Tedashii (Feat. Jordan Feliz) – Gotta Live

Christian hip hop artist Tedashii started his career in 2004, releasing his first album, Kingdom People, in 2006.  He has four other albums and one EP to his name, including:

• Identity Crisis (2009)
• Blacklight (2011)
• Below Paradise (2014)
• This Time Around (EP) (2016)
• Never Fold (2019)

He is currently a member of 116 Clique, touring with them since 2005.  He is credited with their EP Amped, released in 2007.  Tedashii is also a former radio show host for “Serium”.

I am not aware of any awards to his name; However, his single Gotta Live peaked at 25 on the U.S. Christian billboard chart.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

Overall, I found that Tedashii communicates a worldly dependence on personal emotion to get through life, with lip service paid to relying on God.

Though Tedashii faces all kinds of obstacles, he knows which way he must go and not lose hope, despite opposition that might attempt to stop him. He depends on his “vibe” as his driving force to continue living. Through it, he will walk on water, will never knock him out, and ultimately will prevail. He also says that we should tell others to “just live” and that they prevail because they know God. These are ideas contrary to trusting in feelings.

Tedashii teaches that there is no one like “You”, which probably refers to God, given the references to church and walking on water. If so, then to say that “they broke the mold” assumes that God is created, that “they” molded God and got rid of the mold.

Tedashii talks about his losses, seeking answers as to why it happened. He feels shackled by it. While I sympathize with his plight, I cannot ignore the errors and contradictions throughout his lyrics.

Score: 1/10

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

Nearly all of it is unsupported by the Bible or contrary to Scripture, with the exception of pleading with God.

[Pre-Chorus]

Lines 1 and 2: What hope is that?  We’ll find out in later lines.

As for the light, Tedashii likely references the command of Jesus in Matthew 5:15–16.

Line 3: Tedashii has experienced a dim light in the past.

Line 4: Which way does Tedashii go now?  Verse 1 explains.

Line 5: Who drags Tedashii down?  According to Scripture, it is the flesh (John 3:6, Romans 8:5, Romans 7:14-25, Romans 8:6-14, Galatians 5:19-25, Philippians 3:18-19, Colossians 3:1-3, 1 Corinthians 2:14, and 2 Peter 2:1-10), the world (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13, John 15:19, Romans 12:2, Ephesians 2:2, Colossians 3:1-2, 1 Timothy 6:10, 1 John 2:15-17, 1 John 3:17, 1 John 4:5, and James 4:4), and the Devil (Genesis 3:1-5, Matthew 4:11, Matthew 16:23, Mark 1:12-13, Mark 8:33, Luke 4:1-13, John 8:44, 2 Corinthians 11:3, 1 John 3:8-10, and Revelation 20:7-10);  However, based on this song’s context, I am uncertain as to what Tedashii refers.

Line 6: Christians will meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Line 7: Tedashii has found their resolve, found in Chorus.

[Chorus (first)]

Line 1: How does Tedashii live?  Subsequent lines should answer this question.

Lines 2 and 3: Essentially repeats line 1.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1 and 2: That is, to live.

Lines 3-5: Ken Griffey Jr is a famous baseball player, driven to succeed through effort alone, by “swinging for the fences”.  Tedashii claims that he has the same drive, contrary to the warning Christ gave, that those who try to save their lives on their own steam will lose it (Matthew 10:39, Matthew 16:25, Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24, and John 12:25).

Lines 6-8: Tedashii trusts his feeling about this, yet, Scripture tells us not to trust our feelings (Jeremiah 17:9, Proverbs 12:15, and Proverbs 28:26).  Rather, we are to stand on Jesus, who is the foundation of our faith (Deuteronomy 32:4, 1 Samuel 2:2, 2 Samuel 22:47, Psalm 18:31, Psalm 28:1, Psalm 62:2, Psalm 94:22, Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 28:16, Matthew 7:24-27, Matthew 21:42, Acts 4:11, 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, Ephesians 2:20, 2 Timothy 2:19, and 1 Peter 2:6).  This is the “hope” that Tedashii has and the “way” in which they go.

Line 9: What truth is that?  That Jesus died for his sins?  Sadly, this is not espoused in these lyrics.

Lines 10 and 11: I appreciate Tedashii’s reference to Matthew 14:22-33, where Peter walked on water; However, this requires trusting in God.  Thus far, I have no seen this espoused in these lyrics.

Lines 12 and 13: While there is Scriptural support for perseverance through trials (Romans 5:3-5, James 1-2-4 James 1:12) using a boxing context, the thrust of this song is about feelings (see lines 6-8).

