Kanye West's Revival of Jesus in Modern Mainstream Music
Hip hop music is not an artistry typically known for its moral values or public relationship. The hip hop culture comes mostly from urban areas. Many of hip hop's biggest stars used to be broke with no job and seemingly no hope of escaping the gang violence that people associate with the inner city. Because they came from practically nothing, many hip hop stars begin to endorse the fast life of expensive jewelry, cars, and beautiful women. The culture of the urban environment lives alongside the new wealth though. Most hip hop artists grew up in tough neighborhoods where sometimes it was kill or be killed. Many had to choose whether to sell drugs or not eat. Others resorted to becoming pimps in an effort to make some kind of money. These are the ways many hip hop stars know how to live. They adapt these attitudes of survival to their environments once they become famous. They stay the same way they were when they had to hustle to make money, which is understandable. But because of their fight for survival, they do not grow up with the best moral system or relationship with Jesus. This lifestyle accounts for the oversaturation of mainstream airwaves with raps about getting money, cars, clothes, and women. But there is a different movement going on in hip hop too. It seems to be more philosophical instead of materialistic. This movement is more about thinking and looking at what surrounds us in America and the world. But it does not only look at the physical surroundings. The movement also looks at people and their philosophies, which inevitably must include religion or at least thoughts about an Almighty Being. Different rappers are beginning to bring more philosophical and religious rap to the mainstream, but one man is leading the charge: Kanye West.
Kanye West is a young rapper and producer from Chicago. He was a producer before he began to rap, creating tracks for some of hip hop's elite MCs. But in a twist of fate, Kanye got into a terrible car accident. He nearly died and suffered a massively broken jaw. His mouth had to be wired shut for around 9 months and his face was incredibly swollen. After his accident he began to produce his own rap album. Although he does include raps about getting money and cars and expensive jewelry, one track stands out on his debut CD, The College Dropout: "Jesus Walks". On the track he brings up his faith in Jesus and asks him to help him resist temptation.
Some of the lyrics:
Jesus Walks
I ain't here to argue bout his facial features/Or here to convert atheists into believers/I'm just tryin to say the way school need teachers/the way Kathie Lee needed Regis, that's the way I need Jesus....
God show me the way because the devil's tryin to break me down/The only thing that I pray is that my feet don't fail me now/And I don't think there's nothin I can do now to right my wrongs/I wanna talk to God but I'm afraid cause we ain't spoke in so long....
The song here seems to have a high Christological view of Jesus. He is talked of as someone who can save us from the darkest evil and right our wrongs. The low Christological view can also be argued because of the title, Jesus Walks, and the comment about not judging his facial features. In this song, Jesus is more important than money or drugs or women. He walks with everyone. Three music videos have been released for the song and Jesus seems to have a different person to help in each of them, like a black stripper and a white supremacist. There are other songs of Kanye's that bring up Jesus and God as well like:
Never Let You Down
When talking about his car accident:
I know I got angels watchin me from the other side
Ivy J, another MC featured on the track talks about God never letting him down:
Let it be known that God's penmanship has been signed/With a language called love...
Only two songs may not seem extensive, but a whole song about Jesus from a mainstream rap artist becoming as successful and well received as "Jesus Walks" was unheard of until this year. Other artists seem to be following in his footsteps, such as Cam'ron with his new song "Lord Knows It". Although hip hop has been known for using the Lord's name in vain more than for worship, things might be changing. The lesson this has taught me is that Jesus really is everywhere. He can be with anyone, even a man who would seem to worship money or material goods more than Jesus. Jesus' values can be applied anywhere, even in the roughest parts of the world. Hip hop is not known for its worship but this MC and people like him could change things. Jesus' message is something that transcends fads and styles, but can still be promoted in the right way by certain trends. The way Kanye West has promoted Jesus through music has shown me that Jesus can be successfully promoted in a way that does not seem preachy or over people's heads. Jesus is not a thing of the past but a timeless entity.
