Sorry, Trig reference.

To "honor" (sorta) the official release of PRo's New Album, "Dying to Live" today, (For which I shaved $10 out of my pocket,) Ima blog on a topic that's been on my mind for quite a while: The Legitimacy of Rap as a Conduit for Worship.

*Now, what the heck does that mean?*

Thanks for asking. Saves me the typing.

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Wait....

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:-)

There's so much I want to write, but I'll sort my arguments into three main categories: The similarity of rap to contemporary worship tunes, the potential for rap to have insane impact beyond modern worship, and certain misconceptions regarding hip/hop.

Now, just FYI, "hip/hop" and "rap" are commonly used interchangeably. So, if I give you one of them, and utilize the other right after it, I'm referring to the same genre.

So, my first point: A comparison of worship and gospel rap.

Take a gander at the following excerpts from a couple of tunes, and tell me what song they're from.

Chorus 1: "Angels surrounding His throne and
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!
The whole earth is filled with his glory,
All nations bow at his name!"

Chorus 2: "Angels gather ’round Your throne...
Elders bowing at Your feet
And at Your feet they bend their knees
All creatures on the earth below."

Can't tell? Yes, I wouldn't be able to, either.

In fact, although the lyrics look incredibly similar, the style in which they're presented is quite different. The first is from FLAME, an excellent Christian Rapper, off his hit song "Joyful Noise." The second is from Rita Springer, a female contemporary vocalist, from her song "Holy is Our King." The genres present quite a bit of a contrast, yet the message stays the same.

Now, if you actually take a listen to both songs, you'll notice that that excerpt from FLAME is actually sung by John Reilly, a male vocalist. The context is the same, but for a little more solidification, here's another excerpt from Lecrae's "God is Enough:"

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want/
Takes away my fears, You restore my soul/
Off into the sky, To dead and Christ arise/
To be with You forever, see with the clearest eyes!/"

Look at that, and tell me that can't appear in a contemporary worship song. Prime lyrics, right there.

The point is, even if the genre is a little more than you're used to, the TRUTH remains the same.

This leads me into my second argument: Rap's outreach potential.

First of all, I understand that many "city/urban" churches wouldn't bump this stuff in their pre-service stereos. And I understand that. To each Church her own taste in music.

Let's get a couple of things straight, however: First of all, gospel rap allows us to reach those who wouldn't bat an eye at your favorite Chris Tomlin song, or your Chuck Colson podcast. (Is he that updated? :-P) For example, your NYC homeboy, or your city hood in the alley won't care about the reading of the book of Colossians in Greek. (I'd love that stuff, btw. Well, maybe not the "Greek" part...)

But Lecrae's beats, Tedashii, J'son, THAT'S the stuff that they'll give an ear to. And I know that you probably won't understand the lyrics if you're fresh to rap, but for those who have tuned their ears to that frequency, I guarantee that they'll hear the words, loud and clear. And from there, we let the two-edged sword do it's cutting.

Second, the deep, unconventional content that can be inserted into rap. Trip Lee's song, "Cash or Christ," exposes the blasphemy behind Joel Osteen's "Health, Wealth, and Prosperity gospel." Tedashii's "Need it Daily" emphasizes our dire need for daily Bible Reading. PRo's "Full Court Mess" details how messed up our life can be without Christ. Lecrae's "Jesus Muzik" sets down a standard for the music that we feed ourselves, and his "Fall Back" beat warns us against the worldview of secular media.

The pure amount of "stuff" that you can put into a single rap verse, as opposed to 4 perfectly symmetrical lines in "Blessed Be Your Name," allows for the content to address deep theological issues. The varying flow in a single beat keeps things fresh. And, quite honestly, you can put lessons into rap that just won't fit into contemporary worship.

For those who have put the milk in the fridge and are reaching for the meat, I would contend that gospel rap serves their purpose of study better than songs that focus on praise and adoration.

Now, don't get it twisted: I have absolutely nothing against praise and adoration. I dunno about you, but I need my fix every day. All I'm saying is that rap can get much deep into topics regarding the full character of God, the truths about Christianity and the Bible, and Christ-like living, that the vast majority of worship tunes can't adequately address.

Finally, I'd like to address some of the common misconceptions regarding this particular genre.

First: The origins of rap are not glorifying to God.
Actually, that's not quite true. The origin of rap and hip/hop actually finds itself in the saxophone, and pure instrumental beats. No voices. Absolutely none.

What happened was, fallible man took the gift of music that God gave to us, perverted it with trash talk, deceit, self-glorifying rhetoric and blasphemy against the Lord Almighty, and presented THAT as "genuine rap." It would be my contention that Creezy, Trip, T-Dot, and all these other Christian artists hit the mark of "genuine rap," much closer than those along the lines of Eminem, 50-Cent, and Lil' Wayne.

Second: Rap makes you think of bad thoughts.
Ummmmm..... Yeah. Sorry, but I'm gonna have to respectfully disagree with you on this one. In my case, when I understand the lyrics to a particular song, I close my eyes and meditate on the truth in the words. And if I don't, I look them up. The pure love and adoration behind some of these beats has brought me to tears on more than one occasion. Notably, Trip Lee's "Why Me?"
(If you haven't already, I HIGHLY recommend that you listen to that one while reading the lyrics.)

Third: Rap gives you a headache.
Actually, that's probably my maxed-out bass. My bad. *Turn it down*
:-P

The Bottom Line: Rap isn't necessarily evil. In fact, when used the right way, it can glorify the LORD as much as any other vehicle of worship can, musical or otherwise.

If you don't like it, fine. All I'm saying is, don't start saying stuff like "Hip-Hop is bad stuff." It ain't true. Simple as that.

:-)