Music’s Forbidden Fruit
“I know my God, I know my God seen His breaks and His edges are jagged for giving that pain to His city in gold,” says Noname in Chance the Rapper’s song “Finish Line/Drown.” Religion has been one of the most popular conversations since the beginning of time; whether you are religious or not, the question of how we came to be has crossed your mind. What is religion? It is defined as the belief in a god or gods, but does it mean something different to you? If you think about it today, or even 10 years ago, how often did you hear hip hop/rap songs talk about God? You might be able to count exactly on one hand; I know I can. The one song that I can think of is Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks.” The well-known philosopher Aristotle …show more content…
The beginning portion of the song starts off with, “when the praises go up, the blessings come down.” As long as you give credit where it’s due, good things will come your way in return. Part of the song says, “It seems like blessings keep falling in my lap.” These blessings coming into Chance’s life could mean the recent birth of his daughter, his recent music success, etc. He specifically states that you can rap about anything except for Jesus. If you are known to be a “rapper” you are expected to rap very explicitly, the second you mention anything about what you believe in spiritually, it is not as popular as other songs would be. Is that focusing on doing good like Aristotle put it? Your definition of good can be different than mine, and there’s nothing going against that. On that note, it is surprising to me that “The Coloring Book” has received such praise. Chance the Rapper is one of those artists that makes songs over things that matter, and doesn’t care to show it. “I don’t believe in Kings, I believe in the Kingdom,” sings Chance; people shouldn’t praise the kings, presidents, or anyone specifically in charge on this Earth, instead he says that he focuses his praise and worship on the one Mighty
“I know my God, I know my God seen His breaks and His edges are jagged for giving that pain to His city in gold,” says Noname in Chance the Rapper’s song “Finish Line/Drown.” Religion has been one of the most popular conversations since the beginning of time; whether you are religious or not, the question of how we came to be has crossed your mind. What is religion? It is defined as the belief in a god or gods, but does it mean something different to you? If you think about it today, or even 10 years ago, how often did you hear hip hop/rap songs talk about God? You might be able to count exactly on one hand; I know I can. The one song that I can think of is Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks.” The well-known philosopher Aristotle …show more content…
The beginning portion of the song starts off with, “when the praises go up, the blessings come down.” As long as you give credit where it’s due, good things will come your way in return. Part of the song says, “It seems like blessings keep falling in my lap.” These blessings coming into Chance’s life could mean the recent birth of his daughter, his recent music success, etc. He specifically states that you can rap about anything except for Jesus. If you are known to be a “rapper” you are expected to rap very explicitly, the second you mention anything about what you believe in spiritually, it is not as popular as other songs would be. Is that focusing on doing good like Aristotle put it? Your definition of good can be different than mine, and there’s nothing going against that. On that note, it is surprising to me that “The Coloring Book” has received such praise. Chance the Rapper is one of those artists that makes songs over things that matter, and doesn’t care to show it. “I don’t believe in Kings, I believe in the Kingdom,” sings Chance; people shouldn’t praise the kings, presidents, or anyone specifically in charge on this Earth, instead he says that he focuses his praise and worship on the one Mighty