If I were to say murder, you would say it is not a joke. If I were to say rape, you would say it is not a joke. If I were to say drugs, you would say it is not a joke. So why do we listen to rap songs filled with such messages? Many would claim that they don’t listen to the lyrics, so it’s OK.

The message gets out nonetheless.

People would say they enjoy the music, but don’t support the lyrics. Regardless of what you feel, you give your support to these rappers by becoming one of the billions of plays on Spotify.

Despite the prominence of these themes in rap music, there are other artists than the explicit rappers that dominate the genre of hip hop like Drake and Post Malone. There are other rappers who utilize the beat to share a message worth your time or to even just pump you up during a workout. One of these rappers is Lecrae.

Lecrae arose from various difficulties. Sexually abused as a child by his own babysitter, Lecrae has made many poor choices. He used illegal drugs and pulled daring stunts, giving himself the nickname “Crazy Crae.” But he made a change when he heard the message of the Gospel. He wrote raps about this transformation. He writes about his life. He writes lyrics that can resonate to a wide audience from many various backgrounds and stories, including non-Christians. He writes a message worth listening to.

Lecrae’s song “Cry For You” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkCD_PacwGE) speaks out about depression and suicide but still encourages the reader. He expresses that they do not have to be perfect. They do not have to live up to every expectation. There will be pain and suffering, but it is all a part of life, which can be answered in the hope that lies on the other end of our struggles.

The artist’s tone of voice and instrumentation sets the stage. With a soft piano and soulful voice, the chorus instills a deep and brooding mood. When Lecrae begins to rap, he raps it as a conversation with God rather than to an audience.

“It’s so hard to confess

When everybody thinks you’re perfect”

That message is real. When people gain reputations, nobody wants to confess to their mistakes and let it all go. Nobody wants to be honest because they are afraid of everyone else. They are afraid of what people will think. Lecrae follows up with this line:

“If they knew what you knew, they’d probably shun me

I’m surprised you know it all and you love me”

He is honest with his God. He knows that somehow He will love him regardless. When everyone else would give up and throw him away, his God still cares for him. He does not have to live up to some unrealistic expectation because God forever accepts him.

Lecrae finishes his first verse with an unanswered question, desiring to know the purpose of his pain.

“Praying daily, can you take away this pain?

Take the thorn away

Still, it remains, I

Feel the same, I

Know that I’m here, but

Still feel insane

Satan would love to see my give up and throw up my hands

He say I’m guilty but You say I’m clean”

Lecrae is sharing about the common struggle of pain. Everyone wants it to all go away, but it is still there. There is no way to make it go away. Instead, he simply asks the question. He shares how he feels constant pain. He encourages the listener to push through since it is the laziness in our hearts that wants us to succumb to the struggles of this life and concede defeat.

Lecrae then goes on to finish his last verse with a rhetorical question and an analogy to his life.

“Will you cry for me, or will you judge me?

Will you throw stones at my head, or will you love me?

I could never be everything that you wanna see

But crooked sticks draw straight lines, just look at me”

This last part of verse two finishes his idea on society’s expectations. We can go around judging and expecting beyond need, or we can accept others for who they are. It might not be what you truly desire, but it all comes together in the end regardless of how twisted and broken one may be.

“But I cry for you

If you feel it, too”

Yes, it is simple. Yes, it is only one sentence, but it says so much more. If you feel upset with yourself, broken, and lost, you are not alone. There is hope. There are others out there going through a similar hardship. Lecrae cries for you because he feels it too.

In a related article, I write about another artist, KB, and his more lighthearted rap song, “Not Today Satan.”