This issue comes up for discussion anytime a prominent person in pop culture or the entertainment industry, who doesn’t appear to be living a Christian life expresses a certain level of devotion or even gratitude to God. Some Christians descend on the person on social media with highly judgmental comments. I know it is hard to understand this, but the truth is, some people may not look it but they actually have a relationship with God. At several awards shows that I have watched, most of the winners of the night, during their acceptance speech, give glory to God. A few years ago I watched the BET awards where Lil Wayne took it a step further by saying ‘I would like to thank God and His son Jesus…’. A person can express his appreciation to God for doing something for him (and this could be any other god) but when he/she mentions Jesus, then we know who he is talking about. Quite recently, Chance the rapper has come under heavy criticism for releasing songs that have God as the central theme while he has profane songs on that same album. I believe other rappers have received this same level of flak too. Kendrick Lamar, DMX, Kanye West etc. This is the argument, that if these rappers are going to talk about God or express the minutest appreciation to him for something they believe he has done for them, they would have to stop cussing and composing songs that project a sinful lifestyle.

I don’t condone cussing or a sinful lifestyle. In fact, I wrote a blog on why Christian artists shouldn’t cuss in their songs. Cussing is one of the major reasons why I don’t listen to most secular songs because I wouldn’t want those words to find their way into my speech. The point I am trying to make is, no matter how dirty or filthy the person worshiping God appears to be, only God can measure the quality of their worship and determine whether or not it is acceptable. As a human being, you have no right at all to do that. The argument is ongoing I believe in people’s conversations about the rise of artists like Chance and Kendrick. Because they cuss in the rest of their songs and even sometimes in songs that are supposed to be purely dedicated to God. Other people have actually gone the extra mile to judge their intentions for doing what they do. The assumption is that these two rappers are probably strategically creating faith-based rap songs knowing very well that a huge percentage of their fans are Christians, hence, these songs may propel their albums to higher heights. To this I will say what Paul said in Philippians 1:18 (ESV):

What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Before this verse, Paul outlined a couple of evil reasons why people were preaching the gospel in those days. He mentioned envy, rivalry, selfish ambition etc. before he proceeded to state that whether in pretense or truth, so far as the gospel is being proclaimed he rejoices. This indicates that we are to do same. Whether these rappers are doing it for the money or not, the mere fact that they are using their platforms to point people to God, we must rejoice. Did Paul in any way make light of rivalry, envy, and selfish ambition? Indeed when you think about it, the fact that he said he rejoices even if people have bad reasons for preaching the gospel, then it appears he doesn’t mind if people do ministry for the wrong reasons. But far from that, in the opening verses of the second chapter of Philippians, we see Paul condemning selfish ambition:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3(ESV))

Therefore we can easily conclude that though Paul rejoices at the fact that the gospel is being preached by people who are doing it for selfish ambition, nevertheless, he doesn’t condone selfish ambition. In the case of the rappers, though we may not know their motives or even support their music, we should still rejoice that God is getting glory at their concerts. This, however, does not mean God approves of their lifestyle. But you see these are the kinds of people God actually wants to work on. Remember Jesus said “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17(ESV)).

One thing I have come to believe in the past few months is that God expects worship even from the worst of sinners. Case in point, the events leading to the death of King Herod. The entire story can be found in Acts 12. Herod killed James (the brother of John) and when he realized that it pleased the people he had Peter arrested too. Note: this shows that Herod was a showman or a people pleaser. Then in verse 21 of the same chapter, Herod delivered a speech to the people. The people being so amazed by it declared “The voice of a god, and not of a man!”. What happened immediately afterward is recorded in the verse below:

Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. Acts 12:23 (ESV)

