As I wrapped up my comparison of the best that both Hip-Hop and America have to offer in my blog entry Hip Hop: Home of the Brave, another juxtaposition came to my mind that I’d like to explore: rappers and preachers.
You may scoff at such seemingly disparate individuals, but I ensure you, there are more similarities than meets the eye. While I’ll leave the final discernment to you, the readers, I will offer up a few questioning assessments regarding these similarities. Questions, not statements, that should beckon us to consider whether or not such parallels between secular and spiritual community leaders are wrong or point to a prophetic anointing/calling shared by these individuals which they walk in. Whether that walk is and will remain straight or crooked is another blog entry all together!:
Uncanny Resemblance #1:
S/he has the freshest whip on the lot, threads on his/her back, and jewelry on his/her wrist… Is this a preacher or a rapper?
Uncanny Resemblance #2:
S/he has a following that cosigns EVERYTHING s/he has to say without testing its validity… Is this a preacher or a rapper?
Uncanny Resemblance #3:
S/he has an obligation and accountability to said words yet seems to rely a bit too much at times on “being human” as a scapegoat/loophole for repeated actions that s/he refuses to change… Is this a preacher or a rapper?
Uncanny Resemblance #4:
S/he has on overused/abused reliance on secular vernacular for the sake of maintaining their “street cred”… Is this a preacher or a rapper?
Uncanny Resemblance #5:
S/he has followers that quote and cop his/her sayings as their own… Is this a preacher or a rapper?
Uncanny Resemblance #6:
S/he has followers who namedrop his/her nomenclature is if they have a special relationship going back to childhood that nobody else has… Is this a preacher or a rapper?
Uncanny Resemblance #7:
S/he has lines with internal and external rhyme schemes built into everyday language that put Mother Goose to shame… Is this a preacher or a rapper?
Uncanny Resemblance #8:
S/he has the ability to “move the crowd” with prompts of throwing hands up in the air and sing-along call & response… Is this a preacher or a rapper?
Uncanny Resemblance #9:
S/he possesses charisma that borders on flirtatious interactions with members of the opposite sex (not always, though!) which s /he seems to welcome without seeing the need to set boundaries… Is this a preacher or a rapper?!!
Final thought:
If any of these shared traits concerns you, especially the content(ment) regarding the things that proceedeth from their mouths – if we don’t stop feeding/living off potentially hollow rhetoric – how will these prophets ever reevaluate the source of their talents/gifts and infuse substance into words that lack content?
Church!
An Uncanny Resentment
When they present like
Rappers, should preachers repent
Resented fractures?!!
*
Broken Anguish
If rappers and
preachers were raptured as speakers,
who’d breach the masses?!!
*
– as published in Steel Waters VOLUME I: DUPLicate AuthentICITY :
Critical Mass Exodus
a.k.a.
Mass Appeal
Unless delegated by God,
I can’t be led or baited by mobs.
I’m not like the rest of the flock that blindly follows.
Feeling my way through Braille passages
By stealing away with groups to hail the masses
Simply seals my faith into frail packages that are decidedly hollow.
Such methods of exodus plannin’
Leads to textbook and reckless abandon.
To be restless and stranded are its awful aims in the long term.
Though I reckon this madness
Is wretched and drastic…
Its essence is massive as it attracts traffic
like moths to the flame caught in the cloth as it burns.
Compacted in drafted winds, it’s like fledgling child liars.
Rather, the pattern can spread like wildfire.
Grounded higher, the proper vantage brings it all into focus.
So instead of drudging through drowning mires
Where sudden moves create crowd divers…
Be crowned and sired – move the crowd beyond being throngs of locusts.
If you want to gather a crowd,
Organize it against what’s happenin’ now!
Don’t leave ‘em scamperin’ chasin’ bandwagons down bound to be left behind!
Don’t feed ‘em reruns of empty rhetoric –
Don’t beat lead drums into empty crevices…
Don’t be a bum like emcees with no messages – let your destiny shine.
Be at the head as a lead guide.
Leave Red Seas 20,000 leagues behind.
Lean against the grain – seek and find your irreverent relevance!
Dare to show different strokes of genius.
Dare to lead indifferent folks to Jesus…
Evoke a provoking thesis lined with eloquent severance.
Don’t react to systemic stimulus –
Detach roots from insipid kinship.
Use the given wisdom sent from Him – reject groupthink fallacies.
Challenge what’s known with solid research.
Seek the chalice of thrones with a knowledge rebirth…
Acknowledge and reverse ghetto mindsets blinded by hoodwinked mentalities.
Cause conflict! – contradict the dismal plight
Of unconsciousness that haunts the critical might
Of flocks the size of the Israelites – at least they had Aaron and Moses.
We’ve let our souls follow pitiful guides essentially
Because we’ve got role models who pivot their liability…
Which leads to abysmal strife and misery from plentiful errors chosen.
We’ve been called out to be taught different –
So fall out from dream walks into vision.
Like Stephen Hawking, exceed the limits of your surroundings.
Don’t let corporal forces coagulate and congeal you.
Push court ordered warrants for mass appeals through
Before such tactics kill you with the kindness of kindred crowding.