The hip-hop movement has been something that has been said to have influenced a lot of today’s culture. Things like how people talk, how they dress, how they act and even how they perceive other people around them. A multi-episode special on VH1 that aired recently called “The Tanning of America” would even suggest that hip-hop is the reason that our society has elected President Obama. So it’s no surprise that somewhere along the line the urban scene would trickle in and be introduced into the Christian music market. Even though the world is pretty accustomed to hip-hop music, it seemed to not be that popular amidst Christian circles.
Christian hip-hop got its start back in the early 80’s, with some of the first rappers like MC Sweet, Stephen Wiley and the group JC & the Boyz. As a sub-genre to the bigger Contemporary Christian Music market, it started out really trying to bring the gospel into a part of our society that was in desperate need of it. Though this is seen today to be more acceptable, it was not, however, as widely accepted as a form of ministry in the early years. Should Christian hip-hop have stayed on course with this original intent, it might have become a totally different beast from what it is today.
As more and more time progressed, the development of Christian rap grew to be a massive underground movement. It was in the midst of this movement that things started to shift around and produce what might be seen as even more unnecessary scrutiny. New artists began to emerge who would profess themselves to be Christian, but would not label themselves as a “Christian artist” so not to be limited to the CCM market. This is only speculation and opinion, but this could be part of why so many take issue with this style of music being called ministry. At first glance, it does seem to take some of the importance off of spreading the good news and place it on the desire to make more money.
Today, after many years of struggle and progression, Christian hip-hop has made leaps and bounds. Some rappers, such as Lecrae, have even outperformed some of the bigger secular rap artists on record sales over the past few years. But even though this might be a sign that the genre has reached its seat with the other styles of Christian music, it is still predominantly an underground entity. The breakdown of radio stations that play Christian hip-hop are staggeringly low compared to all other types of CCM music, and of the stations that have achieved syndication who play Christian hip-hop, a majority of their music is streamed online.
It’s been a crazy road so far, but as time continues to pass, one can only hope that there will continue to be movement and recognition for the artists that have dedicated their lives to the call of ministry through the means of urban music. God only knows how hard it must be to be seen as an outcast among your own people, when the truth is what you’ve come to bring. If you haven’t already, find you some of this Christian rap music and take the time to listen. You might be surprised with just how authentic it can be.
No comments:
Post a Comment