Ok, let me clear a couple things up for you…
And it might get weird
I know how this sounds
But we are not gospel rappers
We don’t do Christian hip-hop
There is no such thing
Let me answer your facial expression with a question:
Is it possible for me to act black?
Is it possible for me to not act black?
Last time I checked my “black” don’t come off
Homie, everything I say and do is black by default
And this might be confusing, a change-up
Just don’t let your brain hang up
Our faith says our Savior came for people, not objects
You can love a car, you can nickname a teddy bear
But you know it’s not alive, right?
You know it don’t love you back
There’s no such thing as Buddhist doughnuts
Christian napkins, or Muslim tennis shoes
Objects don’t make statements of faith
I’m confused, isn’t that obvious?
As obvious as we are clearly Christians
But rap ain’t our ministry nor our calling
Whoa, we got the same call every Christian got
Whether a mailman, janitor, DJ, teacher
There’s an endless possibility of vehicles you can drive down that straight and narrow path
Ain’t one better than the other
And a vehicle is useless if there’s no foot pressing the pedal
With a clear understanding of the destination
And a mastery of how to drive
Know what you believe, but don’t write a rap ’til you won a couple battles
Respect the vehicle, respect the art
We are not gospel rappers
Did you ever hear Black On Both Sides?
The state of hip-hop is the state of its participants
Its life, its voice, its philosophy comes from the voices that give it life
Every rapper got a worldview that it brings to the table
We just throwing ours in the pot
And if God turns off our mics, then our rhymes come in sign language
Saying the same thing in the same vein of the construction worker
That pulled me to the side and said, “God’s got a plan for you”
It may seem like semantics
We know it’s more to help the web hosts know how to file our albums
But if you minimize your worldview to a genre or vocation
You do God and the art a disservice and probably suck at both
Let me answer your question with a question:
Is the paper porn printed on unholy?
Do you magically become Mexican when you eat posolé?
I know, you think that’s semantics
But them nuances matter
Like moving the decimal point on payroll checks
That tiny little dot packs a huge punch
It’s the difference between rent money and lunch money
Tell me that ain’t a big deal
I am not a gospel rapper
There is no such thing
I know how that sounds
But would it be absurd to say that a couch has a philosophy?
And the day I stop rapping is the day I stop believing in sovereignty
We are on our Dead Prez
Our faith, what it bigger than?
Our gospel is not a genre
It informs my every decision
This is who I am
Hip-hop is my culture
I am not a gospel rapper
I am a gospel liver