- Rappin' for Jesus on YouTube. ' Rappin' for Jesus ' is a 2013 song that has been viewed over 75 million times on YouTube as of June 2021. The song was purportedly written by a Pastor Jim Colerick and his wife Mary Sue from a church in Iowa for a youth Christian outreach program. The original video was uploaded to YouTube by user Brian Spinney.
- The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven, published in 2010 with Alex and his father Kevin listed as co-authors, eventually became a bestseller – one billed as a description of “miracles, angels,.
via RHINO/YouTube
Commercially Successful But Controversial
The Dire Straits single “Money for Nothing” was a huge success for the band. It topped several charts in the US and was also a hit in the UK and other countries. It earned them a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and MTV VMAs Video of the Year.
For the Love of God is a unique and compelling documentary examining the world of a man who believes he has had a 2000 year existence as Jesus Christ.
In 1985, ZZ Top’s music videos received heavy airplay on MTV and Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler drew inspiration from Billy Gibbons’ trademark guitar tone. In fact, Knopfler actually sought Gibbons’ help. In 1986, Gibbons admitted, “He didn’t do a half-bad job, considering that I didn’t tell him a thing!”
The lyrics were from the POV of two working-class men who watched videos and gave their commentaries. Knopfler got the idea while he was at an appliance store in New York City. They had a bunch of TVs displayed on a wall and tuned in to one channel – MTV. As he stood there and watched, another man dressed in work clothes stood beside him and started commenting on what they saw. Knopfler immediately grabbed a pen and paper to write some of the things he said and used them for the song.
Knopfler told Bill Flanagan in 1984: “The lead character in “Money for Nothing” is a guy who works in the hardware department in a television/custom kitchen/refrigerator/microwave appliance store. He’s singing the song. I wrote the song when I was actually in the store. I borrowed a bit of paper and started to write the song down in the store. I wanted to use a lot of the language that the real guy actually used when I heard him, because it was more real…”
While they were recording in the studio, Sting came to visit and listened to the demo. He was immediately impressed and so Knopfler challenged him to add something. Sting ended up contributing the line “I want my MTV.”
While “Money for Nothing” was commercially successful, it wasn’t without its share of controversy. The lyrics were deemed homophobic and so when they performed it live, Dire Straits would replace some of the words with something less vulgar.
Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine in 1985, Knopfler addressed the issue and said: “I got an objection from the editor of a gay newspaper in London – he actually said it was below the belt. Apart from the fact that there are stupid gay people as well as stupid other people, it suggests that maybe you can’t let it have so many meanings – you have to be direct. In fact, I’m still in two minds as to whether it’s a good idea to write songs that aren’t in the first person, to take on other characters. The singer in “Money for Nothing” is a real ignoramus, hard hat mentality – somebody who sees everything in financial terms. I mean, this guy has a grudging respect for rock stars. He sees it in terms of, well, that’s not working and yet the guy’s rich: that’s a good scam. He isn’t sneering.”
In 2011, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council banned the song but it was eventually lifted.
| 'Rappin' for Jesus' | |
|---|---|
| Single by Pastor Jim Colerick and Mary Sue Colerick | |
| Released | February 5, 2013 (video)[1] February 14, 2013 (single)[2] |
| Genre | |
| Length | 2:32 |
| Label | Self-released |
| Music video | |
| Rappin' for Jesus on YouTube | |
'Rappin' for Jesus' is a 2013 parody song that has been viewed over 75 million times on YouTube as of June 2021.[1] The song was purportedly written by a Pastor Jim Colerick and his wife Mary Sue from a church in Iowa for a Christian youth outreach program.[1][3] The original video was uploaded to YouTube by user Brian Spinney on February 5, 2013, and garnered wider attention through the website Reddit.[4][5] Spinney claimed to have directed the video with his pastor while in high school.[6]
The Daily Dot concluded the video is a hoax, calling it 'obviously fake'.[6] Chris English, pastor of GracePoint Church in Dubuque, Iowa, said in 2013 that he had never heard of Pastor Jim Colerick or West Dubuque 2nd Church of Christ, the church supposedly affiliated with the song.[7]
The website of West Dubuque 2nd Church of Christ, linked to by the original video, claims that the church closed in 2004. However, The Daily Dot pointed out that the website had been created on January 15, 2013, the same day as Spinney's YouTube channel.[5][6] In light of this, The Huffington Post questioned the authenticity of the video, calling it 'very peculiar indeed'.[4]
Criticism[edit]
The song has the chorus line 'Jesus Christ is my nigga'. Pastor Chris English, in an email to The Christian Post, said the use of the word nigga was 'clearly over the line, and offensive'.[7] He thought the video, parody or not, perpetuated many negative stereotypes about Christians, and as such, would have never worked in an outreach program for young people.[7]
The Dallas Observer also criticized the song, saying: 'it's cheesy. It's bad. It's painful.' It described the song as having a negative impact on public perception of Christian rap.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ abcSpinney, Brian (February 5, 2013). Rappin' for Jesus. Retrieved June 19, 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^'Pastor & Mrs. Jim Colerick'. Retrieved February 13, 2021 – via Bandcamp.
- ^'Home Page'. West Dubuque 2nd Church of Christ. Archived from the original on April 18, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
- ^ abThomas, Emily (February 13, 2013). 'Rappin' For Jesus: Music Video Births New Rap Star Of Christianity (NSFW Language)'. The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ ab'White Pastor Rhymes 'Jesus Is My N*gga' In Rap Video'. NewsOne. Urban One. February 15, 2013. Archived from the original on January 23, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
- ^ abcHoffberge, Chase (February 13, 2013). 'That 'Rappin For Jesus' video is obviously fake'. The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- ^ abcSchapiro, Jeff (February 21, 2013). 'Iowa Church's YouTube Hit 'Rappin' for Jesus' Video a Hoax?'. The Christian Post. Archived from the original on August 5, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
- ^Skinner, Paige (June 12, 2018). 'Dallas' Christian Rappers Have Beats and Holy Spirit, But Is What They Do Rap?'. Dallas Observer. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
Is This Money Jesus Guy For Real
