The Case for Christian Hip-Hop
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Music is an essential part of my life, barely ranking behind necessities like oxygen, food, and relationships. I’ve done the math -- I spend more of my waking hours with a beat running through my brain than without it. Music is one of those things that gives me energy, that can transport me to any given emotional state with only a few chords.
I was never very musical as a kid. I played piano for three years, but that was only for the trophy (don’t worry, I got it). I don’t remember a lick of how to play it. I never played in band or sang in choir, either. I just wasn’t as musically gifted as my other siblings were. That doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate music, though. Music was always around. Growing up in a white, suburban, Christian middle-class family, you best BELIEVE I was all about the Newsboys (pre-Michael Tait’s arrival), DC Talk (pre-TobyMac’s departure), Switchfoot and Jars of Clay. Heck, Relient K was and forever will be my favorite band.
As I grew though, my tastes began to separate itself from the classic Christian radio youth group music that I was raised on. Don’t get me wrong, I still love that sound, but at this point it’s more a nostalgic love than anything else (save for Relient K. They’re still great). I began to discover hip-hop. For a tall, gangly white kid, it seemed like a weird fit; I didn’t care though. I still remember the first hip-hop song I ever bought on iTunes: “Dead & Gone” by T.I., with JT crushing the chorus. What a jam! After that, my infatuation with hip-hop only grew. I quickly transitioned to soon-to-be hip-hop classics like Kanye’s “Graduation” and Li’l Wayne’s “Tha Carter III”.
One draw of hip-hop is that it is, without a doubt, the most unique of all genres. A study done by musixmatch.com found that hip-hop easily has the largest vocabulary among major music genres, along with most words per song and unique words per song. Heartbreaking narratives, relatable stories and powerful messages can be packed into each record. These lyrics, paired with painstakingly handcrafted instrumentals, transport me to a place few other things have the ability to.
A tumult began within me as I went through high school, however. This music that I’d grown to love often times contains verses that degrade women, glorify violence and make drug use a common occurrence. There are thousands and thousands of kids who already have the odds stacked against them in our country. These anthems of violence become the songs of their youth, and the authors become their idols. I began to feel a sort of pseudo-culpability rest upon my shoulders – How do I, as a sinner who claims Christ as my Victory, merge this seemingly sordid genre with a worldview that calls for a removal of such ideals?
In 2010, I downloaded my first Christian hip-hop album. Lecrae’s “Rehab “was like a shooting star, lighting my creative stratosphere on fire. I was instantly hooked. The Reach Records crew -- guys like Lecrae, Andy Mineo and Trip Lee -- rose to the top of my playlists and kept my ‘repeat’ button turned on.
Before I go any further, I want to clarify something: non-Christian, or “secular” music as it's described in Christian circles, shouldn’t be discarded by those who are . There are plenty of hip-hop artists who don’t publicly claim (or claim at all) to be believers who create simply stunning records. Anyone who knows me knows I love Chance The Rapper, Jon Bellion, J. Cole -- even Kanye -- and thoroughly enjoy the music they make.
I simply want to make a case for Christian Hip-Hop, a genre that for years was laughed off and misunderstood.
Christian hip-hop (CHH) seems to get exponentially better with every year that goes by. While there are still major flops -- like this -- the overall trend is incredibly positive. Established artists are making better and more polished albums, while up-and-comers are bringing expanded creativity to the figurative table.
I'm not writing this article to simply laud the construction of a respectable genre, though. For me, CHH goes way beyond the boundaries of music. It’s an answer to the question that bugged me six years ago. I love hip-hop. I also love Jesus. Why can't the love of both go together?
Prior to the last few years, CHH was incredibly stagnant. The lyrics were cheesy, the production was cheap and the artists appeared inauthentic. It's come such a long way, however, that a quick comparison of the past & present will reveal almost no similarities (want proof? 2008... 2015!). It's still "Christian" hip-hop, but it's infinitely better. Sadly, the "terrible music" labels are still invariably attached to the sub-genre. Many Christian rappers have lamented this fact. They don't want to be known as Christian rappers, they want to be known as rappers who happen to love Jesus -- and that's a big difference. They're not denying Christ or their faith, they just want to be taken seriously in the industry. That can't happen when listeners are going in thinking, "Oh geez, here we go... Can't wait to get preached at." CHH artists everywhere are striving to shirk that cumbersome label.
If you’re familiar with hip-hop, you know the name Lecrae. He’s easily the most popular Christian hip-hop artist in the world. He’s the only CHH artist to win a Grammy -- Gospel Album of the Year, for his masterpiece “Gravity”. In his new book, Unashamed¸ Lecrae writes “I wasn’t some church kid who was trying to be hip-hop because it was cool; I was a kid who grew up in hip-hop who was making music as a Christian.” You see, Lecrae doesn’t see hip-hop and Christianity as these two separate entities; rather, he sees them as two interwoven ways of life. He was born into hip-hop and adopted into Christianity. He, as a CHH artist, is simply melding these two great loves of his into one beautiful piece of art.
This is exactly what we Christians are called to do. We need to realize our individual talents and reflect our Creator through them. This can take different forms: it could be using them for ministry, it could be enjoying them and understanding their origin. Or it could simply be making great music that you can’t help nodding your head to. Again, this doesn’t restrict itself solely to Christian hip-hop, but Christian hip-hop does go a step further by openly recognizing the author of those gifts.
Today, CHH artists have an even greater responsibility than others in the social justice arena. Racism -- both established and recent -- is increasingly showing its ugly face in public, thanks in no small part to social media. With hip-hop’s inextricable ties to African-American culture, rappers like Propaganda, John Givez and yes, Lecrae, have (understandably) felt the need to speak out on the pressures facing their families and friends. Most expressed their views online and many made incredible music expressing their fear, anger and desire for our country. A remarkable short-film released with Lecrae’s newest mixtape really brought to light the lack of social structure in the black community, as well as his struggle against his "Christian rapper" label. You can see it here.
Christian hip-hop doesn’t have to be the rhythm-and-rhyme Gospel. If it is, great! But the objective of Christian hip-hop is, in my mind, to create good music and thank God while doing it, either publicly or privately.
One more thing: I’m not eloquent enough to fully explain what remains locked in my mind. But I love having this chance to reveal to people one of the biggest influences on my life. That’s why I’m happy to announce that I will be starting a weekly “Best Rapper You’ve Never Heard of” series. These underground rappers make phenomenal music that I connect with like no other. Often times they’ll be Christian, other times they won’t. But they’ll always be good -- I promise you that. I look forward to sharing that with you!