Ever since I was 10, rap has been my music of choice. Not for the sexualization of women, the glorification of drugs and violence, or the over-inflated egos that seemed mandatory to success. I adored the lyrical artistry that was encouraged. There’s a certain poetic style used by rap artists that can say so much within so few words, rarely relying on cliches or forced rhymes. There’s also freedom within the genre, allowing rappers to discuss specific topics that just can’t be done in other genres of music.
When I started removing secular music from my regular diet, I had a hard time with the early Christian rap scene. There were certainly artists trying to point to Christ in their music, but there were definite growing pains. Over the years we’ve seen some amazing artists begin to rise, whose lyrics are filled with incredible theology and whose artistry can easily go against many mainstream rappers. Of those, perhaps my favorite Christian rap group is Beautiful Eulogy (iTunes, Google Play).
Lyrical paintbrushes
There are two parts of my personality that make it difficult to find music I’ll regularly listen to. The theologian in me needs the content to be meaningful. It’s easy for Christian music to be shallow, stirring up our surface-level emotions without giving something more to chew on. It’s nice to listen to, but it’s more like eating potato chips than a meal.
Though the theologian probably surprises no one, a little-known side of me is my love of reading and writing poetry. I’m fascinated by the uniqueness of the English language and the unlimited ways it can be molded to reflect the artist crafting lines of words. Poetry is especially fascinating because it doesn’t encourage long-windedness, instead requiring a poet to take paragraphs-worth of ideas and perfectly distill them into a few well-crafted lines. It’s this unique artform that has given us some of our most beloved hymns throughout the years.
Beautiful Eulogy does what few musicians in any genre can do by scratching both my theological and poetic itches. Their style can be better compared to spoken word than traditional rap, with the music only being a secondary component of the songs. Instead, at center-stage are lyrics that get to deep truths within Christianity, crafted in a way that is incredibly satisfying to hear.
With how subjective music taste is, I’d simply like to share my favorite songs, along with a few lines from each that demonstrate the perfect blend of solid theology and beautiful poetry.
My top 3 songs
#3 – Symbols and Signs
Symbols and Signs is so unfortunately relevant, and needed, for us today. It calls out how the supernatural is abused, either by false teachers or true believers who may not fully understand where we should primarily seek truth. There’s a trend in modern Christianity that some sort of “experience” is important to our faith, and from that we’re likely to pursue any teachers who promise experience at the expense of truth.
My favorite lines
Are you the kind that’s completely consumed by symbols and signs?
If you are that’s fine
But don’t you find it interesting
How most of the time your self-interpreting seems to coincide
With what’s deep inside your heart’s desires
Seems rather convenient, doesn’t it?
…
But, I’ll give you a sign that’s obvious
One of the most supernatural acts is that God through His Word has actually revealed everything pertaining to life in Godliness
…
It’s boring when my life is more like the book of Ruth than Exodus
I’ve never seen the parting of an ocean
Or a cloud by day or pillar by night
Just a normal everyday working of life
Where things that suck royally is evidence of His royalty
Scratch your temple so deep it’s simple
Silly us, ignore the plain
We prefer a riddle
Dying to see a miracle while holding God’s diary
Looking for signs
#2 – Entitlement
This song perfectly embodies what I love about poetry and rap – if I were to write an article that focused on delivering the same truths in this song, it would be a 10 minute read (at least!). Each line delivered here is heavy with meaning, making us pause to consider how entitled we are and how that self-serving pride constantly leads us into the arms of idols. I’ll sing this song to myself regularly as a reminder of where my heart needs to be.
My favorite lines
(Honestly, this song is so short and contains no filler lines, so it’s hard not to just paste the entire song. These are the lines that always get me.)
Limited in mind, limited in body, ruler of our own domain
Claim false authority, like we’re the ones who rule and reign
The mentality of the majority is more than metaphorically morphing into a misinformed form of who we were born to be
…
Worshipping idols to fulfill our entitlement issues
Addicted to the feeling we get when we get what we want so we pick and we choose.
Even the air we breathe is a gift we receive that we think we’re entitled to
…
The only thing we’re entitled to is judgement for the lives we led
There’s nothing we can hide behind, in the end we need grace instead
#1 – Exile Dial Tone
Not only is this the first song I heard from Beautiful Eulogy, but it made me buy my first music album in about a decade. It speaks to the balance we face as Christians, being citizens of Christ’s kingdom while living as aliens on this broken Earth. It manages to be filled with hope while still creating a convicting call to stop sitting around. It reinforces the sovereignty of God and rejecting the man-focused attempts of making Christianity hip, relevant, or “seeker sensitive.”
This song may not be their hardest-hitting, but it’s the one that led me to finding other Christian rappers with good theology and incredible lyrical prowess.
My favorite lines
We’re part of a culture, that really loves to hate us
Every chance they get, they attempt to isolate and debate us
It’s not that they don’t like us. It’s just they don’t like God in us
It’s common knowledge and oddly enough, it makes a lot of sense to a lot of us
We completely understand because we use to occupy the same space
And lived in a similar type state until we tasted of God’s grace
…
We are in this world not of it, not to be scared and run from it
We shine light in the darkness, that’s why He left us here
Calling out to all the exiles, the Lord will not forsake you
His kingdom can’t be shaken, hold strong the end is near
We are the light of the world, so, shine on
…
Why we sitting on our hands with no plans like we got time to waste?
…
“If only we had better rappers to gain us more respect
To validate what we believe and keep our name up in the press!”
But God does not use the same methods as the world
He chose the foolish and the weak to bring His message to the world
We were rescued from the world, He left us here to be His servants
We don’t need more superstars we need more Gospel-centered churches
Go find your favorite
Out of their 3 albums, I’ve never really had a song fall flat for me. Even if I don’t care for a particular instrumental, their lyrics and depth always make up for it. But it’s 2019, so you don’t just have to take my word for it.
You can listen to them through iTunes, Google Play, or almost any digital/physical way you like listening to music. All their songs should also be on YouTube, so feel free to binge their music there before buying. If you end up finding your own favorite Beautiful Eulogy song, let me know!
