Christianity and Rap: Chance the Rapper
This article will trigger a lot of people who do not like views that differ from their own, may they be christian or not. I pray you all take the time to read and at least have an internal discussion with yourself after this about the subject and sound off in a polite and forward thinking way in the comments below. Reader discretion is therefore strongly advised.
As both an artist, a rap enthusiast and a proud christian, I can say this: Chance the Rapper is one of the best rappers in the world today. The Chicago native has made his mark on the rap community with quality work in efforts such as Acid Rap and Coloring Book and has the awards to prove it for those people that still care about that stuff. But some are questioning his Christianity and his music due to his subject matter and cursing - taking this as an opportunity to judge his music and by extension, him.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me give you concrete evidence as to why my name is "The RatedR"
I'm going to start with the whole concept of judging Chance the Rapper, which is something that Jesus says not to do (Matthew 7:1-5), all while cleverly twisting many of the troubling questions brought to Him to the person who asked (Mark 10: 2-3). These new questions that he asked were internal in nature, forcing the person to think about their own understanding of the Scripture. So, let's not judge him but take the time to judge ourselves on our path with GOD.
That being said, let's talk about rap for a quick second. It grew like a rose in the concrete, having little light and recognition before it became beautiful and classified as art. Hip-Hop was the genre of the common american (it started with African-Americans, but it grew to the biggest genre in America, encompassing people from different cultures) who lived in the cities. It talked about the struggles and the honest life in the streets in a gritty and honest fashion never seen before. So to have the gospel told to them in this medium is negative? It's like translating it in French, Mandarin or Scarborough Patwa. Some will prefer it in this manner than having to switch languages to read/listen to someone's testimony. Key word, his testimony, not yours.
Now I'm not saying that everything he does is perfect and that he is without sin. It's the exact opposite. He exposes his problems, sins and life story with an openness and a candor that astounds me. The best part is that he interconnects this to his relationship with GOD and how he fails, a lot. Some people might be edified in their faith when listening to his music, like some are edified by listening to Newsboys, Darlene Zschech or a christian reggae act. Everyone is different, with their own mission on Earth, so let's not put them all in this cookie cutter that us humans create when no one truly knows how GOD judges. All we know is that GOD is love and that we all need him.
But how come Chance has made it to these heights in the world while someone like Lecrae has gotten a bit of mainstream attention before being quickly relegated to the gospel section of the Grammy's never to be heard of again? It's a problem that is seen a lot with some major christian rappers: lack of technique and sound. Good rap is hard to find these days, especially with mumble rap being the go-to for a lot of artists. Chance uses a lot of different influences to make his music sound different and uses his raps to praise/testify all while showing technique through multiple bars and intricate usage of syllables so that it works in his message. Sadly, not enough rappers have understood this concept yet, so until then, the rappers are being left in the background while Chance talks about blessings and GOD on the biggest stage in music... And he's still independent.