Herod was killed because he didn’t give glory to God. This is the same Herod who killed James and had Peter arrested, why didn’t God kill him then? I can’t tell. The only reason given for Herod’s death was that he was killed by an angel because he didn’t give glory to GOD. No matter how sinful a person is, God expects worship (glory) from him/her. Worship is basically man giving glory to God. So anytime we see an unbeliever singing praises to God let us not be quick to judge the person but let us offer to disciple the person if we are in the position to do so. Let us learn to leave certain things to God. You are not the spirit that convicts the world of sin – that is the Holy Spirit’s ‘job description’. Your duty is to be a witness and a dispenser of love (which involves intercession). Let’s learn to pray for people. We must understand that we are on our way to one destination but some are way ahead of others and others are way behind. I feel embarrassed when I see the stuff I wrote a few years ago. I had the passion and the zeal but little understanding and knowledge. I didn’t do the things I did out of love either. I wrote to chastise people, period! I did that because that was where I had reached in my journey. I know better now and hope to know more as I grow. My hope is that these artists who have so much influence will also grow out of certain things. It is difficult to tell where people have reached in their journey of pursuing God just by observing from afar. Therefore the best thing to do is to demonstrate the love of God towards such people. There is rebuke in love by the way. We can do all of that but let us not take the Lord’s praise out of their lips. Let us not hinder them from coming into his presence. Let us not make them feel unworthy even to stand in the Lord’s congregation. If Jesus allowed Mary Magdalene, a prostitute, to wash and clean his feet, clearly he isn’t bothered when sinners worship him. If it bothers you, I’m sorry but you are the problem.

God can use anybody to get the glory. The stage set up for Kendrick’s performance at the BET awards in 2013 was a house. The rapper emerged from the house to perform that night. Anybody who looked closely at the wall of the house would have seen ‘Jesus is Lord…’ written boldly on it. Chance the rapper at this year’s Grammy’s decided to perform his song ‘How great is our God’ and he gave God glory every time he came up to receive an award. You might call them sinners but don’t discredit their worship. God accepts worship from sinners. Always remember God can use anybody he chooses to, especially when the person is willing to be used. I would like to end with a verse from Isaiah 45 which talks about how God desired to make Cyrus King over Israel though he didn’t know God.

For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me. Isaiah 45:4

First of all, the book does things to you in a subtle way that you might not notice how slowly your views on issues are shifting. For me the book is a redefinition of the word ‘unashamed’. I had it all wrong all along. For some funny reason I feel even Lecrae had it wrong initially. I honestly thought being an unashamed Christian only meant being unapologetic about your faith. ‘Unashamed’ for me meant ‘unembarrassed’. It felt like a tag I could wear boldly on my chest in a world where it isn’t too cool to be Christian. I had it all wrong. From the book, I learnt that being unashamed meant not being afraid to accept your vulnerability and the fact that you are daily in dire need of a savior. Being unashamed according to the way I defined it previously puffs you up by inflating your heart with stinking pride. You can easily become judgmental if you are not careful.

You know how we often quote the parts of the verses we like and leave the rest out? That practice is deadly. Romans 1:16, which is the mantra of the 116 movement spearheaded by Lecrae and his cronies is one of such verses. The first part of the verse says ‘I am unashamed of the gospel…’ and this is all most of us care about. The next few words changed my understanding of the term ‘unashamed’ and put things into perspective for me. The verse goes on to say that ‘… for it (The Gospel) is the power of God unto salvation to them that believe; first to the Jew and then to the Greek’. How did I miss this part? The gospel transcends cultures. The gospel cannot be put in a cultural box. The writer of the book of Romans isn’t ashamed of the gospel because it can be as relevant and potent in any other culture as it is in the Jewish one. How did I miss this? Being unashamed doesn’t merely mean you are unembarrassed to be the only Christian in the room, it means you recognize the fact that the power of God could be as potent in other people’s lives as much as it is in yours.

