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Rapping for Jesus: Religious hip-hop isn't quite what you think
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Chance the Rapper at the 2017 Grammy Awards, where his album "Coloring Book" won Best Rap Album. - photo by Justin Adams
To the average person, the idea of Christian hip-hop registers somewhere between Crocs sandals and minivans on the scale of super lame things for white people.

A person who has never listened to the genre might imagine it to be preachy, overly evangelizing and a little corny. As with most things, however, expectation and reality are two different things.

People think Christian music is defined by how safe, conservative, and family-friendly it is, said one Christian hip-hop artist, Propaganda, to the Deseret News. The truth according to Propaganda, born Jason Petty, is quite the opposite. There are a million things that are safe, conservative, and family-friendly that arent Christian, and the Christian life isnt always safe, conservative, or family-friendly."

Take Propagandas song I Aint Got an Answer, for example. The songs narrator is a father struggling with the challenges of raising children in a changing and dangerous world. It addresses racism, greed, teenage pregnancy, abortion and sexting. The songs tone isnt preachy or condemnatory. Rather, it presents these issues as the realities of modern life many people are faced with. The song ends with Propaganda stating he doesnt have the answers only the Savior does. It is the only part of the song that listeners could consider explicitly Christian.

I make music that is descriptive, not prescriptive. Im not trying to provide the answers, Im just telling stories, Propaganda explained.

Hip-hop, in general, has a bad reputation among a lot of people who feel that it promotes violence, drug use and sexual promiscuity. A 2013 survey by Public Policy Polling found that 68 percent of people hold an unfavorable opinion of the genre, compared with only 19 percent who view it favorably.

Yet, just because a song portrays actions that are seen as controversial or immoral is no reason to disregard it, according to Propaganda.

If people dont like having anything negative in their music then theyre going to have a hard time reading the Bible," he said. "The Bible has some dark moments in it, but ultimately its redemptive."

Propaganda says hes not afraid of tackling political or social issues either. Social issues are naturally embedded in the gospel message, he said. Jesus was born into a culture that was in subjugation, and he was subversive against the authority at the time and ultimately received capital punishment.

One Christian hip-hop artist, Lecrae, tackled the issue of police brutality in his 2016 song, Cant Stop Me Now. It is a personal exploration of it rather than a political one. He raps that after the killing of Tamir Rice by Cleveland police officers in 2014 he started to doubt God and question his purpose.

In an interview with Billboard, Lecrae explained what drove him to write the song: The loss of lives from Michael Brown and Eric Garner to Tamir Rice and Philando Castile these men and boys represented people who could be my family: nephews, cousins, brothers. So it grieved me deeply.

"I found that when I spoke about this, there was a large contingent of people with whom I may have shared similar beliefs in terms of faith. But they were completely on the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of sharing my grief for the loss of these lives.

We dont aim to be political, said Marcus Hollinger, senior director of marketing for Lecraes label, Reach Records. Its not a political agenda as much as it is a God loves justice' agenda.

As with many labels, it is difficult to define exactly what it even means to be a Christian rapper, especially because its qualifications are fluid.

You have to consider a lot of factors, said Propaganda. The audience its marketed towards, the content, the intent of the artist.

There are artists who satisfy all three criteria and others who may only fulfill one. Propaganda cited the example of Kendrick Lamar as one artist whose lyrics dont contain Christian messaging and who isnt marketed specifically for Christian messages, but whose music is inspired by his personal Christian beliefs.

Christian artists can exist on a spectrum, Hollinger told the Deseret News. According to him, there is one end of the spectrum where the artists Christian message is on the surface, like the group Beautiful Eulogy. On the other end of the spectrum, there are artists like Lamar or Chance the Rapper who engage with Christian themes or imagery less directly and less frequently.

Chance the Rappers latest album "Coloring Book" that won the 2017 Grammy for Best Rap Album, has some strong Christian elements. One song titled How Great prominently samples from the song How Great is Our God as performed by Chris Tomlin, a contemporary Gospel performer. The first two minutes and 45 seconds of the song contain no rapping only a Gospel choir singing, How great is our God, sing with me, all will see how great is our God.

In a 2016 interview on "Good Morning America," Chance elaborated on why he was driven to incorporate elements of Christian Gospel music into this album.

All my music to a certain extent is about freedom, he said. Theres a lot of taboos in hip hop that people try to stay away from. I think a big one is that people are afraid to speak about God to a certain extent and I think if youre not free to speak about God, then youre not free.

How Great and other religiously themed songs off "Coloring Book," like Angels and Blessings sit beside other tracks that are not religious in nature, such as the song No Problem which features a handful of language people wouldnt likely encounter at a Sunday service.

In a way, the ambiguity of "Coloring Book" and the Christian hip-hop genre in general can be viewed as a microcosm of Christianity itself. Like the Bible, it is open to interpretation. Just as lines are blurred in what it means to be a Christian rapper or rap album, so too are there differing opinions on what it means to be a Christian. In the world of music, labels may be useful for selling albums, but as listeners seek both entertainment and inspiration, they may find themselves looking beyond the labels.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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