Don’t Judge ‘Christian Rap’ Until You Attend #Anomoly Tour
One of Gods greatest gifts to humankind is music. Our personal preferences for the types of music we like (or say we like) often says much about you.
If you say you like Rap best- I will make certain generalizations about you.
If you say Christian – I will make certain generalizations about you.
If you say Christian Rap, I’m confused.
Truth be told, these guys would rather not be labeled at all. (“Amen” if you know the feeling.) But that’s what we’ll call it for this conversation.
Yes, it seems Rap has gotten a bad, uh… rap over the years, but for the most part, the generalizations are true. The lyrics often do include the promotion of violence, the demeaning of women, the looking out for oneself even to the detriment of others… You know.
And then the flipside, there is Christian music. You don’t really dance to it. You more like sway. And the humility present in most songs is more of the soul I aspire to be instead of the one I actually am right now. I love slow beautiful music blended with an angelic voice. It brings me to tears almost every Sunday morning. I love it.
And I also love to dance. God definitely made me that way.
I first heard Andy Mineo on Spotify during one of my many Texas road trips. What?! I couldn’t believe it was “Christian music”. When I told my brother Jason about my new find- of course, he had already known about them for years. Jason has been in the #116clique from the beginning. This would explain the retro hats we sported at the concert.
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Ready for the concert! #Anomoly #andymineo #lecrae #sanantonio #christian #rap #hiphop #romans116
So now we have Rap and Hip-Hop music on one handโฆ And remember that people are very opinionated and passionate about what they feel over here. And on the other hand we have Christian music and, though typically much softer and mellower, there is no shortage of passion in this style of music either. Yet the two genres seem worlds apart… until now.
Being able to share the road trip from Austin to San Antonio and the concert with my brother was so much fun, I had to thank God for him when I got home that night. I think there should be more public shout-outs of gratitude, don’t you?
To begin our road trip, we started at Cracker Barrel for our newly discovered Sunday Chicken Fried Chicken Special.
Arriving three hours early in San Antonio meant that Jason and I had time to walk along the beautiful San Antonio Riverwalk. They really have done a lovely job with all the foliage. We even saw a couple getting married. Aww.
Back to the Anomaly concert…
There really was not a bad seat in the Tobin Center. In retrospect, I probably would have bought tickets for a seat in the balcony versus the general admission down below. We were closer but they got to sit. But then again, I really enjoyed using that free space to dance.
The concert kicked off with DJ Promote followed by Andy Mineo and closed by Lecrae. Thanks to Jason โ the video above has numerous clips of the concert and even some heartfelt moments from the artists.
We got REAL.
I thought some of the sweet conversations that Andy and Lecrae had with the audience were important to include in the video because it really speaks to their motives. These guys are SO cool.
The #116clique gets my respect because they truly are unashamed of their love for God. We don’t see a whole lotta that these days, and especially in an industry that is known for the opposite.
I’d put money on the bet that these guys have suffered some ridicule for their faith in this tough crowd. And to have to handle it with humility? Eek. I’d get my feathers ruffled, for sure.
They are fighting the good fight and surely…
They are the only Bible that some people will ever see.
So maybe they don’t sound like the songs we would hear in church. But it also does not sound like the Rap that is played on the radio. On the surface, Lecrae and Andy don’t really fit anywhere. I can relate to that.
But instead of complaining about the sacrifices of blazing a trail for a new type of ministry, these guys are jumping to fill that gap with the love of Christ. They’ve got zeal and passion and that inspires me.
So that’s what the title of this post is all about. There are some Rap peeps that are going to say these guys are lame, or whack, or whatever the word is now. They’ll say, “Man- those Jesus freaks don’t know nothin'” And they will harden their heart to the message.
There are some Christian peeps that will say, “That’s not Christian music. It’s loud. It’s angry. It can’t be good.” And they will harden their heart to the message.
I love that God made us all different. I love that God changed the hearts of Lecrae and Andy after they both experienced rough childhoods. So rough, it would not be surprising if either of them went the other direction.
But God had other plans. I am blessed to watch Him work.
Let me know what you think of the message and the music in the comments below.
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