Why I Listen to Rap

A more accurate title for this post would be "Why I Listen to the 116 Clique." However, since most of my readers probably have no idea who the 116 Clique is, I have placed the existing title.

I was recently asked to consider the use of music in worshiping God. After contemplating why I listen to the music I listen to, I have come to these 10 reasons for listening to Christian hip-hop - or, as Lecrae calls it, "responsible hip-hop"1:

1. It "stimulate[s]... to love and good deeds" (Heb. 10:24). When I first began listening to Christian rap in 2009, I was amazed by how powerful the songs were and how they motivated me to serve Christ by sharing the gospel and ministering to the poor. The album Rebel was foundational to this.

2. It is comprised of "spiritual songs" (Eph. 5:19), rich with spiritual truth and praise to God. I'll be honest here: I favor responsible hip-hop over any other genre in music because of this. The deepest theological truths and the most sincere testimonies and praises I have ever heard in songs have come from this genre.

3. It emphasizes the unity of the Christian faith.2 I remember once listening to Francis Chan speak about how people worship God through song in China. He described people singing while a man was beating a drum. Of course, to his American ears, it sounded terrible. People in Africa dance. That's weird to us. I would never dance in my church. It's different.

But different isn't wrong. Ultimately God is not concerned whether we sing to Him in rock, hip-hop, acapella, classical, or folk. He is seeking people who worship Him "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23). So to deny that an a person in Asia who is worshiping God in spirit and in truth really isn't worshiping God because of how different it sounds is absolutely wrong. That type of thinking naturally leads to, "Well, since they can't worship God, they're not saved, nor can they be."

Realize I am not trying to force any kind of music on anyone. Honestly, there are some genres of music that I can hardly bring myself to call music. To my ears, it just sounds like screeching. But if we are to totally deny a genre arguing that it cannot be used for worship, we take a giant step toward racism and a false gospel. The rejection of a person based on the type of music he listens to is selfishness. It's the kind of "Christianity" that says, "To love God, you have to love Him the way I do, sing the songs I sing, and think the way I think." Or, in simpler terms, "I am God."

Music is just a shadow. Let us not try to make it the substance (see Col. 2:16-17;
Rom. 14:13-14).


So there you are: three reasons I listen to this genre. And if you think you would benefit from it, go ahead and listen to some of the following. These are some of my favorite songs:

- Background by Lecrae
- Open Letter (Battlefield) by KB
- Make War by Tedashii
- Don't Waste Your Life by Lecrae
- New Reality by Lecrae
- Urban Missionary by Thi'sl
- Far Away by Lecrae


Notes
1. Lecrae Moore, one of the founders of the 116 Clique, used this term in an interview with ESPN. The interview can be read here.
2. For more on this subject, see John Piper, Bloodlines.