Award-winning Christian hip-hop artist Kevin “KB” Burgess is urging the church community to set aside cultural differences and to embrace Christian rap, asserting that mainstream hip-hop is teaching teens and children to “hate Jesus.”
“Let’s return to that era of seeing Christian hip-hop as a powerful way that we might bring revival,” KB told Christian Headlines.
“Think about what we can rejoice over -- that the gospel is being preached, churches are being strengthened and people are coming to Christ,” he added. “Lean into that.”
A three-time Dove Award winner, KB is the author of the new book Dangerous Jesus (Tyndale), where he tackles such issues as race and politics and encourages Christians to follow the “Christianity of Christ” and not the “Christianity of the land.” He and other popular Christian hip-hop (CHH) artists, including Lecrae, have been rejected by some corners of conservatism in recent years due to their stances on issues of race.
KB calls himself a “black-conscious conservative.”
“I'm far more Christian than I am anything else,” he said. He calls it an “absolute shame” to be “so quickly dismissed as woke or liberal.”
He is urging Christian families and the church community to set aside their cultural differences with CHH artists.
“Can we please, by God's grace, remember that the gospel of Jesus Christ transcends our disagreements, that the gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to bring us to the table and find a unified path forward, that the gospel of Jesus Christ is transcendental?” he asked.
Noting that much mainstream hip-hop is filled with coarse content, KB added, “The alternative is what your children are going to listen to -- they are listening to. And the alternative is teaching them to hate Jesus. That's a little hyperbolic. But there's truth to it.”
Hip-hop, he noted, is consumed more than any other genre in America. In 2018, nine of the 10 most consumed songs in the U.S. were hip-hop/R&B songs, Billboard reported.
Hip-hop’s popularity, KB said, makes it a powerful vehicle for spreading the gospel, but only if the church embraces it.
“Majority culture is the main consumer of hip-hop in general,” he said. “... I mean, it's the suburbs and upper class that is funding the entire operation. I think it's important, especially for Christians with resources, majority culture Christians with resources, to once again, really lean into Christian hip-hop.
Christian hip-hop provides a gospel-centered option for teens and children who enjoy rap, KB said.
“Set your traditions aside, set your fears aside, and where people are rapping about the gospel, support that,” he said. “And that's what I want to do. I want to support that kind of work. And I've been grateful for those who have supported me and my work.”
Photo Courtesy: ©Tyndale, used with permission.
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.