By India McCarty
Bethany Hamilton and husband Adam Dirks spotlighted Christian rapper Flame in the latest episode of their podcast.
“If you have teenage boys, this is the sort of music you wanna send their way,” Hamilton said in the episode, telling the Grammy-nominated Flame, “Your music preaches the gospel better than most of modern worship music nowadays.”
Dirks agreed, saying that when their family is listening to the artist’s music, “[We’re not only] getting entertained, we’re getting catechized, we’re learning a lot through…what you say and do.”
Flame explained that rap is a perfect genre to serve as a vehicle for his gospel messages, as the repetitive nature of the songs are great for memorization.
“You can fit a lot in a small space in a rap song, so it’s really good for teaching and helping you make things stick in your brain,” he said.
Related: Christian Rapper Lecrae Says Grace Captivated His Heart Toward Jesus
In an interview with The Gospel Coalition, Flame — real name: Marcus Gray — shared, “I grew up always influenced by Christianity. My parents were professing believers; however, my grandmother was the strongest pillar of the faith in our family, she always made Jesus seem so attractive — she would share testimonies and stuff like that, what the Lord has done in her life — and, long story short, she passed away when I was 16 years old.”
Just before his grandmother passed away, the rapper was in a “really bad car accident” and asked her, “Why did God let this happen?” She told him he “needed to repent, that I needed to turn to Christ. She didn’t know why He allowed me to get in an accident. And then a week and a half after that she passed away.”
“So, those two events back to back are what the Lord used to draw me in,” Flame explained. “I was invited to church, heard the gospel, broke down crying like a baby, and came running to Jesus. He’s been keeping me ever since.”
Flame doesn’t just spread the gospel through his music. He is also pursuing a master’s degree in biblical counseling.
“The music helps me develop a trusted name and then puts me in front of people that have questions and are looking for answers,” he told Essence. “I want to have tactful and truthful answers that make sense. I believe the Bible has those answers, so I want to be able to take a person from A to Z and hopefully challenge them to think or even see God in a different light.”
Worship music is one of the fastest-growing genres today, with musicians of all genres enjoying massive success — and spreading the gospel.
Read Next: Christian Rapper Angie Rose’s Faith Journey: ‘I Can Always See [God’s] Presence’
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
- Content: +1Share:
- Content: +1