What is Conscious Christian Rap?

Eminem once said, “they asked me what happened to hip-hop, I said I don’t have any answers.” It’s not just that rap has evolved into something different or better than it used to be; it doesn’t even have the same spirit it did when it was born. Hip-hop used to be about community, lyricism, and combining the two to bring knowledge, wisdom, and understanding about the social environments we live in. It wasn’t a business model, it was a culture, a lifestyle, and a mindset. In the 1990’s, just 30-something years old, it seemed to be in its prime! Listeners were engaged and becoming more educated thanks to conscious artists like Tupac, Talib Kweli, Common, Mos Def, and KRS-ONE, to name a few. Conscious rap as we know it was almost mainstream. And yet, it remained unique enough to still be unlike any other genre at the time; it couldn’t be commodified. That was its allure, but also its Achilles Heel.

In the early 1970’s hip-hop’s hallmark was its neighborhood block parties. Photo credit: Unknown

By the early 2000’s, it was forced underground. Mainstream radio stations didn’t want to play music that inspired the masses to care about social issues or personal growth. It wanted to pump out Top 40 hits while boosting revenue streams and advertisements. Syndicated radio stations wanted to do what any big business does: Cut costs and reduce risk. By 1997, music was well on its way to becoming a commodity.

At the same time, Christian hip-hop (CHH), in its infancy, was struggling to be taken seriously. For church folks, it sounded too worldly. For non-church folks, it was still too religious to be mainstream. But those who did like it (Christian and non-Christians alike) were early adopters, even though they were accused–on both sides–of supporting art that was more worldly than Godly. 

Though its mission was noble, it was ahead of its time. So, CHH had the same problem it always did: how does it reach a new audience, evangelize them, and make hip-hop that sounded just as good as anything else on commercial radio?

More importantly, how does it make music that actually has a real impact on people: One that elevates, educates, and transforms peoples’ minds (Romans 12:2)? Would artists have to compromise their spiritual lives in their creative image just to make it in an increasingly commercialized industry? Conscious rap was achieving this in a secular way, but did CHH miss the last train leaving the station?

It turns out these two genres are far more alike than they are different. They both face a big problem of earning mainstream respect, especially with a secular audience. They both have positive, uplifting, encouraging messages for their listeners; messages about hope, education, transformation, and awareness.

So it makes sense for the two to join forces. But that begs the question: Could artists skillfully balance being conscious and Christian and still hold their own as an MC?

Try to search for this illustrious “conscious Christian hip-hop” hybrid breed and you may not find what you’re looking for. No, that’s not to say that this micro-niche doesn’t exist, but it’s that its artists are under the larger Christian hip-hop genre as a whole–the same genre that’s struggling to consistently reach a wider, more secular market. The problem is, many faith-based artists who should be recognized for their talents and promoting conscious lifestyles may never be discovered. It’s a marketing problem. They may not know how to position themselves in front of the secular audience. And those very same “secular” artists don’t know how to break into the Christian market, where their ideal fans could be waiting for them.

Rapper NF, one of the handful “conscious rappers who are Christian”, performs at a concert. Photo Credit: Rolling Stone Magazine

So, before we can solve this problem, let’s first define what conscious Christian rap is in the first place.

In general, it has the elements of conscious rap that we know and love. But it also incorporates the elements that gospel hip-hop lacks. Conscious Christian rap is essentially a hybrid of the two genres. Namely, today’s holy hip-hop emphasizes:

• A “modern” New School pop sound.

• Religious messages about salvation, heaven, or repentance.

On the other hand, conscious rap has messages that are:

• Educational, lyrical or story-like.

• About the artist’s transformative journey into spiritual or self-aware discoveries.

As a listener, conscious Christian rap, like its secular counterpart, tries to transport you somewhere, either emotionally, intellectually or spiritually. Being the gifted communicators they are, these artists help you understand the world as they see it. And maybe their vision will inspire you to want to elevate yourself, too.

With gospel rap, it isn’t always so story-like or purpose-driven. While there may be some positive story that inspired a song itself, and though the artist may talk about faith or personal struggles a few times, the song almost always breaks down to the typical verse-chorus-verse-chorus pop song structure. Typically, the listener isn’t really transported anywhere; just in a circle. There’s no obvious signs of transformation.

Sure, the song might be entertaining, but not educational. But for listeners whose lifestyle is focused on continually improving themselves, discerning the media they consume, and where they invest their time and energy, music that’s just entertaining isn’t always a valuable use of time (generally speaking). Let’s be honest: anything that’s a mainstream commodity usually just isn’t all that real.

That’s why conscious Christian rap is the road less traveled. Being conscious is hard. Being a true Christian is even harder (Matthew 7:14). But doing difficult things to build mental toughness is partly why people choose this lifestyle in the first place. This mindset of being “built different” also partly explains why conscious Christian hip-hop doesn’t try to sound like anything else on the radio. By nature, it’s more focused on offering positive, uplifting, truthful content. And thankfully unlike some mainstream holy rap, you’ll almost never find autotune in a conscious rap song.

DIE-REK‘s self-titled album

Christian hip-hop artist, Propaganda‘s album, “Excellent”

Philadelphia-based Cross Movement Records. Pictured here is their 1997 release, “Heaven’s Mindset.”

Kanye West’s single, “Jesus Walks”, before its release on the full length album, “College Dropout.”

Before wrapping up, we need to clarify a question that comes up in almost any worthwhile discussion about conscious rap: Can an artist make a socially-conscious song without being called a conscious “rapper”?

Yes! Making one or two conscious songs doesn’t mean that the artist will always be pegged as a conscious artist. Everyone has opinions about how the world should work. Occasionally those political beliefs may find their way into a song. No big deal; all artists get inspiration from observing the world around them. That’s why there are plenty of Christian rap artists who make the occasional political song, or they may have a few lyrics that show how “awakened” they are. But in general, the artist is generally still a Christian rapper. I believe that once saved, always saved. But once conscious, always conscious? That tends to drift at times.

Notable conscious rappers of the 1990’s include: Talib Kweli, dead prez, and Yasiin “Mos Def” Bey

A better question is: Does this rapper make that type of music consistently? Is it easier to find a song that is not conscious, than it is to find songs that are? This is what distinguishes Christian, conscious, and conscious Christian artists, from the “rappers who are Christian”.

You can hear from some of these artists on the Official Koshiz Music Playlist! There’s over 8 hours of conscious music on this playlist, with more added weekly.