Lecrae – Dirty Water

Of all the admittedly few Christian rap artists that I have heard of, my Christian friends recommend Lecrae.  When I searched on Google for a good song to review, Dirty Water popped in the result page on numerous occasions.  The title intrigued me and I wanted to learn more about it.  So, I decided to review it.  Since there is a lot of ground to cover, this post will be lengthier than other reviews.

Full disclosure: I don’t listen to rap music.  I don’t even like rap music.  However, I will not allow this to taint my objectivity.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/4046754.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

Lecrae takes us through a journey into America’s history, specifically, the treatment of blacks during their enslavement.  They were generally treated poorly, suffered many atrocities, and seen as less than human.  Some of the problems in America today stem from these events that took place, including deadbeat fathers, lack of self-esteem, and enslavement to material wealth (more on that in section 2).

Though the song is not meant to bring guilt and condemnation, it speaks against the hypocrisy and false teachings of Christ followers who sully the living water that Christ offers to us (see John 4, specifically, John 4:10-14).  It is this concept by which the phrase “dirty water” derives.

Lecrae recognizes that this song is not one that will change the world.  However, change must start first by recognizing the root of the problem.  Unfortunately, he misses the mark in this regard.  The issues he describes are symptoms of a much deeper issue: our wicked hearts (Genesis 3:22, Genesis 8:21, Job 15:14-16, Psalm 14:2-3, Psalm 51:5, Proverbs 22:15, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 3:10-18, Romans 5:12, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:2-3).

Though there is no mention of a solution, that is not the intent of this song.  It is a wake-up call to the dull of hearing (Matthew 13:15).

Score: 8/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

There is a goldmine of Scripture described in these lyrics.  Assuming my guesswork is correct, everything recorded in the lyrics are Scripturally or historically based.

Forgive my ignorance in rap music.  Some of these lyrics make no sense to me, increasing review difficulty.  I marked them in violet text.  Any help will be appreciated!

I understand that some of these lyrics are grammatically incorrect.  Since this is a Bible review and not English 101, I will refrain from grammar corrections; however, I reserve the right to internally scream.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-5: I have no idea what bowed up or three kicks in means.  Based on Genius comments (see lyrics link, above), this refers to haters in the fetal position when listening to Lecrae and 116 Reach Records.

Lines 6-7: Refers to Romans 1:16, which speaks to the power of the Gospel and how Christ followers ought not be ashamed of it.  For the purposes of this review, I will not discuss the biblical accuracy of tattoos except to say that it is a Romans 14 issue.

Lines 8-9: The point Lecrae makes is correct.  If he is not living for Jesus, he is not in the light.  We can find this in Matthew 5:14-16, Ephesians 5:8, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 John 1:5-7, and 1 John 2:7-11.

Lines 10-12: Lecrae’s first indictment against the hypocrisy of Christians.  Many are quick to celebrate their efforts in overseas missions, yet, will not embrace (or assist) local blacks.  Hypocrisy is a concept recorded in Psalm 55:21, Isaiah 29:13-14, Matthew 6:1-6, Matthew 7:1-5, Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 15:1-14, Romans 2:1-3, Romans 16:17-18, 1 Timothy 3:1-5, Titus 1:10-16, James 2:14-26, 1 Peter 2:1, 1 Peter 2:16, 1 John 2:3-11, and 1 John 4:20.

Line 13: In English, this means “I do not speak Spanish, just show me the bathroom”.  I have no idea why this is here.

Line 14: Another example of hypocrisy as described in Lines 10-12.  Christians are sometimes too busy with religious activities to get to know other people.  Most likely, referring to black people specifically given Lines 10-12, but this could be applied globally.

Lines 15-16: Reference to segregation in America, starting in 1881 with the first “Jim Crow” laws and ending in 1964 when the Civil Rights Act was signed into law.  Lecrae expresses a feeling that some blacks experience in American churches today, where whites go to “white church” and blacks go to “black church”.  This is not right.

