I was talking with a coworker today about the song "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z & Alicia Keys. I mostly listen to gospel myself and never really cared for Jay-Z years ago when he called himself "J-hova" or Hova (a blatant disrespect of God). But even I must admit that the song has a great beat and seems to have a positive message. SO after looking at lyrics (not the full version), I thought it was a good song to introduce to young people I work with. My coworker admonished me to take a closer look at the full lyrics of the song and I will see why Jay-Z has become his "enemy". And after searching for the complete version, I then saw it in plain words what my coworker was talking about. With lyrics like, "the city of sin is a pity on a whim" and "Jesus can't save you, life starts when the church ends", it's a wonder why Christians haven't lined up to protest.
Why haven't we? And why does it matter?
People could easily come up with it being about freedom of speech and everyone has the right to their opinion. So why is this song so dangerous? It's clear that Jay-Z does not know, love, or care to know Jesus, so why should we be concerned about his songs?
Good questions. And I will attempt to feebly answer why it affects us as Christians, and especially as Christian and gospel artists.
-Regular Airplay: This song, because it represents the city of New York in an intimate way, has become an anthem of sorts and has warranted the amount of airplay it receives. We hear it walking down the streets, on the radio stations, on tv; it has become mainstream. And even though its talking about the NY, many people relate to it (there's even a London version of the song!) This seemingly innocent anthem subtly inserts a blatant denouncing of Christ. Despite mainstream songs having suggestive lyrics that refute the church and Christianity, I don't think we've ever had such a widely accepted song openly refute Jesus as Savior. This is indicative of the times we now live in and brings home the reality of the End Times like never before.
-The Kids: Because of its widespread airplay and acceptance, kids hear this on a regular basis. They hear this song and believe it. Why? They see church folks constantly not having the answers to life's problems. They see them being hypocrites and doubting the very God they claim to serve. On the contrary, they see Jay-Z and others like him, who have come from where they come from; been in the trenches, grew up and is very successful but also transparent. He is considered one of the nobles of hip hop. SO they begin to believe that "life starts when church ends". They start to slowly entertain that maybe Jesus can't save you because He didn't save Aunt Judy who is in church everyday of the week, talks about Jesus all the time but also talks about everybody else and treats people wrong. They take the bait of Satan in the form of one of the world's angels of light- a hip hop god who rose through the ranks of success: a few houses, a pretty wife and a few grammys.
-The Beats: This song has nice beats!! This is where it gets messy for Christian and gospel artists. There are so many songs by artists, that use beats and sounds that are frequently used in the world to convey the message of Christ. But's that not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about artists, who shall remain nameless, who mirror the world in its flagrant beats to package the message that seems like it may include Christ, but highlight things that have nothing to do with God and are contrary to the Word. Songs that focus on us, the creation, as opposed to the Creator Himself. We are no better than someone like Jay-Z when we wrap pseudo-Christ centered messages in a crazy beat. We practically prepare the way for kids and impressionable Christians to stray because we have compromised our message and compensated it with a nice beat.
I do not have anything personal against this man. I've never met him, he never slapped my momma, or anything like that. And honestly, he is free to choose what to say and who he will serve. However, I am concerned,as a Christian artist, about what message we send as Christians when we choose to actively listen to those who denounce God and when we are not cautious about the messages given to the young people intrusted to our care. I almost made that mistake. The message that Jay-Z sends through this seemingly harmless song is the same message that Satan gave to Eve in the garden: one of doubt, that questions the very nature and essance of our God. Jesus' name MEANS Savior. And to package the enemy's message in a nice beat, surrounded with personally encouraging lyrics about America's beloved and traversed city- New York, is dangerous. But what's even more dangerous is when we, as Christians, like Adam, openly accept songs that make our flesh feel good and has nice beats without thoroughly investigating what it says. Then like Eve, we pass on the fruit of carelessness and selfishness through the medium of music that was created to uplift. That my friends, is the most dangerous thing of all.
