentino contextualizes her religious experiences in 1980s and 1990s Houston. Houston, Tolentino writes, is an enormous city that lacks public activity. The megachurches feel like a town, which Tolentino believes is part of their appeal. In this context, a new kind of hip-hop movement emerged. This wave was characterized by a sound as belonging to DJ Screw in particular, with a slowed-down tempo.