During Super Bowl 59, we will see the Chiefs and Eagles (again) and a remarkable rap artist named Kendrick Lamar during the hallowed halftime show. By now, fans–of football or his music–know the acclaimed SZA will join Lamar on stage in hopes of performing their Oscar-winning song “All the Stars” from the Black Panther soundtrack.
This year, Pulitzer Prize winner Lamar may have created the most substantial headlines in his career with the vocal thrashing of fellow rapper Drake. The two swapped diss tracks numerous times and have been since the 2023 release of Drake and J. Cole’s “First Person Shooter.” The gaming motif notwithstanding, shots were fired when J. Cole suggested they and Kendrick Lamar made up the “big three of rap.” Lamar took issue with J. Cole lumping himself and Drake with Lamar, and they were off to the races.
What started as simple insults eventually became profanity-laden vitriol. Kendrick Lamar is still one of the top rappers in the game so that he will be the focus of the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
For those who read Christian media and don’t listen to him, he is an avowed and proud Christian. Is he a true man of faith, or is it hypocritical piety to get headlines?
(Not for nothing, but that’s the meaning of that fancy word in the headline. I was going for the rhyme. Feeling the rap, I guess. Sorry.)
NOTE: Some links below include Kendrick Lamar songs that contain adult language. Proceed with caution.
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Who is Kendrick Lamar?
In June 2022, Kendrick Lamar performed at the Glastonbury Festival. A high-profile rap artist headlining a music festival. What’s out of sorts about that?
It was his fashion. As you can see, he was sporting a white shirt with blood stains and a matching crown of thorns. He wore that in protest of the loss of abortion rights in the United States. Was it sacrilege, poor taste of fashion, or a Christian with a significant platform?
The walk and faith of Kendrick Lamar have usually been in the news along with his music because of how he describes, uses, or displays them in public. For example, The New York Times interviewed him in 2022. His music, thoughts on life, and faith are all being explored. Lamar was asked why he doesn’t use social media. The short of it is because it deters his faith, but he said it like this:
“My social media, most of the time, is completely off,” he said in the feature, which also focuses on his pgLang co-founder and longtime collaborator Dave Free. “Because I know, like … I can easily smell my own [expletive]. I know. … Like, I’m not one of those dudes that be like, Oh, yeah, I know how good I am, but I also know the reason why I’m so good is because God’s blessed me with the talent to execute on the talent, and the moment that you start getting lost in your ego, that’s when you start going down.”
Using salty language and rapping are almost as popular of a tandem as peanut butter and jelly. Most believe that expletives will happen if you listen to mainstream rap. It’s the way of doing business. It’s accepted as “normal.” For decades, there have been two types of righteous rappers: Christian rappers and rappers who are Christian. There seems to be a certain expectation of the talent of “Christian rappers” because they don’t use the language, use questionable scenarios as lyrics, or come off as foul-mouthed and hard-nosed misogynistic dinosaurs.
However, “rappers who are Christian” means they have crossed over into the mainstream, accepted as skilled among the names of the industry, and they happen to say they love God once in a while. Today, that line of difference has blurred with the rise of juggernauts in the industry like KB, Trip Lee, NF, Andy Mineo, Shai Linne, nobigdyl, and Lecrae. Christian Hip Hop, or “CHH,” has the beats, bars, and bodacious talent. It’s all evident on general radio worldwide.
But when a guy like Kendrick Lamar comes along, the magnifying glass breaks out on both sides.
Mainstream fans who constantly argue about the Mount Rushmore of hip-hop wonder why Kendrick Lamar is getting all this love from fans and critics alike. (Oh. Rakim, Tupac, Eminem, and Nas. Period.) When you drop your best-evers, you’re aged immediately. However, millions of Gen-Z and Millennials consider Kendrick Lamar to be on their mountainous facades. He had frequently discussed his faith in Jesus before this point. Yet, now that he is considered top-tier, critics and influencers pay attention.
What Kendrick Lamar Believes
If this article appeals to you and your musical tastes, a question. Remember when Kanye West dropped “Jesus Walks” and later torched Christian fans everywhere? Once we learned his fundamental ideologies, skidmarks and smoke billowed after the discovery. It wasn’t going to happen again. Then, Kendrick Lamar dropped “Faith” in 2009.
I found myself losing focus at a Sunday serviceEmbarrassed so I start questioning God, “What is my purpose?”He said to live the way he did, that’s all he want from meSpread the word and witness, he rose on the first SundayI said alright, enthused that my Lord gave a listenI opened my Bible in search to be a better ChristianAnd this from a person that never believed in religion
And that is four bars in! Sure, as are some of the tropes, the language is there, but the blatant testifying could not be denied. The lyrics stick with you in a way, like a pastor’s sermon. This song about a murder Lamar witnessed forces him to question his faith. There is a story that Lecrae heard the famous song and reached out to Kendrick with, “Hey, can I talk to you about this song?” They have been close friends ever since. Just last week, Kendrick Lamar released a surprise single, “Watch the Party Die.” In it, he mentions Lecrae’s name and that of fellow CHH artist, Dee-1. His song “Racist Christians” is a must-wake-up song all church leaders should hear. Whoa!
But that is a brief example of what Kendrick Lamar believes. He does what he must to reach the lost without compromising his integrity for Christ. Does he curse? If you stick around many Christians outside a church, you can watch the “swear jar” fill with coins. Yet, he doesn’t fit the stereotype of a typical rap artist:
- He doesn’t pop bottles or have excessive bar tabs
- He doesn’t smoke enormous amounts of hippie lettuce like Snoop Dogg or The Grateful Dead and Willie Nelson, for that matter
- And he’s been with his long-time girlfriend in a monogamous relationship for longer than a decade
If you listen to his lyrics via your favorite streaming platform or cranked on your TV during the big game, he doesn’t talk much about living a sanctimonious lifestyle or being a more pious individual. He is real and raps about his own twists of ethics and spirituality. The lyrics are his voice, and the fans may as well be his church during some of his songs. Even though his lifestyle doesn’t appear to be that of a “saved person,” it doesn’t make it so.
He made it out of the M.A.A.D. CITY (a notable Kendrick Lamar song and album) and lived to preach about it. The Apostle Paul said to be “all things to all people” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). He also said, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth” (Ephesians 4:29). Do the lyrics he raps make Kendrick Lamar a Christian or simply confused?
While we are talking about the Word game, there is still one undefeated King after all these years. Here are a few bars Jesus gave us all. You be the judge, but many of us will enjoy the fruit. Enjoy the Super Bowl.
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits, you will know them. (Matthew 7:15-20 NKJV)
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