Trailblazin Ministries

Lecrae - Rebel

Written by George Sly
Thursday, October 30, 2008

Album Overview

Allow me to describe to you the state of our world today: people worshiping money, sex, drugs, and fame. Our culture in America is one that tries to keep God out. Everybody else is okay with same-sex marriage. People often use abortion to hide their sexual sin and it's okay in our culture. The idea that God is merely a part of life and not life itself is the accepted train of thought at school, at work, and especially at play. Well, Lecrae has some good questions on our culture and he also gives some good answers. On his first album he wanted to engage you in some Real Talk. Then he asked you what you would do After the Music Stops. Now, rebellion is the cry from Lecrae on Rebel, the third and so far, his illest solo project yet. What should a believer in the Christ do when everyone they know is caught in sin? How do you wake up those people negating a biblical worldview for a view created by men? According to Lecrae, you do what every generation has had to do: rebel! Rebel against the falsehood of Relativism and Secular Humanism; reject the theory of Evolution as truth. The idea of being different than your friends, family, and co-workers rings out on every veritable metaphor echoed from your speakers.

You need to understand something: not only does Rebel hit you with plainspoken lyrics, neck snapping beats, and content too meaty to eat without a knife and fork, it is Gospel! Lecrae comes at you with nothing but Gospel. God inspires him in such a creative way that even the CAAE and NFAA can't define it in order to give it an artistic award. I can get yelled at by my boss, drop a cinder brick on my pinky toe, and have a full-on flu for 36 hours straight and that still won't hinder in anyway the inspiration and motivation I have to worship God to this album. Beyond the normal reason you would endorse an album, the beauty of Rebel is Lecrae glorifies God. Not he, nor a church, nor ministry gets favor, but God alone. It is Christ alone who gets the glory. It is so refreshing to hear music that not only edifies, but also hits the mark for our Lord. So hold on to the fact that opposing views cannot be correct at the same time and have confidence in your role model, Jesus the Messiah. He was the Truth. He destroyed the religious system established by the teachers of the Law. Look at the fruit of what his rebellion bloomed: the blood of a New Testament. His actions gave Fulfillment of the Law and restoration of Israel to its rightful place and purpose. You see people; it is not enough to say you believe in Jesus. Now it is time to prove that you really believe what you say that you do. Prove it. Honor him. Stand out on a limb for Him. Rebel!

Spiritual Significance

I cannot not begin to tell you how important a project like Rebel is to our culture today. It would be like trying to explain the vast manuscript tradition of the Bible in a one-paragraph essay. I literally felt the Holy Spirit while listening to Lecrae. I could relate when that cat addresses temptations (his flesh) with lines like, "First of all, lower your voice. Who you talkin' to...?" I think hitting us with the concept that everybody is sinning and finding ways to justify it is relevant to the Hip Hop culture. Most of the youth we teach and even some adults have been smacked over the cranium with historical amnesia. I hear things like; why would God trip if I just did a little of this or a little of that? Watching TV with girls in bikinis isn't a sin, right? Wrong! If you love God and want to live according to His will, what purpose does watching girls in bikinis serve? All it does is feed the mind images that spark a desire for more images. Next thing you know you are caught in pornography and maybe even worse, fornication or adultery. Don't fall for the old adage, "everybody's doing it." That is what makes the Truth of our Lord Jesus the Christ so special. It is completely different from the norm. It is unlike any other faith, religion, or culture because it relies on total obedience to the Gospel.

Rebel addresses so many other issues as well. He dives into the issue of loving the church and what that really means. He talks about missions and being a missionary. There is emphasis on our work ethic when it comes to preaching the Gospel and many other important topics we should be concerned with. Most of all he creates a mindset we can all be confident in considering the following: in order to be obedient to the Gospel, we must be disobedient to the worldly culture. This whole project is aimed at digging down to the core of what makes us take actions: our beliefs. If we believe in a biblical worldview then we must plainly see the need to reject pop culture, period. We have to rise up against deeds of the flesh: Galatians 5:19-21. Instead embrace the Fruit of the spirit: Galatians 5:22-23. You just watch, people who love evil and do not understand the Truth will find you to have rebellious attributes. They will call you difficult. For the glory of our Lord, I'll be that!

Topics Covered

• Work Ethic ("Don't Waster Your Life" with Cam and Dwayne Tryumf)
• Missions ("Go Hard" with Tedashii)
• Temptations (Indwelling Sin)
• Church Body (The Bride)
• Truth (Truth)
• Repentance ("Desperate" with Cam)
• Backsliding ("Fall Back" with Trip Lee)
• Freedom from Sin ("Live Free" with Sho Baraka and Jai)

Key Tracks

"Rebel Intro," "Go Hard" with Tedashii, "Indwelling Sin," "Desperate" with Cam, "Fall Back" with Trip Lee, "Live Free" with Sho Baraka and Jai, "The Bride," and (especially) "Truth"