Christianity and Rap, Part IV
In many circles, the idea of Christian rap isn't too controversial; a considerable amount of people are now listening to it. Artists such as Trip Lee, KB, Andy Mineo, Sho Baraka and Lecrae have been topping charts and promoting the conversion of hearts for a while now. However, the term "christian rapper" has always been a dicey situation. The aforementioned Lecrae has been open with the fact that he does not give himself that title. But why?
I would posit and say that the title of "christian" isn't inherently a problem when one wants to describe their religious affiliation. One could be protestant, baptist, messianic for all I care. What stands as the issue is the preconceived notions that surround the term, especially in the musical and artistic environment. Most things that come with that title have been geared towards evangelisation, adoration and veneration of GOD. In the hood, many don't associate with that, calling that inherently corny due to the harsh conditions that one lives in. To make my point, it's hard for someone to see overwhelming happiness in the music that they listen to when their current situation doesn't reflect that.
Hence, "christian music" is corny.
Therefore, to be a christian rapper is to inherently be corny. Very few artists want to be perceived as being corny, especially in such a tough environment and community such as Hip-Hop. To make it, you have to be credible and intune with what the fans want and need. So, to be automatically attached to that label is hard to shake. For established artists such as Lecrae, many want to grow out of the genre and branch out to do something different, as he said in an interview with Forbes:
As far as it identifying my genre, absolutely. As far as identifying my faith, no. I mean that's just who you are. But, genre, yes. I think every artist reaches a place where they want to transcend genre. Beyoncé's gone through that. Prince and Michael Jackson, too. It's like "Hey, I'm more than R&B. I'm more than this category that you've put me in."
- Lecrae, Interview with Forbes in 2017
To a certain extent, I agree with what his positioning. No one wants to be put in an artistic box. Another aspect is who is also in this box; a christian artist is mostly catering to a christian audience. As someone who also believes in Christ, I can say that it is a harsh and oftentimes brutal crowd that is very stuck in its traditions. There is very little changing and altering the musical landscape as it is seen as evil and bad. Remember, these are the same people who said that Elvis Presley's rock was bad but now have full bands in churches. To make it into the industry, you have to be above and beyond the moral calling of the congregation as you serve as both on-the-road preacher, ambassador and evangelist.
Very few people are able to transcend the title of a christian, but many of the examples are people who were previously established. Examples such as Chance the Rapper, who gave his life to Christ and exemplified it through his last two outings, Coloring Book and The Big Day has proven it by being relatable and not the perfect christian.
My honest opinion stands as is for now: let an artist be an artist. If this artist puts out quality work that glorifies GOD, let them do so. However, we should not be forcing our own beliefs onto them. They shouldn't be christian rappers if they do not want to be called that - let them be rappers and humans. We shouldn't judge them for their decisions or look at them as villains when they do not do what we want them to do. That includes the newly converted Kanye: let him make his decisions and forge his path to GOD. For honestly, we can not truly glorify GOD by judging others as it is His responsibility - we are not GOD.