While you were sleeping, Christian Rap music approached its 40th anniversary. Four decades of music few Christians believed could hold a candle to what mainstream radio offered. The progenitor of Christian rap music was Stephen Wiley, the pastor of Praise Center Family Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. If you’re unfamiliar with his name, you may know his work if hip-hop is your thing.
Wiley began his music career as a jazz drummer in 1979. He reached a crossroads with faith and music under the tutelage and ministry of Dr. Frederick K.C. Price. Wiley was a youth pastor at Crenshaw Christian Center (aka “The Faithdome”) and found his voice. There, he wrote some lyrics about a beloved sport and gave them to a friend, a music producer in New York named J.B. Moore. It turns out Moore worked on music with an aspiring rap artist, Kurtis Waker, whose stage name was Kurtis Blow.
That song was “Basketball,” and it eventually became a legendary anthem in 1980s rap music.
A year later, in 1985, Wiley released the album “Bible Break.” The title track became the first song of the Christian rap music era. Not many knew how to feel about rap music in Christian circles, but his cutting-edge work planted the seeds for what has become a righteous harvest of proclaimed Hip-Hop music today. At first, it wasn’t received well and sounded “too much like secular music” (a now cringeworthy label) and today, it’s legitimately crossover jams that will blow out your speakers.
Yet, like with any movement related to God, it began with a vision.
The Path: Christian Rap Music Yesterday
Stephen Wiley, known as the Godfather of Christian Rap,’ in 1985 (left) and 2022 (right) (Image Credits: Holy Culture/Rapzilla)
In a 2016 interview with Christian rap music news outlet Rapzilla, Wiley shared the remarkable story of how Christian Hip Hop began. His jazz band, Uptown Syndicate, sent a demo to a Motown producer in Los Angeles. They were invited to get to LA and their first music contract. Then, the Holy Spirit had a change of plans. Wiley recalls hearing a strong voice in his heart, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33).
Wiley told a friend what happened. “‘I think I heard the voice of God,’ and my friend says, ‘That’s a scripture. I think God’s trying to get your attention.’”
Image Credit: Gift Habeshaw via Unsplash
He called the producer in L.A. and explained what happened, “You may or may not understand this, but I think God is trying to give me direction.” Waiting to be laughed at or cursed out for wasting this person’s time, they respond, “If you heard from God, you need to follow God. Who am I to question God.”
The interview continues to discuss the mind-blowing way his “Bible Break” demo got into the hands of a company that happened to run copies for Kenneth Copeland Ministries and Lionel Richie. That company passed out copies of the Christian rap music demo at a Christian booksellers meeting. Brentwood Records got the demo, called Stephen Wiley, and the Church got rap music.
Young people loved it because it came out at the height of rap music’s takeover of the airwaves. Michael Peace, D-Boy, and a revolutionary group from Dallas headed by Fred Lynch, P.I.D. (short for “Preachers in Disguise”) showed the world what they didn’t know they were missing. The ’90s became the zenith of Christian rap music, as its popularity was evident. Faith-based bookstores were featuring CDs and cassettes on endcaps, church youth groups were playing it in service, and respected bands were on tour sharing their particular style and spreading the Name of Jesus.
That was the backbone of a musical revolution in the Church, and people were responding—until they stopped. Radio stations stopped playing Christian rap music and began following most mainstream music. They embraced Christian alternative music (e.g., punk, grunge, shoegaze, indie rock). Worship music also skyrocketed in popularity.
Christian rap music artists were no longer competing to be relevant; they were trying not to be forgotten. Case in point: One of the most successful Christian rap groups, DC Talk, stunned everyone when they allowed hip-hop (which wasn’t really their staple) to go aside and created the multi-platinum alternative rock album, “Jesus Freak.”
Mainstream music seemed to get its fill from commercial artists shocking the world with hits like MC Hammer’s “Pray,” Doug E. Fresh’s “All the Way to Heaven,” Richie Rich’s “Do Gs Get to Go to Heaven,” Kirk Franklin and God’s Property’s “Stomp,” and Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks.” The album that placed the “secular rap artists can be Christian too” landmark on the scene came from rap pioneers Run-DMC. Shortly after 1993, when Joseph “Run” Simmons gave his life to the Lord, they dropped their sixth studio album, “Down With the King.”
Music is subjective, but popular opinion affects music sales. “If the secular world can make Jesus sound this good, there’s no need for Christian rap music.” It seemed as if there were any remaining Christian rap music artists who could compete with the sound quality, lyrical ability, and Gospel tangibility, they needed to stand up quickly.
Then came Lecrae.
The Truth: Christian Rap Music Today
Lecrae, performing in 2019, during his Higher Learning tour. (Image Credit: Lecrae.com)
Born Lecrae Devaughn Moore, no Christian hip-hop artist has found more crossover and Christian success than the Houston-born rapper. It only took three albums for Lecrae to reach number one on the Billboard Gospel Top 100 with his album “Rebel.”
His music, production, lyrics, and feel for Christian rap music began to do something the genre desperately needed—it became relevant. To date, he has won four Grammy awards and countless others from Billboard, Soul Train, BET, and GMA Dove. Lecrae managed to blur the lines between mainstream and Christian rap, and more than the church is beginning to notice.
“TODAY” even created a fascinating article on the faith-based hip-hop genre following his influence.
Lecrae said, “There is no such thing as Christian rap and secular rap. Only people can become Christians. Music can’t accept Jesus into its heart.” Think about that. Music is simply music. Its vocals and sounds place it into a genre. The lyrics put into those vocals and sounds create the focus that brings people to a divine place, possibly without knowing they are listening to worship.
That’s always been the idea.
Christian music should not be substandard in the eyes—and ears—of the world. Inspired music and gifted skills can create the same vibe anyone in the industry can. Like with anything, improvements can be made over time as technology improves, people gain more experience, and new sources of inspiration appear.
With Christian rap music, the source of information never changes. The artists racing up the charts are using personal testimony and experience to share God’s Word with the world. Artists like Andy Mineo, Toby Mac (formerly of DC Talk), nobigdyl, Manafest, Flame, Shai Linne, Sareem Poems, NF, Propaganda, and Indie Tribe are continuing to show the world that music doesn’t need a qualifier their lyrics create one.
Dove Award-winning artist KB for the Rap Album of the Year “His Glory Alone II” testified about his mother and plight to get to where he is today, but if you watched that acceptance speech to the end, you saw him speak about the relevance of Christian rap music today.
From the “Godfather of Christian Rap Music,” Stephen Wiley, to Lecrae and the Holy Ghost rappers of today, this genre of music is clearly making a difference for the Body of Christ. Whatever their purpose in the genre, each artist seems to understand their purpose of ministry…
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! (Psalm 95:2 ESV)
Even the stuff people told Stephen Wiley was noise can eventually praise the Lord and reach the lost.
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