Music: Rock & Rap

Welcome to MEDIA MONTH!!! We are going to start of with Music Week. This week we are going to examine all different types of music and how they relate to our relationship with God. :)

Today we are going to look at a few popular Rock and Rap songs and examine the lyrics and what the message being sent really is. I think we all struggle with understanding what we are actually supporting through the media. We tend to just agree with whatever is catchy or entertaining, but this is one of the devil’s tactics he uses to separate us from God.

This first song my roommate enlightened me on. It came out in the 90’s so some of you may or may not remember it. This song is also pretty deep about what it is saying, so I would recommend the 16+ crowd to check out this one, and the next ones are more for everyone.

Before last night, if I would have heard this song on the radio I probably would have turned it up and sang along with the chorus, thinking nothing other than, “gee, this was such a happy song.” But when my roommate showed me the lyrics, I was appalled. Check this out.

First verse:

“She says she lives for me.” [You should NEVER live for someone else. That leads to a path of destruction and depression.]

“She goes down on me.”

“chop another line..” [cocaine line]

Chorus:

“I want something else to get me through this.” [as in a drug]

Verse 2:

“I was taking sips of it to my nose” [snorting some kind of drug]

“Doing Crystal meth will lift you up until you break.”

“Then I bumped up and took the hit that I was given.”

“The place where I fell asleep inside of you.” [probably referring to sex.]

Verse 3:

There’s too much to type everything in the 3^rd verse, but I think if you listen you read along with the video you discovered quite a few things.

“We tripped on the urge to feel alive, but now I’m struggling to survive.”

“Nothing is all right.”

When you receive the full context of the song it breaks your heart. This is a genuinely sad song about the misery a couple finds in living. They are searching for something to make them feel better like drugs or sex, but the last verse says nothing helps and nothing is alright. How heart-retching is that? And I always thought it was a happy song..In 1997 that song went to #4 in the U.S. billboards, #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks list, and was a top 40 hit in the U.K. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-Charmed_Life#Charts]

Now for a recent rap hit. “No Hands” by Waka Flocka Flame. I’m not going to say anything about it, just watch the video and ignore the catchy tune, just read the words and think about this.

DISCLAIMER: I am by NO means promoting this music or these lyrics. I am not encouraging cuss words or anything about this music. This is strictly for learning purposes and revealing how much we let the media influence us indirectly.

THIS IS WHAT WE ARE PUTTING IN OUR MIND EVERYDAY! Even if you don’t listen to it, the chances are you are around people who do. Think of this as the equivalent to reading a page with these lyrics in it. Add whatever other music you listen to and think about how many words you have put in your head in one day. If you made a book of these lyrics, I doubt you would sit down and read it.

My excuse was always that I was listening to it for the "beat." Even though we know that's a lie, if I did listen to it for the beat, the lyrics are still going into my head subconsciously. Think of the impact that is having on your thought life, your spiritual life, your actual life.

Come back tomorrow and we will take a closer look at Country music! :)