Christianity is not Jewish-Culture Assimilation

I often say that ‘Christianity is not Jewish-Culture assimilation’. We are not supposed to learn and practice the way the Jews live because we are Christians. We are free to express our faith in God in our cultural context. It has already been proven from scripture in the previous paragraph that the gospel transcends cultures, but here is the thing, the gospel doesn’t walk on its two feet from place to place. Jesus knew that. That is why he sent his disciples on their mission trips and instructed them to make disciples of all nations (cultures). This sounds to me like a command to depart from your comfort zone and mingle with cultures you are not too familiar with while proselytizing. Remember the gospel is the power of God first to the Jew and then to the Greek? For some reason the Jews – I am using ‘Jews’ here metaphorically – are too proud to accept a gospel that transcends cultures. They want it to be for them and them alone. Is it not a shame that Jesus had more problems with ‘Church folks’ than with unbelievers? Is it not a shame that Lecrae is experiencing the same thing in 2016? Why is he getting flak for addressing social issues? Many people don’t understand that he is doing the exact same thing that the apostles did – especially Paul. If the gospel must influence people of all cultures, the work will be done when men avail themselves to be used. To me this is what Lecrae – together with the many like him – is doing. He is a man so definitely he isn’t flawless but all that matters is he is accepted by God.

So the biggest lesson I picked up while reading the book is in Page 101. The lesson is built on a discussion Jesus once had with his disciples. He asked them who men thought he was and went on to ask who they (his disciples) thought he was. Simon said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God’. Jesus was so astounded by Simon’s answer that he replied, ‘Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it’. The rock on which Jesus said he would build his church is in the response that Peter gave. Christ was only saying that the foundation of his church would be this revelation: that he (Christ) is the Son of the living God. Coincidentally ‘Peter’ also means rock. Therefore many assume Jesus was saying he would build his church using Peter as the foundation. Nope! Jesus was playing on words by mentioning ‘Peter’ and then going on to say ‘the rock’ in the same sentence. Jesus was dropping punchlines on the disciples and I can’t even tell if they got it.

Anyway, the lesson is in what Jesus said. He was going to build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Initially I thought this meant something else. Maybe ‘gates’ there was used metaphorically to represent the tricks of the devil. That doesn’t even make sense and I just didn’t pay attention to it enough to rethink it. Gates keep people out of a specific location. Lecrae said it best, ‘Gates are not weapons; they don’t attack people or things. They are defenses.’ How many times haven’t we heard that the devil is on the attack? Which is true anyway. But if Jesus said he was going to build a church so strong the gates of hell could not stand against it, it means he is building a church that is on the offensive. A church that is entering hell to snatch anything that is redeemable. This reminds me of the verse in Psalm 24 which says that ‘Lift up your heads O ye GATES and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors and let the King of Glory come in.’ This is what Jesus is talking about. ‘Hell’ here doesn’t mean the place of damnation in eternity but every place, country, industry, field of study, career, establishment, movement etc. that the devil is holding people captives in. The gates of that hell will not prevail against the church that Jesus has built. We are on the offensive Church! If the movie industry is glorifying the works of Satan, we need Christians there. Just a few weeks ago I watched an interview of Mel Gibson in which he said ‘I made the ultimate superhero movie when I made the Passion of the Christ’. That’s what I’m talking about! You say hip hop is too profane, misogynistic etc. cool. We need somebody from the church to step in and let his light shine away the gloom. Big ups to Lecrae for the work he is doing. ‘Oh rap battles on the streets is way too crass and profane’, well that’s the reason why we have Street Hymns actively battling without cussing or using violent language. He laces each verse with biblical allusions so beautifully. How cool is that? ‘This will not have much impact’, you might say. But wait for it. Wait until a whole bunch of people start testifying to how their lives are being changed because some Christians refused to remain defensive and are rather on the offensive to reach out to the lost souls and the perverted art forms.

At the end of the day I am just happy with what Lecrae is doing. I don’t even agree with everything he says or does but I look up to the guy. Sometimes I hop onto Lecrae’s instagram and facebook pages just to read the insults rained on him by Christians. It is all too pathetic. His latest single ‘Can’t Stop Me Now’ highlights how depressed he has been over some of the comments that people pass concerning stuff they know nothing about. Shame on us! Would it not be much more beneficial if you went on your knees and said a prayer for the man? It is easy to see the flaws of one standing in the spotlight so be very gracious in your criticism. Because one of these days you will stand in the grandest spotlight before a cloud of witnesses in heaven and you won’t be judged by how much you pointed out others’ mistakes, but by what you did. May you not be found wanting.

