Da’ T.R.U.T.H. engages ‘Complicated’ conversations with new album

After three notable Christian rappers had renounced their faith in the span of a year, a series of tweets last month by Christian hip-hop legend Da’ T.R.U.T.H. flustered followers.


However, seemingly to the rescue came famed, 70-year-old Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias.


Da’ T.R.U.T.H. and Zacharias exchanged numerous tweets. Many readers of the conversation realized that the Q&A was planned. This was given away when Da’ T.R.U.T.H.’s questions started to rhyme, but not all got it.

“People were just pretty much saying, ‘Oh no T.R.U.T.H., not you, too. I’m nervous. I’m afraid. What are you trying to say?’ Some people are still saying that actually,” the Philadelphia-based artist told Rapzilla, “which is good. I kind of like the ambiguity, which is why I haven’t done a Periscope where I’m trying to diffuse any negative press or negative reactions or concerns that people have. I haven’t really done a lot of that because the ambiguity I think is necessary, and not just for the sake of ambiguity, but because it keeps the dialogue going.”

Dialogue is the purpose of Da’ T.R.U.T.H.’s eighth studio album, It’s Complicated, which releases May 13.

It’s Complicated is dealing with the complexities of life, faith and religion because I feel like, to some degree, we have a tendency to oversimplify,” Da’ T.R.U.T.H. said. “The truth of the matter is, religion is not simple.”


Da’ T.R.U.T.H. recruited Zacharias, a world-renowned expert on religion and author of over 20 books, to respond to these complexities.

To Rapzilla’s knowledge, no Christian apologist has contributed to a hip-hop album as much as Zacharias has to It’s Complicated. He’s featured on five tracks.

“I commend Da’ T.R.U.T.H. for tackling tough questions and communicating fundamental ideas through hip hop,” Zacharias said. “I am delighted to participate in this album, and I pray it will point many people to the unique and life-transforming message of Jesus Christ.”


Zacharias brings clarity to issues addressed on It’s Complicated, but the album is less meant to provide answers and more to foster discussion.

“There’s some resolve on the album. Some stuff is just open for the conversation,” Da’ T.R.U.T.H. said. “When I started working on this album, that’s what I wanted. I wanted to create something that could allow a platform for Christians to talk. I don’t feel like we’re talking about the hard stuff. What would cause a Jahaziel to defect? … This is becoming an epidemic, and what is leading to it? I think part of it is we have to begin to have these hard conversations, even in our youth groups, because these are the questions that are bouncing around in our minds, even the minds of a 15, 16-year-old.”

Da’ T.R.U.T.H. asked these questions in his lead single for It’s Complicated, “Religion”, and he’s been pleased with reactions to it.

“I’m getting a lot of people who are church hurt and walked away from the faith hearing this song and saying, ‘I haven’t been into Christian hip hop for years, but this actually got me thinking. I’m really interested and intrigued about where he’s going with this and what this all means.’ Part of why I haven’t kind of come out and been like, ‘Hey guys, I’m not defecting,’ is because it has opened up a dialogue that I did not anticipate,” Da’ T.R.U.T.H. said, “and I don’t want to quickly close the door on that conversation. I want to see that conversation continue on.”


While these conversations may be especially needed today, It’s Complicated — which also features KB, Christon Gray and Natalie Sims — is a long time in the making.

“I feel like I started writing this album 15 years ago,” Da’ T.R.U.T.H. said. “I honestly think it’s 15-20 years worth of events because the truth of the matter is that I have personally gone through very difficult bouts with doubts on my Christian journey. Even as Da’ T.RU.T.H. I’ve had moments where I struggled with doubts. Thankfully, I came out on the other side with a greater understanding, but going through those difficult seasons of doubt is not easy.”


Rapzilla: How did you go from the doubts throughout your life to the conclusion that God is the truth?

Da’ T.R.U.T.H.: Each time I went through a season of doubt, there was … let me give you an example. When I was 16, that was the first time I had went through a period of doubt, and it was because I was actually defending the faith, debating with someone of another faith, and this guy knew far more than I did about the Bible at that time.

By the time we were done, I was like, “Whoa, I don’t know what to believe about the deity of Christ because this guy just dismantled everything that I believe from my book.” Literally, in that time, I went through a lot of internal turmoil. I stopped reading. All I did was pray because I still believed that God was real. I just didn’t know what to believe about Jesus.

Eventually — and I know this is God because, at 16 years old, I wasn’t interested in reading the book of Leviticus. I don’t even know if I could pronounce it back then. During that time, I was just praying, “Lord, please reveal yourself. Reveal the truth to me. I want to know what’s real. I want to know what’s true.” When I was in that time of prayer, the Lord impressed upon me, “Read the books of Leviticus and Hebrews.”

Now, I know that’s God because I would never … at that age, I was just reading the book of Proverbs. I wasn’t thinking about those kind of Old Testament books, especially Leviticus. It seemed boring to me. I just wouldn’t read it.

I started reading it alongside of Hebrews. Again, I didn’t even know that Leviticus and Hebrews were sister books. But I started reading those two together, and God used that to really, really shed light on the person of Christ, the deity of Christ, the necessity of Christ, Christ’s death — all of those things that I was struggling with.

That’s just that first time that I went through that. … Each time I went through it, it was something different that God used to help me overcome those doubts.



“These are the questions that I have asked on my journey and a lot of people ask, but they’re afraid to say it out loud,” Da’ T.R.U.T.H. said. “This is the album where I say it out loud.”

Pre-order It’s Complicated on iTunes.

David Daniels
David Daniels
David Daniels is a columnist at Rapzilla.com and the managing editor of LegacyDisciple.org. He has been published at Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, CCM Magazine, Bleacher Report, The Washington Times and HipHopDX.
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