Chance the Rapper Showed His Evangelical Side Last Week

*This is a rewrite of a previous piece that I wrote. It was mistakenly deleted and this is my best attempt at rewriting what I lost.*

I am a Christian who loves Hip Hop. Notice that I did not say Christian Hip Hop, but Hip Hop. Since I was in middle school, I loved the lyrics and the floetry of MCs like Jay-Z, Nas, Kanye West, and so many more. As an adult, I have continued this adoration with MCs like Kendrick Lamar and Childish Gambino. But to be a Christian and listen to the lyrical content that is full of ideology that is very different from that of the Christian faith. What I love is the idea of people fully expressing their story and their experiences that others, like me (being from a middle-class family from the Midwest), have never and will never experience.

Chance the Rapper had a coming out party at the Grammys. When I say coming out party, I mean that on a couple of different levels. The first, and most obvious, is as a successful artist. He racked up three Grammys on seven nominations and winning over Hip Hops elite like Drake, and Chance’s mentor Kanye West.

He also came out in a way that you don’t see often in the entertainment industry. In his acceptance speech for his Best New Artist Grammy, he thanked God. You may say, “Well everyone thanks God in their acceptance speech”, but the way he did it was different. He didn’t just thank God, he said that he “declares this victory in the name of the Lord.” Now, again, you may say, “what’s the difference?” The difference lies in the delivery and the wording.

Chance the Rapper speaks Biblically. His album, “Coloring Book”, has more than twenty references to the Bible and Evangelical beliefs. When you look at the lyrics to “How Great”, the opening song of his performance from the Grammys, it is chock full of Biblical references that people do not see. There are over five different references within his verse alone. Look at some of these lyrics.

1.  “Magnify, Magnify, lift it on high.”

This comes from Psalms 69:30, which says, “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.” Many of his verses come Psalms which is a book in the Bible that is lyrical in its own right.

2.  “The Book don’t end with Malachi”

This lyric shows Chance’s belief in the New Testament belief that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament which is also the end of the Hebrew text (The Torah). The Evangelical world beliefs show that the Old Testament is important because it shows prophets pointing the coming of Jesus, but Jesus does not enter into the story until the New Testament.

 

3.  “Shabach barak, edify”

When looking at this lyric, Chance is using the original Hebrew. Shabach meaning “praise”, barak meaning “blessed” or “blessing”, and edify means to be made Holy. This is a common instruction in how to pray; to praise God, recognize your blessings, and then request to be made Holy. Because Chance uses the original Hebrew here, he exemplifies some deep Biblical scholarship.

4.  “With the faith of pumpkin-seed-sized mustard seed.”

Straight from Matthew 17:20, Chance uses Christ’s teaching to his disciples about faith and how the smallest amount of true faith in God, that people can move mountains. Later in the song, Jay Electronica also refers to the faith of a mustard seed principle. Again, a New Testament reference is something that Chance uses to show his Evangelical beliefs.

5.  “Hear, for I will speak noble things as entrusted me.”

This is an allusion to Proverbs 8:6. The verse says “Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.” This is Chance’s proclamation that he will represent his God because he feels he has been blessed by God’s truth. As he has felt called, he feels that he needs to deliver as well.

These are just a few within this song, let alone the whole “Coloring Book” album. Chance the Rapper is calling for people who listen to hear a different, if not, deeper message than what many in the hip hop community have. Does he make mention of the realistic nature of the grime within life, yes, but the majority of his songs have a message of something that transcends the hip hop lifestyle into the evangelical.