The album begins with the title track ‘uncomfortable’. Mostly, when artists name their album after a track on it, it is usually a disaster putting the entire album into perspective. In the sense that, you realize the artist clumsily puts songs together on that project and loosely selected his favorite and named the entire album after it. That is nasty. With Andy’s ‘uncomfortable’, the message resonates throughout all the songs and not just the title track. Even the album cover depicts the state of being uncomfortable. Time and space won’t allow me to do an in depth explication of each song, but I will try to do so for most of them.

As Andy himself rightly said, ‘the album will disturb comfortable people and comfort disturbed people’. It does that, actually. The first verse of the uncomfortable track begins with the following lines. ‘Lord prepare me for the war/ Comfort be the thing that would make a king fall/Eyes on the Lord/ Gotta grip the blade of the sword…’. Of course comfort fills you with complacency and serves as a hindrance to progress. Kings are amongst the most comfortable people in the world. Their status affords them all the pomp and pageantry that your sophisticated imagination may never be able to conceive. So of course, Andy was talking about a king here…or so I thought. In his interview on the ‘Sway in the morning’ radio show, he stated that he was specifically talking about King David. These lines are an allusion to the time when David stayed behind and didn’t go to war. He ended up sleeping with Uriah’s wife and killing Uriah as a result of his intentions to cover up the mess. Had David chosen war (discomfort) over the comfort of staying back in his palace and strolling on his porch, he wouldn’t have fallen into such an abominable sin. The message is clear here, “comfort is not always a good enough reason to take a decision”. Sometimes the road to success is like a thorny park and the road leading nowhere is as comforting as carpet grass. Choose ye this day your destination but don’t do so with the path leading to it in mind.

Another amazing message in those few lines is the part where he says ‘gotta grip the blade of the sword’. According to him, he used that imagery to depict the need for Christians to judge themselves by the standards of the bible before they judge others. Let me explain this. So the Word of God is described as being ‘sharper than a two-edged sword’ in the bible, therefore when we judge people, we point the sword in their face while gripping the handle. But God didn’t intend for us to grip the handle of the sword but the blade. We must do this on a daily basis: grip the sword by the blade, cut yourself and bleed! Bleed till you are drained of every bit of ‘your  self-righteous self’ then you can go out there and correct others and help rid their lives of any impurities. Let them grip the sword by the blade too, don’t point the sword at them. **Deep!**

Uncomfortable is followed closely by ‘uptown’. In Uptown, Andy tries to capture and retell the lifestyle of people living in his hometown, New York city. Just as I stated earlier, every song screams the need to let go of a comfortable lifestyle and choose that which is beneficial though it may appear unpleasant now… so does ‘uptown’. In the first verse Andy says, ‘Baby, how you gon complete your life’s checklist/Spending every night watching netflix?/ Time is precious, gotta invest it when you spend it/ If we are prisoners to comfort, we judge our own sentences…’. This is self explanatory. We see the theme of ‘disturbing comfortable people’ live and coloured here. Instead of spending countless hours engaging in that which merely gives you pleasure, it would be a better investment to spend time doing profitable things.

Desperados is my favorite song on the album: the music; the instrumentation; Mali Music’s hook coupled with Andy’s versatile rap style makes it a delicious meal to my ears. A desperado is a violent criminal who is not afraid of getting hurt or caught (Merriam Webster Dictionary). In the song, both Andy and Mali proclaim that they are desperados who are wanted dead or alive. ‘Desperados’ inspires a positive rebellious spirit in me. Where I don’t want to conform to the standards society sets – even on social media. So if they want my life for the truth I stand for, well, I would gladly be a desperado. It is not about the number of people who like you, it is about how many people you impact positively: that is the real essence of this life. Andy states this categorically, ‘I ain’t trying to be liked, I’m trying to be a light’. Do not conform. Be a light wherever you are even if they criminalize you because of it.