This issue is not unfamiliar with Jesus and the early church, who experienced stark division not among whites and blacks, but Jews and gentiles.  Their desire for reconciliation and to avoid distinctions and divisions can be found in Psalm 133:1-3, John 17:20-23, Romans 6:5, Romans 12:3-8, Romans 12:16, 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, Galatians 3:26-28, Ephesians 1:7-10, Ephesians 2:11-22, Ephesians 4:1-16, Philippians 2:1-2, Colossians 3:11, and 1 Peter 3:8.

Lines 17-19: Lecrae makes it clear that the goal of this song is not to instill guilt and recognizes it won’t change the world.  He also acknowledges that change takes time; it won’t happen overnight.  His goal is to show us what is happening in our churches, field trip-style.  His behavior is that of the faithful friend described in Proverbs 27:6.

Lines 20-21: Living our faith in God is the most difficult life that we could live.  It calls for complete and total surrender to God.  Verses on surrender include Isaiah 64:8, Matthew 10:38, Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34-38, Mark 10:28, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:27, John 15:1-11, Romans 6:13, Romans 12:1-2, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 2:5-8, Hebrews 11:6, James 4:7-10, and 1 Peter 5:6.

Line 22: Echoes concepts described in Lines 10-12.

[Hook]

The dirty water described in all these lines refer to sin and corruption that muddies the living water Jesus describes in .  The prophet Jeremiah says it’s God in Jeremiah 17:13.  In John 7:37-39 The minor prophet Zachariah makes a brief mention of it in Zechariah 14:8-9, though he does not explain what it is.  John specifically writes that the living water is the Holy Spirit, which was given to the Apostles at Pentecost in Acts 2:1-13.  Finally, we read in Revelation 7:13-17 that those who were martyred in Revelation 6:9-11, during the fifth seal, who had received white robes, they will be lead by the Lamb (that is, Jesus), towards living waters and He will wipe away their tears.  We see a more general statement in Revelation 21:6-7 and Revelation 22:1-5 that echoes the same concepts described from the prophets, Jesus, and Revelation 7.

The concept of dirtying living waters can be found in the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:5-12 and Mark 8:14-21 and in Paul’s letter in Galatians 5:9.  Matthew’s Gospel specifically tells us that the leaven is false teaching.  Leaven, while not inherently sinful, is an old testament concept within the Feast of Unleavened Bread, as described in Exodus 12:14-20.  Leaven represents sin that corrupts and destroys that which is pure and holy.  In these lines, Lecrae gives us examples of sinful activities that corrupts living water.

Line 1: Some Christians will attempt to sell the free gift of salvation God offers to us, though it came at a terrible price that Jesus paid (see Leviticus 17:11, Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 9:26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9).  The Apostle Paul would not receive money from the church in Corinth because there were many who peddled the word of God (2 Corinthians 2:17) to this congregation and did not want to be seen among them.

Line 2: Refers to the Transatlantic Slave Trade, where bodies of the sick and dying, who could not be sold, were thrown into the water.

Line 3: I am not sure about this one.  It says that the blood is flowing from the ground, as opposed to to the ground.  Could it be the shedding of innocent blood?  It must be really important as there is a double “dirty water” in this line.

Lines 4-6: repeat of lines 1-3.

Line 7: This trades on the purpose of filtration.  It removes impurities within the water and purifies it.  Without the Holy Spirit to guide us, who convicts of sin, righteous, and judgment (John 16:5-12), God has handed the American Church into the lust of their hearts to impurity (Romans 1:24), degrading passions (Romans 1:26), and a reprobate mind (Romans 1:28).

I do not believe that Lecrae is making an absolute statement against all individuals in American churches.  However, it is an issue that is prevalent and must be addressed.

[Verse 2]

Line 1: Drawing further upon the Transatlantic Slave Trade, this is the lie told to blacks sold as slaves.  This stands in stark contrast to Genesis 1:27, which tells us all humans are created in God’s image.  It is also contrary to concepts described in Lines 15-16 in Verse 1.

Lines 2-3: Lecrae admits his ancestry came on slave ships.  Some were animal herders.  Others herded other blacks.

