Contrary to what your average middle-aged classical music listener may wish, rap music is here for good. It rose up in the 80s as a mode of expressing urban anger and passion, migrated to the suburban middle class in the 90s, and now dominates the pop charts. Signifying its broad-based appeal, rappers collaborate with everyone these days. You\u2019ve got rap with rock; rap with country; rap with ska; rap with blues; rap with Vegas lounge (just kidding on that one). Rap is everywhere, and that has to scare.<\/p>\n
It scares those who have to this point shut their eyes tightly in fear of the genre, much the way kids do when they think not seeing the monster will make it go away. Someone, please, tap them on the shoulder. \u201cUh, Mr. Smith\u2013the rap\u2019s not leaving. It\u2019s actually devouring your puny little genre. Sorry.\u201d This problem is particularly confounding in the church, which just had what it thought to be the ultimate unwanted dinner guest\u2013rock\u2013crash the evening meal. Thankfully, after a couple of pained decades and many torturous exchanges (\u201cNo, sir, I\u2019m sorry-I can\u2019t think of any Bible passages that outlaw guitars; I\u2019ll do a word study and get back to you\u201d), we\u2019re at the point where Christians accept rock. I suspect that there\u2019s a surprising contingent of bearded grayhairs out there who slip Lifehouse or Toby Mac in the car after they drop Junior off at the Lock-in. Yeah, dads, I know you\u2019re out there. I see you. <\/em>Rap-boy sees allllllll. <\/em><\/p>\n Yet when it comes to the latest unwanted friend of youth, rap, the evangelical machine, that hulking beast that guards the borders of Christian pop culture, smites the offending faction with unstudied disdain. Having just conceded to the redeemed rock crew, it sees no room for another youthful musical offshoot. With piercing logic\u2013\u201cRap came from those gangster rappers with their marijuana and guns\u201d\u2013 and stunning thoughtfulness \u2013\u201cBut there\u2019s something about the beat, <\/em>isn\u2019t there? Isn\u2019t it a little, well, worldly by nature?,\u201d it dismisses rap. It does so to its own peril.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Contrary to what your average middle-aged classical music listener may wish, rap music is here for good. It rose up in the 80s as a mode of expressing urban anger and passion, migrated to the suburban middle class in the 90s, and now dominates the pop charts. Signifying its broad-based appeal, rappers collaborate with everyone […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1217,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[13035],"class_list":["post-3925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n