Any Andy Mineo fan would notice that he has a knack for getting personal on some of his songs just to help people deal with the same issues. He does so in the song ‘Hear my heart’. It is a song for his big sister Grace, who was born deaf. In this song, Andy apologizes for never learning sign language which minimized communication between him and his sister. Andy ends the only verse of the song by saying ‘My big sister Grace, I’m sorry I never learnt the signs/ I know that you were born deaf, but forgive me for the years that I lived blind’.

We see Andy get more personal in two more songs: Ghost and Love. In Ghost he speaks about losing touch with one of his closest friends. And in ‘Love’ he seeks to redefine love. He does this by dispelling the popular definition people give to love. While at it, he made mention of the fact that some people – men especially – think they are too tough to love. It is a ‘guy thing’: we assume it is a sign of weakness to be vulnerable to someone emotionally. But no, Andy says it is cool to be like that, especially with the one you love. It is both therapeutic and beneficial to the growth of the relationship. Andy personifies love in the entire song and tells love that ‘when I think about God, you are the definition’. Indeed, God doesn’t merely love, GOD IS LOVE!.

In ‘Rat race’ Andy attacks people who expend all their energies in criticizing artists like it was a sport. He raises some very important issues too. Somewhere in the chorus it says ‘tell them we don’t wanna play/ we’re so okay with last place’. Now, who on earth would be okay with being the last in a race? *points finger at Andy* What he is trying to say is, we are all running a race in life – that is our individual calling. So if people judge you by how much you are losing in their race, please take a seat and be okay with the last position in their race. For all they know, you are leading in your race by being last in theirs. This definitely has to do with Andy’s position in the rap game in America. It may appear that he isn’t mainstream yet… but so what? He is so okay with last place. Since to him this is ministry and not a game to be won, he concludes each verse by saying ‘roof your ball, I don’t wanna play’. Ouch! That ought to leave the owner of the ball in a whirlwind of embarrassment.

I like it when Andy sounds tough on a track. When he sounds almost angry and delivers his verses with an almost hoarse voice, I love it *giggles*. In ‘Vendetta’ We see Andy Mineo taking the pulpit and pitching it on the stage of a political rally to address some political issues. The song is centered on one point: the artist is more influential than the politician. According to him most politicians have the right ideas and mindset for the job until they enter office then there is a visible decay of purpose witnessed by all. One line in the chorus captures this point: Pac did a lot more for me than Barack. Yep, he means 2 pac (the rapper) did a lot more for him than Barack Obama. In the second verse, Andy admits to his overindulgence in unnecessary things too. He says he has excess of things that are needed by others, referring to the 100 sneakers he has, which are meant for his two feet. It is all vanity and a chasing after wind.

On ‘Know that’s right’ Andy takes a few shots at the negativity of some hip hop songs. The truth about how most of these artists lie about the lives they live while they live in debt. He also said, “My home girl started stripping/ I said ‘chill, get a degree’/ She told me, ‘Andy you’re trippin/ ‘Cause you don’t make more money than me”. And that’s true. People could be earning a living from doing things that are either criminal or degrading and if you find yourself desiring their lifestyle, know that it isn’t worth it. Persevere through the hardship you are in and sooner or later you will be in a better position in life. Also in ‘strange motions’ he touches on dealing with addictions. In ‘Now I know’ he touches on the enlightenment he has received over the years dispelling some of the myths he used to believe while a child. He stated that he even ‘thought that Jesus was white’. The Album ends with ‘make me a believer’ and there is one musical interlude on the album: David’s roof. I state this again, it is a masterpiece.

Together, all these songs trouble you. They ruffle the branches of the palm tree you are resting under to wake you up from your sleep. Human beings will do anything to have a comfortable life but so far as we are on this earth we will always have problems. It is better for us to decide to suffer discomfort for a worthy cause. Let us not be caught  up in the mundane. Be worried. Be disturbed about the evil around you and in the world at large. Do not be complacent. Comfort can kill you. As G.K Chesterton said ‘Meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain. Meaninglessness comes from being weary of pleasure”. And Andy said ‘Nobody told us we could die like this; Nobody told us we could die from BLISS’. Be uncomfortable.

