Beefin'

I was in the grocery store the other day and saw this magazine cover. I'll be honest and say that I'm not as in-tune to the hip-hop gravevine, rumor mill, news feed as I have been in times past. Nevertheless, I at least try to keep my ear to the street. With that said, I have no idea who 50-Cent's got beef with now, but my first thought was that beef keeps hip-hop movin.

It's a bit of a sobering thought, but it seems to be true. The grimy, harsh, and even violent battles between rappers are in part why we keep watching and listening. A rapper's career can be bolstered or broken by a rap battle. And some of the most memorable moments have been birthed by a broiling beef.  Ask anybody who loves rap music what their favorite rap battle or beef was, and your sure to be launched into an hour-long conversation about the best of hip-hop.

The sad reality is that sometimes a friendly little rap battle turns into a violent, and even deadly exchange. People get mad when you're stylin on 'em. But, it's because it's not just the rap that's involded. There's often much more on the line. It's more than rap; it's respect. And sometimes in the concrete jungle and the wild wild west of the urban centers and ghetto neighborhoods you have to kill or be killed.  It's about survival; and respect is everything when you're tryin to survive. Beef is one of the hallmarks of hip-hop because it flows from this incessant struggle for survival amongst oppressed and impoverished people.

Beef and battles demand authenticity. And that's probably the most valuable aspect of this whole thing. Hip-hop demands authenticity (or at least it used to...more on that another later). There's a long list of rappers that have had to exit stage left because they were "exposed." And a good, solid beef will do that to a rapper. It gets kinda nasty sometimes--the stuff that is brought out in a beef. Rappers rhyme about the secret details of the opponent's life in an effort to expose their weaknesses and ruin their reputation. You can't be fakin', frontin', and foolin' your fans in the midst of a beef. The truth always comes out. We need more of this.

If the church were as committed to authenticity as hip-hop is, our faith communities would be so much stronger. But often times we harbor resentment, hate, and malice towards church members, co-workers, even family and friends. Rappers put it all out on the table and on TV.  They don't whisper; they grab a mic and rhyme it out in bass lanes laced with lethal lyrics. It's kind of ironic because the Bible speaks directly to authenticity and confrontation (Matt. 18:15), but in nearly ten years of pastoral experience, it's rare that I see this principle employed. Hip-hop pursues the preservation of a healthy community through beef. And while there's a lot wrong with using your words to make somebody look small, there's a lot right with telling the truth and talking things out; even if it is over a beat.