These are the the immortal words of KRS-One from his verse on the song "Classic", the best part is he said those things on a song that featured Nas, Kanye West, and Rakim, all people who's track-lists include content that would classify them as the rapper KRS was speaking, of (Rakim to a much lesser extent), KRS, a man who has set himself as the historian/keeper of the art of M.C.ing seemed to be preaching something that many of us had already known , that content and intent go hand in hand. That the excuse of "I'm just reporting whats happening in the world" often used by rappers is no longer a valid. If you observe our culture it would be much more accurate to describe that man with the mic in his hand as a prophet or pastor than an anchorman (stay classy, San Diego). Many of the songs that fall into the rap/hip hop genre sound prescriptive more so than descriptive. Most of them are actually phrased as commands and recited over and over again to hammer in the point (I hate when people do that. yep, you know it) But I digress, my point here isn't to start some right wing movement to restrict rap's content like the fruitless ones we saw in the 90's. But rather this message much like K's verse on the song mentioned previously is a call to action on two fronts:
First to the local M.C.s who are also believers in CHRIST, I know you are probably few and far between due to the culture but if you are one these rare birds (especially scarse in Utah), find cyphers, battle contests, mixtapes, whatever and use your talents to uplift people through the greatest medium you can that being the Gospel. Be excellent, be creative, and most importantly be 100% authentically genuine. If you struggle rap about that, if you've struggled in the past , spit about that too. Let the world and you're local scene hear how through it all you're hopelessly dependent on JESUS through it all. Affect the culture from the ground up.
(This is a christian battle rapper named Th3 Saga, who reps CHRIST in rap battles. This video does have explict language, so to skip that go to 4:33 to here his round)
Second I call to the hearers of Hip Hop/Rap who follow JESUS, my challenge to you is simple; find positive, GOD honoring M.C,'s and commit to support them, especially the local ones ( Now I realize how self serving this sounds, but if you live near me and find a better MC than me, support him/her. Then find some taste, just kidding ). Notice I didn't say Christian either, an M.C. doesn't need to identify himself as Christian to honor GOD or give a GOD honoring message.The time, internet clicks and money you sacrifice to enjoy music can actually serve dual purpose in supporting the cause of the Gospel if spent discerningly. After that I also encourage you to take a long hard honest look at the content of your musical library and decide, does the philosophy of your iTunes match the theology of the GOD you claim? If you feel the spirits conviction, take the steps to correct., it s yours to steward faithfully.
I leave you with this: the music may not be responsible for moving you to the action or affecting your thoughts but every life, just like every movie, has a soundtrack that sets the tone for the scenes to come. Don't get caught up tryna play horror music in the background of the tale of victory that is the Christian life.............
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