CHRISTIAN DISS RECORDS ARE LAME AND NOT SCRIPTURAL! There, I said it and it feels good to say. I can’t see how anyone is celebrating Stanley Burrell aka MC Hammer’s thinly veiled diss track aimed at Jay-Z. (By the way, the MC is officially back in his name. You may remember that he took it out of his name at one point.) You cannot point to any valid scriptural basis and tell me that what this guy is doing is rooted in spiritual or biblical principles. This is not an attempt to show Sean Carter the error of his ways – its a diss track through and through. For crying out loud – he said he was going to “bust him in the mouth” then at the end of the video he baptises him?! As the scholars of old use to say: “GET THE HECK OUTTA HERE!”
For those not really sure on where all of this came from, allow me to bring you up to speed real quick. Jay said in the Kanye West song “So Appalled” the following:
“And Hammer went broke so you know I’m more focused/ I lost 30 mil so I spent another 30/ Cause unlike Hammer 30 million can’t hurt me.”
This line apparently ticked Stanley off and the Twitter disses began (Hammer has nearly 2 million followers). He started calling Jay-Z “hell boy” and got all up in arms about Jay-Z pointing out Hammer’s well documented financial woes of the past. Hammer, the first rapper to sell 10 Million records, is well noted via documentaries, news stories, etc of having lost just about all of the millions he earned selling albums, touring and from his “Hammerman” cartoon. (Please tell me I’m not the only one who remembers that show…)
My question is why is MC Hammer mad about Jay-Z poking a little fun at his financial shortcomings? Does anyone remember the Nationwide Insurance commercial from the 2005 Superbowl?
Or what about him and Ed McMahon’s “Cash4Gold” Superbowl ad? Made famous because of both men filed for bankruptcy and they needed the money, so the commercial comically insinuates they sold their gold..
So MC Hammer, after going broke and being humiliated, has made a bit of a rebound in his career by…making fun of himself going broke and being humiliated! Why would he get mad at Jay for talking about NOT going broke and being humiliated like Hammer did?
And its not like this is his first foray into disses. Hammer also famously (or infamously depending on your view of it) dissed Redman on his comeback hit song, whose title has has become a virtual hallmark of American colloquialisms, “It’s All Good”. He quipped “talking about my mamma’s where I draw the line Redman so when chrome is at yo’ dome, I’mma blow yo’ mind.” Hammer also lobbed some disses at Vanilla Ice in the song too but I’m not going to waste your time with it. So he’s no newcomer to disses.
But MC Hammer is an entertainer and an opportunist. He’s not looking at an opportunity to share Christ (as I am certain that taunting and name calling is specifically NOT an effective evangelistic effort) but instead he sees an opportunity to be relevant to music again. One of the biggest names in all of entertainment has mentioned his name and this is his opportunity to capitalize on the popularity of his name and hopefully make a few bucks. Don’t believe me? Here’s a tweet straight from Hammer’s timeline:
“Month ago on my timeline.. I said I would monetize my nemesis followers.. We just hit a collective 1m views in 24hrs..Devil got 2 pay !!!”
This song – is not about saving Jay-Z’s soul from eternal judgement but more about saving more of MC Hammer’s money from bankruptcy proceedings. He is embarrassing himself as an icon to the early days of hip-hop AND even more so embarrassing himself as a follower of Christ.
Diss songs are anti-scriptural “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:9 ESV)
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. (Romans 12:17)
** UPDATE Today HipHopDX.com posted that in an interview Jay-Z was surprised by Hammer’s reaction and stated that Hammer might be a little embarrassed once he reads what he wrote about him in his upcoming book Decoded.
