October 16, 2014 The Swinging Bridge
Arts & Entertainment 11
The Anomaly of Christianity and Culture By Allen Fernandez STUDENT WRITER
W
henever an anomaly surfaces inside of an organized and long-running system, it causes a stir within that system. Anomalies deviate away from the standard norms and expectations and symbolize a difference and change to the long established and maintained. Whether that anomaly is good and/or bad, one needs context for that to be determined.
1 . O C TO B E R 1 7 , 1 8 BELLE
2 . O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 5 LIFE ITSELF
In the context of Christianity, music, and popular culture, there is a noticeable anomaly present. His name is Lecrae. Lecrae, an Atlanta based emcee and co-owner of Reach Records, has made waves in the music realm recently. His latest album, Anomaly, has achieved a simultaneous holding of #1 in the Billboard 200, gospel albums, and Christian albums charts, a position filled with some milestones achieved by others, and some achieved solely by him currently. Hip-Hop doesn’t fully understand him with his faith-inspired content and character, but loves him for his skill in the genre and authentic relation with the culture. Christianity doesn’t fully understand him with his desire to deviate from labels like “Christian rapper/artist” and engage culture by addressing real and pressing social issues without using the words “Jesus Christ”, but loves him because of his unashamed proclamation of being a broken human who loves Jesus Christ. Articles from Huffington Post to MTV have covered him for the reason of his transparent engagement of culture in connection to his music. An example is his view on doing art as a Christian. Lecrae in various interviews has stated he wants to deviate away from the label “Christian rapper/artist” as he feels it places his music in this box that turns non-Christians away from engaging it. More so because he believes that art doesn’t have a soul that follows a faith, the artist does. So why should the music get tagged as such? In an interview with The Atlantic, Lecrae said, “Christianity is the truth about everything. If you say you have a Christian worldview, that means you see the world through that lens—not just how people get saved and what to stay away from.” He isn’t the only one to bear this view however, as label mate Andy Mineo
Photo provided by Getty Images Lecrae’s recent rise to the top of the music charts comes as he works to engage culture while doing his art as a Christian.
...he wants to deviate
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(who performed at Messiah last spring) has also shared similar thoughts on this topic. He is another figure making waves on his own after being featured in various cyphers and projects.
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Both artists focus on making great music that all can come to and appreciate from an artistic level, yet act as a “fitting room” for listeners to see how one who follows Christ engages various struggles and issues such as fatherlessness, violence against women and minorities, molestation, and more.
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rapper/artist”
Lecrae is here to create good art that invites all listeners to hear good stories and ask good questions. This is just one reason of how Lecrae is this anomaly that’s causing a stir both Christianity and culture may need right now, and hopefully inspire more anomalies like this to rise.
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