Use the search bar on the right to type in "Reformed Rap." You'll see lots of threads about this already. Praise God for our brothers in Christ preaching the gospel to the hip hop culture. Here is reformed rap artist and pastor Shai Linne who already addressed this issue in another forum where a bunch of old white men chatted on for thirty pages against this music although they knew nothing about it. I challenge you to read it.
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'Wow, what a fascinating discussion! With this being my first time posting here, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Shai Linne. I found this forum because it was linked from a Christian Hip-hop website (yes, they do exist). I'll come clean immediately and let you know that I am a Christian Hip-hop artist myself and I count Curtis "Voice" Allen as a personal friend and a dear brother in Christ. I've followed this thread from the beginning. I was tempted to post when the discussion was still around 4 or 5 pages long. At that point, there had already been so many over-generalizations, false assumptions, factual inaccuracies and downright offensive statements that it would have been almost laughable had it not been so grieving. As the Lord's providence would have it, I had other obligations to tend to and had to wait until today to post. Little did I know that it would explode into more than 30 pages!
'Honestly, it's a good thing that I didn't post yesterday, because I would have posted in anger, which obviously would not have been honoring to God. As the thread got longer, I continued to watch in amazement at the things that were being discussed concerning rap by people who were clearly uninformed concerning the genre. People who seemed to be otherwise intelligent and knowledgeable in the Scriptures said some of the most baffling things! I chuckled more than once as nearly everyone prefaced their statements by saying something to the effect of "I don't listen to rap", "Personally, I hate rap", "I'm not defending rap. We would never use rap in our church...", etc. Even those who sided with Piper were quick to acknowledge their disdain for the genre. So there you have it. If you can't agree on anything else, you were universally united in your negative opinion of rap! Who said there was no unity here?
'As I signed up to post on this site, I gladly concurred with the fundamentalist doctrinal statement. I love Jesus Christ! I am passionate (though not nearly as I should be) about the glory of God, the supremacy of Jesus Christ in all things, sound doctrine, the doctrines of grace and discipleship. I am also passionate about reaching out to those who are either a part of or influenced by Hip-hop culture. In light of that final passion, there is much to be discouraged by in this thread. It was amazing how, among those who have such a high view of Scripture, how biblically uninformed this discussion has been! I'm grateful for the few who at least attempted to bring Scripture to bear on the conversation, even if I disagreed with some of the conclusions. I was also discouraged by how few people actually did any research at all about Hip-hop culture. I mean, If you're going to reject something with little to no biblical support, I would at least hope that you would do a little research, so as to give an informed opinion about what you're rejecting. I do appreciate the brother who took the time to look up "hip-hop" in wikipedia, only to come to the (incorrect) conclusion that "holy" and "hip-hop" are mutually exclusive. Very disheartening indeed.
'I'm really not here to either present a defense or even address your arguments. That would take more time than I have, considering that the thread is about to close. However, the the more I thought about it, the more I realized that you all have very valid reasons for having the opinions that you do. I absolutely understand why you reject rap and question the integrity of someone who would use it in a Christian context. I understand why many of you consider rap to be "aesthetically bankrupt". I understand why some of you believe that anyone who could possibly think of using rap to glorify God obviously needs more discipleship. What other conclusion could you come to? Here's what I mean:
'Of course you paint all "rap" with a broad brush. How could you make any differentiation at all? You have no idea that there have been at least 5 distinct eras in rap's brief, thirty-plus year history. Of course you see rap as a profane medium. What has your exposure been? The only exposure some of you have had is when you've walked into the room and caught your teenager watching MTV and told them to cut it off. Or when a car pulls up next to you blasting rap music at an obscenely high level- to the point where you can't even hear the music in your own car!
'Of course you view rap music as "aesthetically bankrupt". Your ear is not trained to hear the brilliance of the cadences, rhythms and structure of the songs performed by the best Hip-hop lyricists. You haven't been exposed to the multisyllabic poetic forms of the best rappers that would put some of the best hymn writers to shame, in terms of verbal dexterity and lyrical complexity. All you hear is a loud beat with profanity being shouted over it!
