Lecrae
Man, Lecrae hits me so hard. Like, how can a homie speak
such truth, be such an anomaly [misfit, outsider, leader], and get such
backlash. Eish.
I read chapter 1 of his book Unashamed (because it was free
haha). I thought, woah. It must be so hard being a Christian standing in a
satan-saturated industry.
Chilling at Jay-Z’s crib worth everyone looking at
you like you about to shove a Bible down their throat. I mean I struggle to
stand unashamed on my campus, where there are tons of Christians who would
probably support me (or I’d hope they would).
Anyway, so his music is inspiring and authentic and has had
a major impact on my life since 2012. Allowed me to be accept my personality as
I wrestled with me image of the perfect Christian: what they wore, how they
spoke, the thoughts that consumed them, the struggles they beat down, and were
sometimes beaten by. So God loves little gangster kids? So Hillsong doesn’t
have to be my favourite music group? (Don’t get me wrong, I like Hillsong, it’s
just not the kinda music I play when I’m walking down the road pretending to be
hood).
Point is, so I’m reading up on him a little. What’s new with
Lecrae? After all, if this guy’s music is gonna be blasting in my ears I better
know where he is in life. Also because if he ever casually announces a tour to
Namibia I need to be the first to know and find a way to hold him accountable
to this. But I digress. So he’s an American and has been speaking out quite a
bit on #AllBlacksMatter.
This is the kinda stuff he says:
“You
assume my anger is at white people and not white supremacy”
“For example, nobody would deny that if someone was
a billionaire in 1962, his billions are going to affect all of his descendants.
The reverse is also true. The lack of education, material and
finances for a slave are going to affect the descendants of that individual as
well. So when you start looking at it [like that] and stepping back, you may
say, "Ah, okay. It's more of a systemic issue that's happening." If
you start to see some of these infrastructural [issues], that will start
to make a difference.
But to be fair, that
process takes humility on both sides. It also takes a great deal of humility
for someone to quell his or her emotions, frustrations, and anger
with another who constantly can’t see the emotional turmoil they're
going through. The person who feels frustrated by those who don’t readily
understand or acknowledge racism, will struggle to consistently paint the
narrative for them.
I want people to know
that [racism] is bigger than just caring for your community. This is a
moral issue across the board for humanity. If you subscribe to any moral code
that says you should care for humanity, obviously black people will fit
into that category. So why would you not advocate for justice and truth unless
you have something to lose?”
I mean woah. Using your
influence to speak out like that. Trusting that God is in control, and knowing
you have been called for such a time as this. To use your influence to speak
out at a time like this. To love and respect people enough to tell them the
truth at a time like this.
If
I quoted all the lyrics from his songs where I paused, replayed, wished I was
on Twitter so I could tweet it, replayed again and settled for a mass WhatsApp
mission I’d never finish this post. I leave you with one of the latest, his
closing line on Misconceptions 3:
“Wonder how do we survive in this suicide, do or die
jungle?
Let the Spirit lead like He want to”
By BrownPaperBagGirl