Lines 4-5: Americans are taught that what white people did to blacks during this time period is grossly immoral.  They proof texted the Bible to support their twisted action, particularly from the Mosaic Law.  For the purposes of this review, I do not wish to delve deep into this topic.  What I will state is that Old Testament slaves in Israel had rights, including a day of rest (Exodus 20:10, Exodus 23:12, and Deuteronomy 5:14), were to be treated the same as a hired servant (Leviticus 25:39-43 and Leviticus 25:53), and cannot be mistreated (Exodus 23:9).  Female slaves had conjugal rights (Exodus 21:10-11) meaning that they had the right to only have sex with their husband and nobody else.  Though this is by no means an exhaustive list of slave rights, it is enough to demonstrate the stark contrast between Biblical slavery under the Mosaic Covenant with American slavery of blacks.

Lines 6-7: This is the byproduct of slavery as described in lines 1-5.  It is a lie of the devil.

Lines 8: Refers to the irrational behavior to lock doors thinking that black people are synonymous with theft.

Lines 9-11: Some white slave masters raped and impregnated black slave women. They denied the child as their own, despite the obvious conclusion.  Despite being held against their own will, Black slave women were often seen as whores.  This is a stigma that perpetuated long after slavery was abolished, leading to exploitation.  Obviously this is contrary to Scripture (see https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-rape.html for more information).

Lines 12-13: Some blacks have become enslaved by riches, a prettier version of the shackles blacks wore in those days.  See Matthew 5:24, Luke 16:13, John 8:34, Romans 6:6, Romans 6:20-22, and 1 Corinthians 6:12.

Line 14: Refers to the lynching and hangings of blacks in the early 20th century.  Wealth is a noose around the neck of those enslaved by material wealth.

Lines 15-16: Some have suggested this refers to Malcolm X as he worked to empower blacks to reverse the mental anguish of slave mentality.  He was called a devil by mainstream media; however, he was a Muslim minister, not a preacher of Christianity.

Lines 17: Refers to the American Dream.  This is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.  The effects of black slavery (as described in prior lines) are still felt today, dirtying the water as discussed previously.  This greatly enhances difficulty for blacks to achieve this dream.  Interestingly, the American Dream is consistent with 2 Thessalonians 3:10.

Line 18: Probably refers to gangs, which act in a manner consistent with the devil and contrary to Christ.  Satan wants to isolate us and turn us from God (Genesis 3:1-7), has come to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10), and to devour us (1 Peter 5:8).  Gangs are one way in which the Devil accomplishes this goal.

Line 19: See Hook, Line 2.

Line 20: Concept described in Ecclesiastes 1:9 in which nothing new has truly happened on earth.  All things that will occur (save the events in Revelations and hereafter) will occur over and over again.  As Malcolm Muggeridge put it: “All new news is old news happening to new people”.

Score: 9/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Many outside Christianity left this worldview due to the hypocrisy of Christians.  It is understandable that white slave owners’ treatment of black slaves plays a part in that rejection  This has also lead some blacks to call Christianity the “white man’s religion”.  They will laud all the points Lecrae expresses as problems in the American church.

Since outsiders are not given a solution, Lecrae only goes halfway in his reach.  However, the intent of the song is not to address these issues but to express his disapproval of Christian hypocrisy and treatment of black slaves at the hands of white overlords.

Score: 7/10

4. What does this song glorify?

That is a tough question.  Given my criteria, the question I keep asking myself is “How does Lecrae glorify God with these lyrics?”

It is hard to think that merely airing Christian dirty laundry would bring glory to God unless there is a solution offered to combat the problem (hint: it’s the Gospel).  On the other hand, Lecrae does not glory in revealing church issues, but is expressing his own struggles.  This is consistent with much of what is written within Psalms.  It is a cry out to God, which brings Him glory.

Score: 8/10

Closing Comments

Overall, I am pleased with the work Lecrae put into Dirty Water by raising awareness to internal church racial issues and its hypocrisy in juxtaposing overseas work with local outreach.  There is much work to be done for people of all colors to come together as the Body of Christ.  Though not the intent of this song, a solution (perhaps the Gospel) can help outsiders to see that those inside the camp of Christ are willing to work through our differences.

Final Score: 8/10

Artist Info

Track: Dirty Water (listen to the song)

Artist: Lecrae

Album: Anomaly

Genre: Hip Hop/Rap

Release Year: 2014

Duration: 3:13

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.