'Of course you believe that all rap is "intrinsically erotic in composition". (By the way, I'll refrain from telling Curtis that presumably older, caucasian men found what he did at Piper's church to be erotic. That might be more information than he needs) What are your examples? You've only been exposed to the crass, over-sexualized rap songs that typify much of the popular secular rap. Your conclusion is absolutely reasonable, based on how uninformed you are.
'How could you possibly think that the rap's medium is appropriate for carrying the weight of the triune God's eternal truth? You could only believe that to be true if you've been exposed to rap lyrics such as the following:
"God doesn't just save us for forgiveness of sins
He takes us to shape us into an image of Him
Christ fulfilled the law when we were doomed with Satan
So believers get His righteousness through imputation
Now there's no condemnation for His consecrated
I know the process stated seems complicated
But it's the Holy Spririt's keen medication
All by His washing and regeneration"
(Timothy Brindle, "Sanctification")
'Of course you don't believe that rap is appropriate for worship! You haven't been exposed to rap songs with lyrics such as this:
"On Mt. Sinai when He appeared the assembly near
Shouted violent cries and trembled in fear
And you can trust He'll delete and crush and delete
All lust and deceit, the clouds are the dust of His feet
Ask Nadab and Abihu, Rahab and the spies knew
Check Psalm 76, Asaph will remind you
A loud singing choir flips in the heavenlies
The proud King Uzziah stricken with leprosy
Those who don't fear get the harshest of punishment
Like Uzzah when He touched the ark of the covenant
The Lord struck him down?
Because he was a guilty man who assumed his filthy hands
Were cleaner than the dusty ground!
It defies your reasoning to try conceiving Him
His foes will flee and hide when the Son comes
My eyes have seen the King and I'm an evil thing
Woe is me for I am undone!"
Holy, holy, holy is the LORD!
Holy, holy holy is our God!
Holy, holy, holy is the LORD!
The whloe earth is filled with His glory!
(from "The Holiness of God" by Vessels of Mercy)
'You have no idea that there is a group of young, Christ-exalting, theocentric, passionate, missions-minded believers in our generation who see Hip-hop not just as a genre of music, but a culture that shapes the worldview of a distinct people group that needs to be reached with the gospel. How could you know this? You haven't been to the evangelistic services in the Chicago area that featured Christian Hip-hop and culminated with gang members laying their guns on the altar as they weeped in repentance, crying out for the Savior. You haven't been privy to the multitudes of emails that testify of believers being led into sound doctrine and away from churches that promote false teaching because God's grace led them to actually look into the Scriptures for themselves to see what that Christian rap artist was talking about.
'Of course you believe that rap can't be used for edification. You have no idea that calls are coming in from places as far as China and Brazil for Christian rap artists to help teach local pastors about discipleship because of the clear fruit that is abounding to God's glory in urban areas like Philadelphia, St. Louis, Dallas and Memphis. You are not aware that many in the Hip-hop generation are currently enrolled in or have graduated from some of the most elite seminaries and Bible colleges in our country. How could you know this?
'Forgive me for being so long-winded. I just want to let you know that I absolutely understand your concerns. They are borne out of ignorance. And you are to be excused for that. However, your lack of basic Christian charity, lack of grace, cultural pride and refusal to acknowledge that God is glorified whenever the person and work of His glorious Son Jesus Christ are clearly explained, believed, understood and rejoiced in is inexcusable. And for that, some of you in here need to repent.
Soli Deo Gloria,
shai'
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I personally believe that rap/hip hop is one of the best mediums for Christian songs because it is basically preaching set to music. There are SO MANY lyrics compared to a hymn or praise song. Here's my personal favorite: a breakdown of the entire book of Romans.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2r4ujFeuqk
