A reader submitted the following story about how God used Christian hip hop to change his life. Rapzilla will share more readers’ testimonies each Sunday.
Andy Wetterhan’s story
It was summer of 2008, and I was endeavoring on a new life — a life that was completely different from what I had known for the 13 years preceding — a life of sobriety.
One of the first things I was taught in the rooms of recovery was “the only thing I needed to change was everything,” so I did just that. I changed everything: my clothes, my career, my friends and even my music.
I was taught that if I were to maintain a life of sobriety, I would need to eliminate anything that reminded me of dope. Unfortunately, while I grew up with hip hop running through my veins, it had since been cut with dope and was no longer pure.
I associated dope with the music I loved the most. It is a sad existence when a dope fiend has taken the things they have enjoyed the most and have tried to enhance them with drugs and alcohol. It seems that literally everything they ever enjoyed has been corrupted.
I remember the day very well. I was on my way to a recovery meeting and had been toying with my spirituality by trying to develop a concept of a god that I could call “higher power” (which today I know is idolatry). This was the first time in three months I was entrusted to drive a family member’s car anywhere near the city of Atlanta. I flipped on the radio and found myself listening to T.I.’s “Big Things Poppin’,” and I quickly changed it, remembering how much he glorified the life that I had left behind.
I pressed the button for one of my mom’s saved stations in her car and found myself listening to one of the local Christian radio stations. I was truly inspired by the lyrics of an Amy Grant song. (Yes, I said Amy Grant). That song and station carried me through the rest of the night, passing three or four spots I used to score dope from.
I wondered what else was out there that could motivate and inspire me the way that contemporary Christian music did. This was the beginning for me. I started to look to Christ and his church for my inspiration.
I remembered when I was in high school and my mom got me a Heaven’s Hip-Hop compilation album (I think it was Vol. II), and it hit hard even in the midst of my drug and alcohol abuse. I wondered what was out there now. How much has Christian hip hop progressed, or has the fire since dwindled?
The first CD I picked up was Grits’ Reiterate, which was perfect for me, since it was not too theologically deep, but it gave me a way to reconnect and enjoy hip hop while not being triggered to return to my old life. By August, I was regularly attending a church that had reached out to my wife and kids while I was running the streets. It was at this church where I rededicated my life to Christ.
That September, I picked up Lecrae’s Rebel album, and I was BLOWN AWAY! I remember telling my wife that if I committed that entire record to memory, that I would be able to share the gospel with anyone, and so I did.
I don’t think I ever listened to a CD more religiously (no pun intended), and I still enjoy it to this day. Needless to say “I was In love with hip hop again,” and it was completely fanning my fire for Jesus and his kingdom.
I began to explore everything I could get my hands on from old school Cross Movement and T-Bone to the many labels and cliques we have pushing the envelope today. This rabbit hole continues to get more and more deep every day, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to share my love and passion for Christian hip hop with all those I come in contact with.
One of my favorite things to do is drive recovering addicts to meetings while jamming to Christian hip hop. They are usually so impressed with what I am listening to they want to know more. I often hand out themed mixes to these guys that focus on a certain topic they may be struggling with or just a style I know they will like.
In fact, I recently found myself handing out some trap beats in the real traps of Atlanta while serving with a local ministry. I would hand it to a guy and say, “Take this to your favorite d-boy, and tell ‘em that I said to make sure it gets played loud.”
Another thing I have fallen in love with is ministering to prisoners, and I use all the Christian hip hop I have locked into my brain to share and inspire those guys who normally don’t have access to music, and if they do, they don’t have a choice but to listen to secular stations. Today I am writing my own lyrics again and am excited about doing a few projects (just for fun) to share with my family and friends.
When I think of how God has used Christian hip hop to influence and change my life, it is evidently one of my biggest inspirations.
I came to the following conclusion while listening to Shai Linne’s, Lyrical Theology, Pt. 2. While I enjoy many other forms of Christian music, Christian hip hop is the only genre that truly masters the incorporation of worship and theology into one beautiful entity. I not only find myself praising my Lord and Savior with an amazing hook or chorus, but I also feel that the conviction of God’s word being preached to me in the most beautiful way.
Christian hip hop has challenged me to dig deeper, to seek the expositors of his word, to reach out to the lost and to never back down when faced with opposition. Somewhere, at this moment, there is a desperate mother in a Christian book store asking one of the employees for a suggestion on what album to get their child who is lost in sin. Thank you “Christian hip hop” for being the answer for this dope fiend and for being a shepherd to all the lost souls that are out there.
If Christian hip hop has played a key role in your testimony and you would like to share it on Rapzilla.com, email your story to david@rapzilla.com. Rapzilla hopes that, through your story, another reader will be impacted.
