BROADCASTS.com

Earlier this month, a debate long familiar within the Christian hip-hop (CHH) community resurfaced when rapper Shai Linne released "Still Jesus." Throughout the album Linne suggests that CHH musicians whose tracks focus less explicitly on Jesus and who now professionally or personally associate with secular artists could be risking the integrity of the community. CHH musicians have the freedom to change the focus of their music, says DJ Cut No Slack, a former member of early CHH group I.D.O.L. King. For those who say, \u201c\u2018Hey, I don\u2019t want to be called Christian MC anymore.\u2019 Okay, well why? That would be a question I\u2019d have,\u201d said Slack. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you? I think there needs to be a real answer or clarification as to why you don\u2019t want to be, especially since you came out that way, and I\u2019ve been following you for years and now you want to switch. But guess what? You have the right to change your mind.\u201d Part of that means that fans must be willing to let their favorite artists change. \u201cOn the church\u2019s side, we have to make space for people to be who they are and change because they are not mandated in Scripture that everything you did in artistic form must proclaim the birth and resurrection of Jesus,\u201d he said. Slack joined assistant editor Morgan Lee and editor in chief Mark Galli to discuss the historical context of Linne\u2019s critique, what fans and MCs owe each other, and what Christians without a public artistic presence can learn from the controversy.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices