 I had a convo this week with a young american artist in which he assured me
he wasn’t a christian rapper, instead he was just a believer and a rapper… he felt that by saying he was a christian rapper it made a divide and that as ‘believers’ we need to be more open and not cause divides. This isn’t a new thing of course, as much as this young artist would like to think that he’s making a statement with this, he’s not, as many a christian artist goes through the same thought pattern. Its a long running conversation amongst the die-hard artists, the ones who have been in the game long enough to know the importance of being relevant amongst their cultural peers. In another convo with a UK grime rapper it was said “there has been a lot of hurt in the underground christian scene”, what was being referred to is the artists out there who gave up their rights as a christian and turned away from their faith due to them having countless years fighting for a place in mainstream music, trying to be heard. That being a christian and a musician doesn’t or shouldn’t mean that you’re categorized or put in a box much like any major award ceremony where there is a ‘gospel section’. Its great that the gospel scene has its own scene and can be allowed alongside the mainstream awards but at the same time its a double edged sword because as we’re placed in the gospel category we are almost certain to never come out of that box. And why is that an issue you may ask (before believers start saying ‘well thats being unashamed of the gospel isn’t it…), it’s an issue because as a music artist you should be given the same respect as any other no matter what belief system you have and a wider point of view would be to say that you can reach far greater people inside the secular scene. You still might be saying ‘Well that’s great though because I’m unashamed of the gospel so I don’t mind being subjected to cultural categorizing’. However, most artists who represent Jesus realize they need to hit the mainstream in order to make the biggest impact and to follow Jesus’ calling ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel’ Mark 16:15. It was Andy Mineo who said it best when he said “you wouldn’t say that’s a christian police man and that’s a regular policeman or that’s a plumber and that other one is a christian plumber’. So why do it with musicians? DJ 70x7 supports artists by bringing awareness to their talent and creativity. The HopeJamz Radio Show plays upbeat music from worldwide artists with New releases, Artist Introductions and Exclusive content!! Listen to The HopeJamz radio show: https://www.mixcloud.com/70x7Music/ 70x7 Music channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/70x7MusicHopeJamzradio 70x7 Music - http://www.70x7music.com/ HopeJamz Radio is also a part of the Tentmaker Music Podcast network. You can subscribe and download shows here - https://linktr.ee/tentmakermusic |