One of the many ways that rap or hip hop music has eroded the moral fiber of society is its blasphemy. Kanye West, who claims to be a Christian, appeared as a thorn-crowned Jesus on the cover of Rolling Stone in 2006. His 2013 album was titled Yeezus, which is a play on West’s nickname Yeezy and the name Jesus. The cover art depicts West being crowned king by angels. In the song “I Am a God,” he raps, “I just talked to Jesus, and he said, ‘What up, Yeezus?” The Book of Zeezus: A Bible for the Modern Day is a version of the book of Genesis that replaces every mention of God with the rapper’s name. Jay-Z mocks Jehovah God as “Hova” and calls himself “Jay-Hova.” In the song “Amen,” Meek Mills mockingly thanks God for all sorts of immoral things and likens the church to fornication. Lil B has an alter ego called “Based God.” In “I’m the Devil,” he sings, “I’m Satan, I make deals and death wishes/ I hate Based God, want to put him on the guest list.” Lil B is depicted crucified on a cross on the cover of his Angels Exodus album. In “Sandwiches,” Tyler the Creator (Tyler Okonma) curses the church and sings, “You told me God has the answer/ When I ask him for ----, I get no answer, so God is the cancer.” In another song, he says that the devil is his father. On “Live at the Barbeque,” Main Source sings, “When I was twelve/ I went to hell for snuffing Jesus.” On “Deadly Combination (Remix),” Tupac Shakur(2Pac) and Notorious B.I.G. cursed Jehovah and sang about raping and killing Mary. Tupac also appeared on a cross on the cover of his Makaveli album. (Tupac was shot to death in 1996 at age 25, and Notorious B.I.G. was shot to death in 1997 at age 24.) The blasphemous rap song “Deadly Combination” appeared on Big L’salbum The Big Picture. Big L sang about raping Christ in “Danger Zone.” Another Big L album was titled Return of the Devil’s Son. (Big L was shot to death in 1999 at age 23.) On “Pearly Gates,” 50 Cent sang about going to the pearly gates and having “a beef” with the “Boss Man” and beating “his only Son.” In spite of their blasphemy, these rappers have been highly acclaimed and their records have sold by the millions. (Friday Church News Notes, May 8, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143) Comments are closed.
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