This video is from our first attempt at Calvary Chapel Miami Beach to do a mashup of hip hop and praise and worship. It has been something on my heart to do for several years but until I ran into Josh Zoellner I had not found anyone who would join me in this venture. Josh is the talented young lyricist who is laying down the rhymes. We took the chorus and bridge from Mighty to Save and I threw in some minor chords to simplify the accompaniment and freshen it up a bit.

Going to Samaria

Over the years I have had people at Calvary Chapel Miami Beach approach me and say, “I like the music here and all but I’m not really into praise and worship.” When I would ask more questions I would find out that most of the time they were into hip hop.

My first reaction was, “Well, if you love Jesus then you should be into praise and worship,” and on paper that is probably true. But I know Jesus would not respond in that manner. He’s into flesh and blood, not just paper. He’s into building bridges and going into uncomfortable places like Samaria.

I listened to some hip hop and guess what I discovered. I wasn’t really into hip hop. But my heart was breaking over the people who were missing out in connecting with God in a true, passionate, emotional and spiritual way through music. As a praise and worship leader and a musician, this is what God has called me to do; to exalt him and to use lyrics and music to invite people into a deeper relationship with him.

Unexpected Inspiration

There were two artists that started to get me dreaming of stepping out in a new direction. Several years ago I was introduced to the band Shachah at a musician’s fellowship at Calvary Chapel Miami. They led a time of praise and worship with songs by Tomlin, Redman, etc. and it was all good. I bought one of their CDs and gave it a listen. It was their self-titled CD which had a unique blend of acoustic, funk and rap. I loved it and that CD is still one of my all-time favorites. What I appreciated about Shachah was that they were humble and not about self-promotion.

• Takeway #1: I started to get a vision for blending acoustic, funk, jazz and rap with a heart of praise and worship.

The other artist that got me thinking differently was Lauryn Hill. Yes, THAT Lauryn Hill. I didn’t and I still don’t know too much about Ms. Hill but a friend shared one particular set of YouTube videos taken from her MTV Unplugged No 2.0 concert and featured her singing and playing acoustic guitar. I think that this recording came after about a 4-year gap from her previous success and it was not really well received: maybe because her style was different and a lot of her songs had references to Christ that people took to be too “religious.”

I took the time to listen to “I Gotta Find Peace of Mind” and found myself weeping along with her toward the end as she just started singing, “What a wonderful, wonderful God.” (Skip to about the 7 minute mark if you want to experience the best part.) Music is a powerful and emotional way of communicating and I was touched by that song. God used these particular songs to open my eyes to a “less is more” way of communicating through music. Lauryn intentionally cut out the noise of layered tracks so that people would hear and understand the lyrics.

• Takeaway #2: Less is more. Reduce the noise. 
• Takeaway #3: Don’t be afraid to step out and try something new.

Time to Sing a New Song

I have been leading worship since before we started calling it “leading worship.” I love praising God using music, and it is my calling though it is not my vocation. I am grateful to artists like Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, Paul Baloche and Hillsong for writing accessible songs that lead us in praise. Every week there are hundreds of songs to choose from to work into a worship set.  When you do this two or three times a week, it can start to get stale if you lose focus. It’s all about praising Jesus.  If the music is praising Jesus, then I can get into it, whether it is Hip Hop, Southern Gospel, Folk or a 4-chord U2/Coldplay knockoff.

With that said, there comes a time when God leads you to “sing a new song” and for me that time is now. I am being called into uncharted territory as a praise and worship leader. I have seen and heard artists doing bits of what I want to do but nobody putting it all together. There are some talented fresh artists who are producing some excellent sounds but are lacking spiritual depth and have strayed from a Biblical foundation. There are others who have been writing with sound doctrine for years but are stuck in a formulaic 4-chord rut (I confess, that’s me). There are many who have a polished, highly engineered presentation but lack a humble heart of worship. I rarely see the emotional honesty that I found in Lauryn Hill’s unplugged recording, and don’t get me started about the hundreds of copycats I see who think they are being relevant by dressing like, sounding like and behaving like the world.

A Vision For the Mashup

It’s time for a change and it is going to take some courage for me to go where God is leading me. I’m going to be challenged musically and spiritually like I never have before. But, it will be worth it.

Here is some more definition for my vision:

• Minimalism in the accompaniment
• Rhythmic but not pounding. No “four-on-the-floor”.
• All acoustic sounds (except for maybe bass).
• No electronic or computer generated sounds (this will be hard for hip hop but I think refreshing).
• Less clutter so you can bring out the vocals and lyrics.
• Incorporate some lyricism in verses but also enhancing choruses, making it sound natural and not contrived.
• No formulas.
• Minimize the musical cliches (this will be very hard).
• No phony cheerleading stuff like “Yeah”, “Uh”, “Put yo’ hands up.”
• Vertical focus (toward the Lord) rather than horizontal.
• Keep it about praising God and not about ourselves.
• More about the potter and less about the clay.
• Reserve a place for personal testimony but have it fit in with the vertical focus.
• True to God’s Word as well as his heart.
• An intimate, brutally honest and humble heart of worship.
• Mourning over sin.
• Tears of joy over forgiveness.
• Love much because we have been forgiven much.

This needs more refinement but I know that the team of worshiper musicians that God has given to me at Calvary Chapel Miami Beach will join me and put some feet to this vision.

Please pray for us.

rt