There is a need to set the records straight. Rap is the art, hip hop is the culture fast becoming a religion… this poem talks about my past experience with this genre of music.

It is almost a pardonable offense, when people think rap is synonymous to hip hop. Not too many people can actually tell the difference . There is a huge difference between the two and I believe if we could all understand that, much of the confusion going on about whether hip hop is good or bad, would be solved. I am not trying to say I am the repository of knowledge when it comes to this, but I would humbly say it is an area I have read and learnt much about. Hence the itchy anxiety I felt when I wanted to embark on this literary journey.

Rap is basically a form of poetry. Rap is  oral poetry, with a fusion of rhythm and timing. Rap is a form of art. I am not struggling to define rap anyway, I am just saying  the definition encompasses all these things that I have said. In my Oral Literature class, I learnt how oral poetry originated from Africa, hence, it is believed rap must have originated from Africa too. Therefore some people have come up with a somewhat coined acronym for RAP. They say it stands for Rhythmic African Poetry *shrugs*. You see, in those days, Africans recited these oral pieces in basically every daily activity. Some of which included hunting, farming, games played by children and even war. The rhythmic poetry was added to these things to eject boredom from those activities and also to boost their morale where needed. However, no one can deny the artistic value of rap. It is enormously endowed with artistic features. Whether or not rap is poetry, is no longer a subject of discussion for me. Because it is so obvious that i think anyone who disagrees might have done so as a result of prejudice.

Hip hop is different. Hip hop is deeper than a genre of music. It is more of a culture and it has developed into a religion over the years. Now before you devour me like a starved lion would do, I suggest you do a little research to get your facts right. The originator of an entity has every right to define it as he pleases. No matter how much you might disagree with it, your view doesn’t matter. So for us to understand what hip hop really is, we would have to first understand the definition the founding fathers give to it. And these founding fathers include Africa Bambaata and KRS-ONE (Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone). Initially they meant hip hop to be a way of life – a culture. And embedded in this way of life is various forms of art which include break dancing, graffiti drawing and Rap. So rap is a subsidiary of hip hop. Nevertheless hip hop is not the originator of rap. In my readings, I realize that as off 2006, hip hop is recognized as a registered religion in the US. No matter how unbelievable this may sound, it becomes easily believable once you set your eyes on the book in the picture above -THE GOSPEL OF HIP HOP. So as KRS-ONE defines it, hip hop is a religion and there is no arguing about the matter because he is one of the originators of hip hop. And he wrote the Gospel of Hip Hop. My mouth remained open when I found out there is such an establishment as the TEMPLE of HIP HOP and KRS-ONE  preaches the gospel of hip hop there once every month. If you are still in doubt concerning  what I am saying, please go check it out on youtube, KRS-ONE preaching from the hip hop bible.

I believe art is a form of language, hence the various art forms. Therefore there are people who understand the language of certain artistic forms and do not understand others. So in your bid to communicate artistically with people, you would have to find out which art form appeals to them. I say this in relation to the advent of what should be called GOSPEL RAP. There are people around the world who are inclined to rap music, therefore may find hymns extremely boring. In order to preach the word of God to such people, it is paramount we do that through a language they will understand- RAP. The problem is therefore  not with the concept of GOSPEL RAP MUSIC, the problem is with the fact that people refer to it as CHRISTIAN HIP HOP. WHAT???? From the above made assertion concerning the fact that hip hop is now a religion, putting the word ‘Christian’ next to ‘hip hop’ in describing a single entity could pass for one of the most contradicting expressions ever recorded in history. It is just like saying ‘ISLAMIC BUDHISM’. This name should not be encouraged at all, as it might spell controversy in the future when hip hop becomes a fully grown religion. Maybe now we may not see the significance of discouraging the use of the term, but in the near future we will have to do a lot of explaining to cater for the confusion that may arise from this.

There is no problem preaching the word of God through various mediums. The only thing is we would have to be extremely cautious not to fuse the word of God with any other world view. We need not allow any culture that contradicts that which the bible stipulates to seep into the church. Therefore I think in our bid to reach out to people, we would have to be careful not to welcome worldliness into the church.