8 Christian Rap Albums for fans of To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning album, To Pimp a Butterfly, is the gold standard. It’s easily one of the greatest rap albums ever made… Top 5, top 3 maybe. Who else is on that list? My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and… I don’t know, that last Bubba Sparxxx album? Kendrick uses himself as a case study to discuss the overreaching corrupt balances in relationships with power between him and his celebrity, a system that praises his celebrity which then reinforces unhealthy habits. If in the hands of a lesser man with less status and less money, it may cause him to commit a certain uncivil sin that would then land him in an institution funded by another cyclical system that also contributes to the very problem we see in the world today. All packaged over a time warp of different sounds in Black music make To Pimp a Butterfly the album we revere today. Though he hasn’t made something as sharp, calculated, and poignant as this record — which is not to say that his last three releases haven’t been good in their own right — he has set a benchmark for albums to come. I once heard a music journalist say that To Pimp a Butterfly is the greatest Christian rap record ever made. Anyway…
Here are some other high-concept Christian rap albums if you like To Pimp A Butterfly:
1. For the Love of Money — Eshon Burgundy
Take that, capitalism!
Mr. Burgundy has a stellar discography. For the Love of Money is one of his most sharply executed concepts. He’s talking about capitalism, materialism, commercialism, the Evangelical industrial complex, and the perverse relationship thereof. He’s not stopping there; he’s critiquing Black culture and how sometimes we prize the fruits of debauchery. Eshon is a top-tier lyricist in Christian rap.
2. Crooked — Propaganda
Propaganda is a California native pulling in that minimalist boom-bap Portland, Oregon sound with Humblebeast while mixing it with that good old West Coast flavor. He’s never one to divorce his legacy as a spoken word artist, incorporating some spoken word excerpts that flesh out a sonic statement. He addresses gentrification and racial economics and creates a space for intelligent, empathetic conversations, even when addressing potential perpetrators.
3. Testify: Season 1 — J. Monty
zone 6 hair! Does anybody remember that?
Does anybody remember that? No? Well, this one is hard to explain, but J. Monty is an absolute alien. How does he rap the way he does ever so consistently? His songs are adventures unto themselves. He has an infinite number of bars that he raps so fluidly. It’s quite insane.
4. Soul’s Acrylic — A.I. the Anomaly
I hope more people listen to this woman’s music. She is a talent that, despite having a high-profile feature and arguably the best verse on Lecrae’s Misconceptions 4, still feels largely slept on. Soul’s Acrylic is a mural of sorts, documenting her life and trials along with her passion to articulate life’s realities paralleled with the truth of the Gospel through these arrangements of soulful, Midwest Coast rap. Listen to Soul’s Acrylic, then go listen to “Banners and Bonnets,” and then “Don’t Eat Crow.” Yeah, listen to all those songs and become a fan of hers.
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the next two albums can be listened to back-to-back.
5. Talented 10th — Sho Baraka
For Sho Baraka, I am recommending a double feature. Listen to Talented 10th and The Narrative back-to-back. Or make a playlist with all the songs from both albums and just put it on shuffle. Talented 10th is Sho Baraka’s first solo release after leaving Reach Records and it is a voyage into the different facets and history of Black music in America, along with many other experimental sounds.
6. The Narrative — Sho Baraka
Then you have his follow-up record, The Narrative, which showed up a few years later once he signed with Humble Beast. This album is much more mature; his execution and lyricism are cleaner, his flow is tighter, and it’s not nearly as experimental. Together, what you have is a very pungent mix of impactful music.
7. Wake Up — Swoope
Wake Up by Swoope. I feel like I’ve written about this album enough. Is this album a scapegoat for any time I want to include an album that is artistic and epic-sounding? Maybe. But it’s my blog, so get off my back about it. It’s a big album, and it sounds good. Swoope is rapping about the issues that we’re dealing with. And he’s not holding back, so I’m not holding back.
So if the following passage sounds familiar, I may or may not have copy-pasted some of the previous things I’ve written about this album:
Wake Up, by Swoope, is a masterwork sure to impress. The album is rich with interludes and beautiful transitions. The sequencing of the record is complex and includes wonderful sonic moments. Swoope channels the inspiration of Ye in this record and successfully creates a masterwork.
8. Hood Hymns — Tobe Nwigwe
I know I probably could have featured one of Tobe’s full-on rap records, but there will always be time for me to draw comparisons to Kendrick and Tobe. I want to end on a lighter note. Some of these albums can be intense, and while they do a good job of speaking to issues and the state of the human being and the state of black people, it can wear down on your soul. So, it’s good to have a little bit of hope mixed in with your ability to observe and critique. And being that To Pimp A Butterfly is this wonderful odyssey venturing into the soundscape that black people have created for American music for the past 100+ years, why not end on an album that is a series of hymns done through the lens of the Southwest Austin, Texas hood aesthetic. This album has so many beautiful moments. The music videos that accompany it are some of Tobe’s best work to date — compelling and sweet. I think someone could roll their eyes at the prospect of a song called “Niggas Need Jesus,” but that’s probably someone who needs to genuinely engage with some beautiful art compelled by the desire to articulate the truth of the Gospel.
Yay! just in time for the Super Bowl.
I work in the communications department for a trucking company. We had a plan to do some Super Bowl-related content but we were told that we can't explicitly use the words “Super Bowl.” So, we have to call it the “big game.”
anyway here is a playlist of Christian music for fans of Kendrick Lamar.
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and also…
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