Saturday, February 2, 2013

Contradicting melodies?

The soundtrack of my life began when I was 14 at a boy scout camp. For one summer I worked with young boys aspiring towards greatness through the acts of building fires. It was during those few months that I was introduced to rap music--DMX to be exact.

The album cover was of a man sitting in a tub of blood. Seeing those images and hearing those rhymes sparked a sense of reality that was new, undiscovered, exciting, and full of something wrong, but felt good.

As the summer came to a close I had every lyric of each rap memorized. The words of darkness filled my mind and could erupt off my tongue without hesitation. I learned to curse like a man and rap like an artist.

From there, the world of pop music and rap became my beat of choice. Learning a version of R-rated material that desensitized my ears and heart from all that was pure. 

I had a season of hard-rock pulsing through my veins--crowd surfing over mosh-pits, words being screamed at sweaty bodies jumping up and down. The harder you rocked the better it was.

Transitioning into adulthood I went with the flow. If it had a good beat I listened. Unconsciously I would memorize the words of top-hits, flipping back and forth between radio stations to get my fix.

...

I have spoken with many who agree it is the first thing to flee. And like them, it was for me.

As if my ears had been plugged I began to hear it all cut and dry. Some days I would seek through the stations and find an old tune, only having to change it quickly because of what I now knew. The enemy is tricky and tries to catch you all the time, but God is bigger and had made it definite of what I was to leave behind.

It has been a few years now, long enough to fall short of the times. I don't know what is "hot" or what albums are best selling. Up until this last week my curiosity took hold and I ventured onto YouTube searching out this artist that everyone was talking about. He had came to Utah, making an appearance in Park City and from all the photos and hype I wanted to see what I was obviously missing.

His song is #1 on the charts, the intro and first verse goes like this...

What, what, what, what... [x7]

Bada, badada, badada, bada... [x9]

[Hook:]
I'm gonna pop some tags
Only got twenty dollars in my pocket
I - I - I'm hunting, looking for a come-up
This is fucking awesome

[Verse 1:]
Nah, Walk up to the club like, "What up, I got a big cock!"
I'm so pumped about some shit from the thrift shop
Ice on the fringe, it's so damn frosty
That people like, "Damn! That's a cold ass honkey."
Rollin' in, hella deep, headin' to the mezzanine,
Dressed in all pink, 'cept my gator shoes, those are green
Draped in a leopard mink, girls standin' next to me
Probably shoulda washed this, smells like R. Kelly's sheets
(Piiisssssss)
But shit, it was ninety-nine cents! (Bag it)
Coppin' it, washin' it, 'bout to go and get some compliments
Passin' up on those moccasins someone else's been walkin' in
But me and grungy fuckin it man
I am stuntin' and flossin' and
Savin' my money and I'm hella happy that's a bargain, bitch
I'ma take your grandpa's style, I'ma take your grandpa's style,
No for real - ask your grandpa - can I have his hand-me-downs? (Thank you)
Velour jumpsuit and some house slippers
Dookie brown leather jacket that I found diggin'
They had a broken keyboard, I bought a broken keyboard
I bought a skeet blanket, then I bought a kneeboard
Hello, hello, my ace man, my Mello
John Wayne ain't got nothing on my fringe game, hell no
I could take some Pro Wings, make them cool, sell those
The sneaker heads would be like "Aw, he got the Velcros"



The next hits on the list--revenge, depression, sex, money, hate, independence, broken heart, lust, drugs, self-derived happiness, pride, and drunkenness.

I've been trying to wrap my head around the reality of this music.

Maybe you can help.

Can you claim to live a life in Jesus Christ with contradicting melodies?




Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Tay: They always remain contradictions when we look for respources within us to confront and deny them the place they are seeking in our inner being. But,truly in CHRIST, the SPIRIT has taken possession of our hearts and desires to sort out the contradictions. HE is the ONE seeking to transform and renew our minds. When we submit it to him, HE transforms all the energy of negativity in our heart into empowering energy in the midst of contradicting melodies... I love how you speak these beautiful, simple words from the complexity of your heart. HE is always glorified in your faithfulness to HIM. Love you sister, jay