"Jesus Walks" and "Bug 'a' Boo"

Rap lyrics: Usually very simple. The same lines are used again and again, the words are rhythmic, contagious, and very mymicable. But most lyrics to rap songs (rap songs played on Top-40 radio stations) are also not very "clean". By clean I mean kid friendly, and by kid friendly I mean adult friendly... so I guess the age that they are appropriate for is anyone between the ages of I'm-rebellious-and-listen-to-what-I-want, and, I've-been-de-sensatized-to-anything-wholesome.

Five-plus years ago I had the TV on. I was watching a concert by the then-hot (maybe...) group Destiny's Child. The shaky camera found the group outside back beside the concert stage, standing in a large group. All held hands in this tightly knit circle of prayer. "We want to thank the Lord for his blessings of our lives... ect, ect, ect." Show time! The trio bound on stage and suddenly the place erupted. Wearing tiny outfits and (seemingly) trying to shake the rest out for all to see, they danced provocatively... I can only imagine the millions of adolescent boys drooling over their TV screens.

On my way home one night, I flipped on KDWB, the Twin Cities station for "today's hit music" as I do every once and a while. The song "Jesus Walks" by Kanea West (sorry about the spelling) was playing. I had never heard the song before but I was curious what it would be about so I turned up my radio a little... OK, a lot. The lyrics surprised me. He sang about how his mother had worried he would fall away from Jesus, but he hadn't; that he follows (walks) with Jesus now. I was actually a little bit impressed and smiled. Then lyrics went on, "If I mention God you don't play me on the radio," saying that when God is mentioned in songs no one will play those songs... that there is a biased against "religious" songs. Well now, that's kind of cool. It's nice to see an artist standing for something beyond themselves. But wait, the lyrics went on and suddenly the word "sh--" was bleeped out twice. Then he started singing a little faster and used the word "hell" a couple of times. Whoa, wait a minute. Suddenly I was confused. What this guy talks about obviously doesn't affect his vocabulary.

Soon after the song ended, the DJ began a conversation with an emerging rap artist. I can't remember her name but I do clearly remember one thing she said. After the DJ made a comment about her new album she gave a cheery shout-out to God by saying, "Bless the Lord" or "Praise the Lord" or something like that. (Sorry, I guess I don't remember that clearly after all.) Anyway, then she announced her song name (sung with Ludacris) entitled "Shake that Sh--". I'm totally confused now. Actually I'm both disgusted and confused.

I still can't seem to put my finger on what the problem is with these rappers. They don't honor the God or a god with their lives, their bodies, their lyrics, so why do so many thank him? Why are so many "grateful" to him? Why are so adamant about sharing this so-called thankfulness with an audience? I suppose it's to look good, but can that be all? If these rappers (there is a multiplicity of other artists who do this, not only rappers, just thought I'd throw that in as clarification) actually wanted to honor God or a god, wouldn't you find them following "religious" directions? Let me give an example. If someone says, "praise the lord" they are probably referring to the Christian "Lord". Look at this verse found in the Christian's Bible in James 1:26: "If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are just fooling yourself and your religion is worthless." That pretty much sums things up! But let's look somewhere else too. In the Koran, a Muslims Holy Book it says in The Cow 2.83: "...you shall speak to men good words and keep up prayer..." This too shows that if you have a desire to be religious, you should control the words that come out of your mouth, because sometimes that can be the only witness to whatever "faith" you may follow.

My curiosity about rap and rap artists is still here, of course. My speculations will always exist, but one thing that does become more clear is that in my own spiritual journey one of the most effective ways of sharing my beliefs is by the words I use. When I let wrong things slip out, I start to lose my positive influence on the people around me. If artists think they are setting positive examples by saying things like "praise the lord" they are totally fooling themselves.

"The Lord is righteous, and he loves justice. Those who do what is right will see his face." Psalm 11:7