Why Should I Listen to Christian Rap?

OK, so this is something I've wanted to write about for some time now. I brought the idea to my fellow moles and there response was basically, why haven't you done it yet? I feel that rap in general gets a bad wrap (haha nice play on words). But I think Christian Rap gets passed by even more. One of our very own moles has over 130 gigs of music that he's collected over his lifetime. How much of that is rap? His response was 0 gigs. The other moles have listened to some, and may even have an album or two. But they didn't bring me on board because they knew all about the Christian Rap scene and I was just their friend. No, they brought me on because I know a thing or two on the subject. Now so far, from what I can gather, the few readers we have don't get down with my genre of choice either. The goal of this blog is to show people why Christian hip hop should stop being overlooked. There is a reallness about rap in general that can't be matched by any other genre of music. Sure it's filled with synthetic beats, produced by a computer, and even those with no singing talent can rap. However, the stuff that rap talks about can and does have a reallness unmatched by any other genre.

Look at this verse for example:

"Lord thank you for another day 
I could have been another case of a son in grave 
I could of been a waste of a brothers slaying 
Just a rain puddle off the face of a mother's pain 
I could have lost and cut a vein 
Fed up with my life times I ain't wanna stay 
Drop to my knee's like Lord I wanna change 
I don't wanna live like this for another day 
I could've been another one in chains 
for armed robbery jealous of another's gain 
Or a victim of robbery and they'd end up popping me for being stubborn like nah ain't giving up a thing 
Lord you could have looked the other way and let whatever happen happen to me while I wasn't saved 
You could have never sent your son to pay for my sin 
but he did that's why I wanna say" 

This is from Bizzle's song "Forever" off his album Tough Love & Parables. And I know not all of us can identify with the "thug life" but it's a reality in America. What other Christian artist can you think of that talks about such a hot button issue? 

And if you want something that hits a little closer to home -

Let's look at another verse:

"This a toast for that one guy up all night with his laptop in that porn site
for the brother the struggle with his lust alone his soul weak and he can't fight
he's trying daily He fails daily masturbation ain't trailed lately dark nights he done fights he don't know how to confess it all
maybe he scared and he fears the somebody's going to tell his peers
so he smears his tears try to cover up what God sees clear
and confession aint no question that he wants the help cause he's nervous
oh God oh Lord let them come to you Cause he's hurting
and its a struggle to talk to his sister,
Because none of them know he's not alright because he puts the face of those bodies that he looked that on them porn sites
oh God oh God oh help him please today
yes he's flawed he's flawed but there's hope"

This one is off Canon's "Loose Canon" EP. If you can honestly say that you've never struggled with sexual sin and can't identify with this at least a little bit then praise be to you. Otherwise, praise be to God for putting artists out there that aren't afraid to use God given talents to speak on issues that otherwise might get overlooked. Because let's face it, who wants to talk about this to anyone? It's a hard subject to talk about. Yet it's so real and honest. These are just two examples. I could honestly sit here and give you hundreds just off the 9 gigs of music I have. And there's so much more. Of the 130 gigs our fellow mole said he had, only about 1 of those covers these kinds of issues. And of that one gig I would say none of the bands he mentioned were very popular. So why isn't Christian hip hop being listened to? Is it because of the negative connotation we give rap in general as Christians? This is something I honestly want to know. 

The most truly beautiful thing about Christian rap is that while it can be so real and up front about issues that not too many other artists want to talk about, it can also be worship filled as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLuJ8EtGmY0

Here is a great example of a Christian rap song that is worship filled. It is Caine's "Beautiful" off his Abstract Thoughts mixtape. 

So my question again is, why are you overlooking Christian rap? What do you have against it? Is there no room in your heart for it? Or is it just something about the beats and the way they talk that you can't get down with? I challenge any reader out there to honestly give Christian rap a chance. If your reason for not listening to has anything to do with a negative connotation that you have placed on it then it may be time to give it a chance. If you just don't like rap in general than maybe do what our fellow mole James is doing and ease into it. One of the things that was pointed out to me recently is that rap might be an acquired taste. Start out by listening to some Lecrae (*cringe*) or some old Ambassador, Flame, or Canton Jones. This will open the door for you and won't come off as rough. But then I challenge you to really open the door to new artists. Try a Bizzle on for size, or a MC Jin, or Datin. The point is I can honestly say you do not know what you are missing out on. There is only room for reallness in Christian rap. Then hopefully you will begin to see it as I see it. 

I wanted to end with this thought. This post is not designed to put pressure on anyone to listen to Christian rap. I don't want to sit here and say that you are wrong for not listening to it. However, what I am trying to do is show you that there is so much more in Christian rap that people do not understand. 

Thanks, and stay Holy my friends,

Shawn