How Far is Too Far?

                Ok, I cannot hold this blog post any longer. I don’t know how many people will care about this particular post but I have to get it off my chest. The question is, how far do we go in order to reach the lost? To what extent do we make ourselves “available” to the unsaved in order to reach them? Before I endeavor to answer any of these questions let me back up and explain where they come from.

             Christian hip hop artist Lecrae is currently positioned to be perhaps the most important artist in the history of Christian rap. The mainstream exposure he has attained in the larger hip hop world is unprecedented. First, he was a participant in the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher, and was the first “Christian” rapper to do so. Several things set him apart from the other emcees: his lyricism and flow were impeccable, and he boldly proclaimed the name of Jesus Christ and was 100% “unashamed” as is his mantra. This was probably the beginning of Lecrae’s mainstream rise. His album sales shot up on iTunes, mainstream hip hop magazines and sites such as XXL, the Source, and allhiphop.com began scrambling for interviews and stories to discover just who this young “Jesus-spitting” artist was and whether or not he was the real deal. All the sudden, this Houston-born rapper who was at the top of his respective totem pole was now placed at the bottom of a much larger pool.

            The next thing that began to catapult Lecrae to mainstream notice was his recent release of a mixtape entitled Church Clothes. What was so special about this mixtape? For starters, the day it was released, it was a trending topic on Twitter. No, not a passing, local trend, but a worldwide trending topic. The next thing that set this mixtape apart was that Lecrae worked with well known secular producers such as Don Cannon, 9^th Wonder and Boi-1da.

            Furthermore, with the release of this mixtape, Lecrae began to proclaim that he no longer wanted to be “boxed in” by being labeled a “Christian” rapper. He wanted to be known as just another rapper in the world of hip hop that rapped according to his particular niche and convictions. His argument stemmed from the fact that artists like Lupe Fiasco and Freeway aren’t known as “Muslim rappers”, nor is the Wu-Tang Clan known as a “Five-Percenter” group. If they aren’t so labeled and categorized he felt it was not fair to box him in as a “Christian rapper”. It is key to understand that Lecrae was not saying he no longer wanted to boldly rap about Christ, but that he didn’t want the label of “Christian rapper” that has, for many years, carried a very negative connotation, to limit the expanse of his message. Church Clothes was still very much a Christian album and the message of the gospel was in no way compromised.

            Now Lecrae is gearing up for the release of his 6^th studio album, Gravity. This is perhaps the most important album of his career. His goal on this album is not to make music just for people that are already believers, but to reach out in a powerful way to non-believers; to make his music accessible to the mainstream while not conforming to it. The big controversy that arose from this album (which hasn’t even been released yet) is that there is a notable collaboration with known secular rapper Big K.R.I.T. Finally, it was revealed this week that Lecrae would be featured on Saigon’s upcoming album.

            So now the stage is set, and we can ask the previous questions again. Lecrae claims that he is not adjusting the content of his albums, but the coloring if you will. The sound is more accessible, and the message is more palatable to the mainstream listener. But has Lecrae gone too far? Is having a popular secular artist featured on his album or agreeing to feature on a secular artist’s album going too far? I say absolutely NOT! I think Lecrae understands what it takes to reach this generation of postmodern, agnostic, church-hating, Christ-lovers. It isn’t preaching and it isn’t a traditional OR contemporary church service. It is relationships. This generation (The Mosaics, Millennials, etc) is HUGE on relationships. In order to get anywhere with them one must first build significant relationships with them. By interacting with secular artists and producers, Lecrae is building relationships and impacting change. Some say this is compromise…I disagree. Jesus too was labeled an infidel for “entertaining” the presence of “sinners” and “undesirables”. But Jesus knew the difference between “hanging out” and reaching people where they were. Christ’s goal was always to engage people in order to bring them the message of salvation and I believe Lecrae’s goal is the same.

            We do not know the long-term effects of Lecrae’s relationship-building endeavors. I mean, what if Saigon or Big K.R.I.T. were to accept Christ like former Clipse member Malice (now No Malice) or 106 & Park freestyle star Jin? If these guys will not seek the council of a typical pastor, why shouldn’t Lecrae be their pastor? I do not doubt that if these guys needed council or help that they would reach out to Lecrae because he has made himself accessible. We should all be accessible enough to reach those in need. Perhaps Lecrae is exactly what hip hop needs. Perhaps he was raised up for such a time as this.