Lately, there has been so much talk about rappers and other artists selling their souls to the devil for money, fame, power and influence. Rapper Jay-Z is rumored to be linked to some ancient evil organization. People are suspecting that Rihanna and Beyoncé have images and lyrics in their videos that point to evil and are trying to figure out who bought their souls too? Every few years or so, rumors start spreading about different celebrities and whether or not they have “sold their soul to the devil.”
It is hard to watch a music video of any genre and not see images and hear words that directly oppose the church. But lately, hip hop has been under fire. With groups like Ex Ministries that make no apologies about calling hip hop demonic, it throws so many people in my age group in an argument that has a very clear answer.
We can speculate all day about the beginnings on hip hop, the intentions of music labels and whether artists worship demonic spirits or not. But one thing that we cannot sit on the fence about is God’s word. Either art is made to glorify God or it isn’t. There really is no in between. There is NO argument that there is a lot of hip hop music with distinct anti-Christian messages. One cannot be a Christian and condone messages or blasphemy, idolatry, adultery, fornication and intoxication, no matter what the beat sounds like.
Psalms 1 says:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful
The Bible is very clear that Christians are not supposed to do the things that unsaved people do. We are supposed to be examples of what to do. We are not supposed to be confused with sinners. It should be clear who Christians are and where we stand when it comes to messages in the mass media and images and music that are geared toward our youth. Some people shy away from being too preachy, but God wants us to tell people the truth about what misinformation will do to them.
Psalms 37:37-38:
Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off
It can be confusing, eerie and upsetting to Google your favorite artist and read that they may be connected with ancient evildoers. So much of the information is compelling and overwhelming. It is also hard to believe that these artists, who seem so down to earth, can be connected to such dark forces.
Believers in Christ have the responsibility to be educated on what God wants so that we are not tricked or fooled by evil spirits. It is so easy to be deceived by the world because we love fashion, glitz and glamor. We praise people because they work hard and gain fame and try to create their “grind” and their “swag” in our own lives.
Ezekiel 44:23 says:
And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the clean and the unclean
We must ask God for discernment for the music and images we let into our houses and our minds. We must test the spirits that we encounter so that we don’t become complacent with things that are against the Kingdom of God. And if you find it hard to give up your favorite music, you can even ask God to replace it with something of His liking.
I don’t necessarily believe that hip hop is inherently evil. I don’t believe everything has that come from Ex Ministries or other hip hop conspiracy theorist. But I do know that many rap artists cannot pass the litmus test of being for God. So at the risk of being uncool, we must be more diligent at seeking God’ voice when it comes to popular music. So much of in influences our lives and the lives of our children. There are surely more people who know the words of entire volumes of rap albums and not one single Bible verse. How many kids do you know that watch more 106 & Park than they read the Bible?
