CHH has had plenty of moments where criticism drew controversy. One moment was when Andy Mineo called Christian Rap "corny" in an MTV interview. Another was when Aha Gazelle referred to certain people in the genre as "fake as h*ll.” These are only a few examples from the long list of instances where CHH was critiqued during an interview or on social media.
Ironically, despite the history of CHH being overlooked by people in the mainstream, the people who have had the biggest critiques for CHH… have been CHH artists themselves.
This article originally appeared in Midnight Donuts #5 from October 2024. Want to read the most recent edition of Midnight Donuts? You can do so here!
Jackie Hill Perry's comments during her latest Rapzilla interview have been added to the already long list. CHH went into a frenzy after Jackie described CHH as not being "lyrical."
Before I go further, I want to make this clear: I personally don't have any strong feelings about what she said. Do I agree? Not at all.
However, considering that there have been people in CHH who have made statements about the genre in much more tone-deaf ways, I see Jackie's statement as friendly fire from someone who hasn't been active in the genre for a very long time. Plus, if you watch her sermons or listen to her podcast episodes, you'll see that Jackie is someone who's very straightforward in the way that she speaks.
This is the same type of straightforwardness that led the speaker/writer to call out Beyoncé for making music that she described as "demonic". Naturally, the same type of boldness that can be inspiring to others can feel distasteful when it's aimed at something you care about. That's why the pushback against Jackie's comment came out so strongly. I believe that the pushback was a symptom of the frustration and hurt that fans and artists have experienced through being unjustifiably underestimated.
For years, artists in CHH have been trying to fight against the stigma that Christian rap is a lesser version of secular hip-hop. I remember reading an article that described CHH as something that sheltered kids were forced to listen to. Even Lecrae has been upfront about the times when his music was viewed as "too churchy" for secular people and "too hood" for Christians.
So, when a figure in this community says something about the genre that isn't uplifting, it can come across as betrayal. I would say that this situation showed us that there are still wounds that need to be treated. I would encourage the members of the CHH community to remember that the genre has been more productive and more resilient than it has ever been.
There was a time when individuals on social media would claim that CHH was dead. As controversial as it may sound, they were partially correct. A part of CHH died during the notorious "secular vs sacred" debate. A part of it died when some of the pioneers of the genre left the faith.
The most wonderful thing about the dilemma is that it didn't stay that way. Now, there's a plethora of artists who are boldly proclaiming their faith on secular and religious platforms alike. Beefs that used to plague the community are largely a thing of the past (or, at the very least, much easier to manage), and countless stories of artists having their faith restored have been an encouragement to fans.
CHH will always receive critiques, but like a rapper in the genre has said, “if you live for their acceptance, you'll die from their rejection.” We don't have to worry about the death of CHH because Christ died instead of it.
Check out our Midnight Donuts 2024 Essentials playlist below for some music that was on our radar last year! Curation by
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