Many of the Rapzilla readers enjoyed our previous article titled “5 Moments Christian Hip-Hop Would Like to Pretend Never Happened” and after receiving an overwhelming amount of submissions for choices that were worse, we decided to give you all five more.
Now to address some comments. These articles are written in good fun and are not meant to make fun of the artists. It would be nearly impossible to discredit the work of CCM pioneers such as Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, Audio Adrenaline, Carman, and DC Talk. The first three names listed there are well aware of their lack of “rap bars” but were just trying to be innovative and hip. It is something they joke about now.
Carman is a storyteller at heart and was always seeking the “coolest” way to reach souls while DC Talk was just wrecking the industry in every way. They sold out tours, had albums go gold and platinum, and helped open the door for many artists and genres to be introduced to CCM.
With all that out of the way, this list will encounter a few more Christian music legends doing some less-than-stellar rapping as well as some not-so-serious (we hope) rapping. So get ready for the onslaught.
1. Newsboys “Taste and See Remix”
You’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who has never heard of the Newsboys. The group has been making Christian music since 1985 but didn’t really hit their stride as hit makers until the mid-90s.
Long before they were churning out anthemic songs such as “God’s Not Dead” with Michael Tait as their singer, they were a two-headed vocal band with frontman John James and the well-known Peter Furler serving as chief songwriter, vocalist, and drummer.
In 1991, just a year removed from their groundbreaking record Not Ashamed, they released Boyz Will Be Boys. One of the tracks on the album was the fun and very 80s-sounding “Taste and See.” However, where this song really starts to lose the listener is on the remix, where Furler pulls out his best Aussie rap impression. But wait, want to see the Newsboys completely lose their minds? Watch the video below, no further words are necessary.
Highlight: “Ya’ll want this party started quickly, right?” and also the human centipede sequence…just watch.
Bonus Rap (Steve Taylor on “Boycott Hell”):
2. Bryan Duncan “Don’t Ya Wanna Rap”
Bryan Duncan has been a mainstay in Christian music since the early 70s, but we are willing to bet you didn’t know about the hot bars on his 1989 record Strong Medicine.
Yes, Duncan jumped on the rap wagon and seemed to be asking his fans for reassurance with “Don’t Ya Wanna Rap.” Our guess was they said ‘no’, because he never did it again. This, however, did not deter Duncan as he carried out his successful career.
It did look like he had a lot of fun making the video for the song in all its signature “Saved by the Bell” looking graphics.
Highlights: “My name is Bryan D and I’m a screamin’ machine/ I sing by tearin’ it up; I like it loud if it’s clean”
Watch below:
3. Mr. T “Mr T’s Commandments”
I pity the fool who doesn’t…urgh, hmmm…Mr. T is known as a Christian celebrity in some circles. In this particular circle, he is a rapper who pretty much has decided to beat the Word of God into everyone around him.
We all know how important it is for us to obey our parents right? Well Mr. T feels some convicted by it that he’s willing to throw two men down an elevator shaft to get the message across.
Highlights: “Honor thy mother and father, the Bible makes it clear/ If you break the rules, God help you fool, you got Mr. T to fear”
Watch Below
4. “Baby Got Book”
Some enterprising Christians decided to remake Sir Mix A Lot’s “Baby Got Back”.
Yeah, we’ll just leave this here…
Highlights: All of it.
Watch below:
Young Boy “Nu Thang”
There is not much info on this song, except that a young boy, who some joke is Mac Miller, raps the DC Talk classic “Nu Thang” on a Christian cable access show.
It’s safe to say the network couldn’t afford the actual beat of the song so young Michael Clancy was forced to rap over a generic beat. Unfortunately, for him, he started on an offbeat, but his dance moves, song ad-libs, and lyrics are all 100% accurate. Kudos, young Clancy, you make TobyMac proud.
Watch the video below:
Yet again we ask, did we miss any this time? Let us know in the comments!
