The Untitled Work of My Soul

I believe in rap. It is the conduit between the soul and reality. It shows how noise works by design. It is an expression; it molds words and sounds into meanings that are inexpressible any other way. Its very essence is passion.

In terms of music, it has given me a home. Back in 2000 I was in Houston, Texas at a Christian bookstore where I was introduced to a group of guys who changed how I viewed this genre, and more importantly, my faith in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It was a group who called themselves The Cross Movement. The way they used words was unlike anything I had ever heard; when the tracks were done I was so moved that my eyes were filled with tears. Many people don’t understand this genre, and at the mainstream level today, neither do I. However, there are some people who hold true to its origins, and eloquently show its art form. It’s poetry in music, and I can prove it; please don’t be turned off by those who abuse it.

I am a sucker for metaphors and am like an addict for similes. It is so easy to know of God, but yet so much more to know God. And though I hate cliché statements, this is one that strongly applies to my soul. In their song, “Off the Hook,” The Cross Movement slapped the conceited religion I had claimed all my life right off my face. The song creates the setting of a courtroom where said rapper is being persecuted by “Chief Justice Supreme Judge Elohim.” In rap form, the court case unfolds with a guy who has been convicted of not knowing who God is. Once convicted and set to go to death row, the Judge takes off His robe and goes in place of the rapper to be executed. The song is too deep to be explained in a mere paper and should be listened to by anyone who is intrigued to know more. The closing line of the song stays in my mind to this day. “Sin’s got the lock, but God’s got the key.”

A “good” rapper presents all of the parts of speech in every verse. He plays with word play, juggles with verbs, and dances with nouns. Syllables line up with beats like planets in a science fiction novel; you feel cooler than ice cold while creating verses that are hotter than fire. It is the paradox of paradoxes, a musical anomaly. Rap is a beautiful art form; this art forms words that fill an empty mind like low-lying creeks in a rain storm. Rap gives the freedom to escape from the typical linguistic rules that bind the mind; rap takes language that seems to be held captive at conveying a message and sets it free. When free, words can flow in a spiritual stream toward Truth. It gives the freedom to rap about a courtroom where I was convicted of not know who God is, yet in Grace, the Judge took off his robe and died for me. I was told about being justified out of mercy all because He loved me. What kind of love is this? It is revolutionary! This is what The Cross Movement did to my soul through the grace of God, and is the very reason why I believe in Rap.