Lines 14-17: Yes, it is true: we war against sin and sometimes give into it (Romans 7:15-20).  What is Tedashii’s response?  Tell them that if they sin, that Jesus can forgive them (1 John 2:1-2)?  That’s not what I read.  He tells them they “just gotta live”!

[Chorus (second)]

Lines 1-3: Repeats Chorus in its first instance.

Lines 4 and 5: Repeats Pre-Chorus, lines 1 and 2.

Line 6: Repeats line 1.

Line 7: Repeats Pre-Chorus, line 7.

Line 8: Repeats line 1.

[Verse 2]

Lines  1 and 2: Why would I want to keep on living based on feelings?  That is contrary to Scripture!

Side note: One reading of line 2 is “lean on we”, which denotes a leaning on humans as opposed to Jesus; However, upon listening, there is a pause between “on” and “we”, which could have been addressed with punctuation.

Lines 3-5: While I am tempted to say that Tedashii says that there’s no one like God (Exodus 8:10, Exodus 9:14, Deuteronomy 3:24, Deuteronomy 33:26, Jeremiah 10:6, 1 Samuel 2:2, 2 Samuel 7:22, 1 Kings 8:23, 1 Chronicles 17:20, Psalm 86:8, Psalm 89:6, Psalm 113:5-6, Jeremiah 10:7, Isaiah 40:18, and Isaiah 46:9), line 4 talks about some “they” who “broke the mold” in reference to “You”.  While this would communicate God’s uniqueness, it also says that there is another entity that created God, contrary to His eternality (Deuteronomy 33:27, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Job 36:26, Psalm 48:14, Psalm 90:2-4, Psalm 102:12, Psalm 102:26-27, Proverbs 8:23, Isaiah 40:28, Isaiah 41:4, Habakkuk 1:12, John 17:5, Romans 1:20, 1 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 1:4, Hebrews 1:11-12, 1 Peter 1:20, 2 Peter 3:8, Revelation 1:8, Revelation 11:17, and Revelation 22:13).

Line 6: This denotes choice rather than inability.  Tedashii chooses to keep going and does not quit.  While Scripture talks about running the race to completion (1 Corinthians 9:24-27), the context of this song has not changed from reliance on personal feelings.

Line 7: This is not an arrogant statement. The antecedent exists at the beginning of line 6: “I can’t”, denoting a denial of communicating “watch out”. Tedashii is correct: we cannot force people to move.

Lines 8-10: This is a guess, but I think Tedashii is simutaneously worshipping and is asking God for answers, especially given lines 11-13.

Lines 11-13: Tedashii had many run-ins with tragedy, losing his mother, sister, and one-year-old son. The hope that Chase learns Samoan is not supported by Scripture, but also not worth penalizing.

Lines 14 and 15: That is what the world says.

Line 16: This is an example of cognitive dissonance. Earlier I spoke of how Tedashii trusts his feelings. Now here, he communicates that he relies on the “one and only”, which is likely God. Which is it?

[Bridge]

Lines 1-3: No, this is not Biblical.  We aren’t “born to win”.  We win because we are born again (John 3:3) and thus, become adopted children (John 1:12-13, John 14:18, Romans 8:14-17, Romans 8:23, Romans 9:1-8, Galatians 3:26, Galatians 4:5-7, Ephesians 1:3-14, Ephesians 2:11-22, Hebrews 9:15, and 1 John 3:1-3) who inherit the Kingdom of God (Matthew 25:34, Acts 20:32, Romans 8:17, Galatians 3:29, Titus 3:7, James 2:5, and 1 Peter 1:4).  We do not win because our mothers birthed us.

If Tedashii means “born again to win”, why didn’t he just say that?  He is not clear.

Score: 1/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Those outside the camp of Christ will receive worldly wisdom, that we should “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps” by trusting our hearts while at the same time tell people that we know God. Yes, they will also see Tedashii express his anguish at the loss of his mother, sister, and son; However, I have little doubt that they will misread my overall assessment.

Score: 1/10

4. What does this song glorify?

Feeeeeeelings!

Score: 0/10

Closing Comments

Tedashii’s Gotta Live is a major misfire. Though I have no reason to doubt his salvation, his lyrics express reliance on vibes and emotions to chug through life, contrary to Scripture and does not glorify God. Yes, He says to tell people that we get through life by trusting in God; However, the majority of this song focuses on self-help. This is a terrible message for Christians and unbelievers!

I cannot recommend this song for corporate worship.

Final Score: 1/10

Artist Info

Track: Gotta Live (listen to the song)

Artist: Tedashii (Feat. Jordan Feliz) – Gotta Live

Album: Never Fold

Genre: Hip Hop/Rap

Release Year: 2019

Duration: 3:48

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

Updates:

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.

04/17/2020 – I had the wrong Scriptures for the world, flesh, and devil!  I updated the references.