Holy Matrimony: A fresh look at hip hop.
Updated: Sep 26
As we head towards the end of hiphop’s fifty first anniversary, something powerful just shook the industry. The release of Kendrick Lamar’s “Watch the party die” may be what our culture was longing for & or needed.
Pulitzer Prize and 17 Grammy award winner Kendrick Lamar has been having a phenomenal year coming off with a victory in the legendary “Beef” with Drake. With this unprecedented success comes a lot of attention, in the track titled “Watch the party die” he mentions 2 hip hop artist, one by the name of Lecrae & the other by the name of Dee-1.
Both of these artist present a positive & Holy message throughout their works.
Lecrae is a Grammy Award-winning rapper, author, and entrepreneur, widely regarded for his pioneering influence in Christian hip-hop. Born Lecrae Devaughn Moore in Houston, Texas, he rose to prominence by merging socially conscious themes, faith-based messages, and high-caliber lyricism, bridging the gap between mainstream hip-hop and Christian music. Lecrae’s journey into hip-hop began during his troubled teenage years, when he found solace and self-expression in rap. After converting to Christianity in his early 20s, he decided to use his music as a platform to inspire others.
Dee-1, born David Augustine Jr. is a New Orleans-born rapper, educator, and motivational speaker, known for his positive, socially conscious lyrics and commitment to morallity. His introduction to hip-hop began during his college years at Louisiana State University, where he used music as a way to express his thoughts on life, education, and overcoming adversity. After graduating, Dee-1 briefly worked as a school teacher before deciding to pursue a full-time career in music.
Beyond music, Lecrae along with Dee-1 have been vocal advocates for social justice, mental health, and community using their platforms to address issues of race, faith, and societal change.
But why are we discussing these two gentlemen? In reference to the track “Watch the party die”, Kendrick mentions them iterating,
“sometimes I wonder what Lecrae would do, fuck these niggas up or show em just what prayer do”
followed up by,
“I want to be empathetic, my heart like Dee-1, but I wil ————-“.
These mentions amidst the attention Kendrick’s currently receiving has prompted many listeners to check out their work including the singles released in light of their newfound attention/success.
Lecrae dropped a track in days following ‘WTPD’ titled, “Die for the party”, a Christian flip on the thoughts of ‘Jesus dying for our sins’. Keeping consistent with his beliefs Lecrae continues this imagery with the cover art depicting a white pair of ‘Air Force ones’, a flip on the black air forces on the cover of ‘WTPD’ & their symbolism to the ‘urban’ African American community. The track features an upbeat switch to the errie, kill bill like vibe set by ‘WTPD’, and rather than attack, Lecrae offers a hand and let’s others know he’s also partook in the “party”, but with that he also acknowledges the accountability we must thrust upon ourselves to actually improve.
For context, Dee-1 has been a strong advocate for the lyrical substance involving our hiphop community for the past 15 years. In these years of advocacy, Dee-1 has publicly fought had words with other Rap acts, on behalf of their content, some of those names being Lil Wayne, Birdman & Rick Ross.
Dee-1, a Louisiana native, also took this opportunity to release a track in light of his newfound success. In a song titled “Call it like it is”, which is another direct play on words, Dee-1 sets aim at the rap industry. For the cover we get a what many would think of as ‘random’ cover art, featuring another pair of sneakers. This time a around with wasn’t just another pair of Nikes, it was a pair of ‘Soulja Rees”, aka Reebok workout mids, an extremely cuturally relevant pair of shoes for a Louisiana Native or anyone in the know of Louisiana African American culture. In a way similar to Kendrick Lamar‘s initial track. "Call It Like It Is" is a bold, straightforward track that addresses issues of social justice, personal responsibility, and authenticity. In his signature style, that also pays homage to his hometown, Dee-1 delivers sharp, unapologetic lyrics that call out societal hypocrisy and challenge listeners to live with integrity.
Personally, this looks like a direct alley-oop, Kendrick using his platform to shed light on the other hip hop acts, ‘trying to set the slaves free’ as mentioned by Drake. Are we seeing a rebirth of our hiphop culture returning to its original roots? Or is this just for the moment? Are we as a Hip hop culture ready to grow old along with our beloved culture?
Let’s us know your thoughts on everything & checkout the tracks in the links below.
Also read our article on the release of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘WTPD’ here.
Sources: DEE-1 , Youtubemusic , Instagram
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