(Screen Shot: TV One)Snoop Dogg after his performance at the 33rd Stellar Gospel Music Awards, March 30 2018.
Posted on 04/12/2018 8:55:29 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
(Screen Shot: TV One)Snoop Dogg after his performance at the 33rd Stellar Gospel Music Awards, March 30 2018.
Snoop Dogg released his first a gospel album Bible Of Love last month and many Christians have voiced their concerns and skepticism, given his history, but the award-winning rapper clapped back at his critics at the 33rd Stellar Gospel Music Awards.
With over two decades in the music industry, Snoop Dogg (whose real name is Calvin Broadus) has been popular among Gen Xers and millennials. But he also has an alarming history of crime and sexual exploitation. In a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone he bragged about being a former pimp who (as a married man and father), had sex with and prostituted young women on a nationwide Playboy tour. He also won four porn industry awards for working with Hustler to film two hard-core porn movies. And in 2004 he settled a lawsuit in which he was accused by 17 and 18-year-old girls of offering alcohol, ecstasy and marijuana at a "Girls Gone Wild" party in exchange for taking off their clothes.
In 2009 Snoop Dogg announced that he had joined the Nation of Islam, then in 2012 he switched gears and became a Rastafarian after a short stint as a reggae artist. Now he claims to be a born-again Christian. And instead of publicly repenting for his sins, which is what some of his Christian critics would like to see him do, Snoop is blasting believers as being hypocrites for not celebrating his transition into gospel music.
"The devil is a liar. I thought church was supposed to welcome sinners," he told TV One after taking the stage at the Stellar Gospel Music Awards, the oldest televised awards show honoring gospel music artists. "If you find someone trying to find their way back home, the natural thing would be to accept him with open arms. We not gonna throw stones while you trying to get right and walking back into the church house.
"That's what's running people away from church right now as we speak: We're trying to get people back in church with a different perspective of come as you are, show love. We show love, we give love," Snoop added. "What about you? Have you checked your status? Are you going to Heaven? Why are you judging me? How much have you done for the Lord?"
In the early '90s Snoop was in-and-out of prison for selling cocaine and other drugs, and stood trial for the 1993 murder of a rival gang member in which he drove the getaway car but was later acquitted.
Bible Of Love is Snoop's 16th studio album and he believes this is the direction he's meant to go in. The record features collaborations with many gospel legends such as Kim Burrell, The Clark Sisters, as well as contemporary artists Mali Music and B Slade, among others.
Pastor Shirley Caesar even sung Snoop's praises after he remixed her popular song "Hold My Mule" into a holiday edition of the "U Name It Challenge" in 2016.
Snoop explained why he wanted to make a gospel album, telling TV One, "It was just time to put my money where my mouth was and have it not be about money but about spirit. Give love to get love."
Last year, the rapper garnered criticism from several evangelicals, including Franklin Graham, after he remixed a version of the song "Lavender" by Canadian group BADBADNOTGOOD, in which he points a gun at a clown meant to look like President Trump in his music video.
As previously reported by The Christian Post, at one point in the video Snoop points a gun at man dressed as Trump with a clown face and wearing white gloves. The rapper pulls the trigger, with the gun revealing a small flag that says "BANG."
It is quite possible for a person with Mr. Broadus’s history to be converted. Evidence would include his saying something like, “All those things I did were completely wrong. All those performances, absolute filth. I firmly intend, with God’s grace, to be a completely new person, one who doesn’t do those things.”
If this has happened, I missed it.
I thought I heard a few years ago he went Muzzie.
“They call me the Seeker....”
That’s what is says in the article, too. But now he’s a Christian.
I hope he makes it. It is nothing to play with, that’s for sure. You can kick the evil spirits out, but you have to keep up your guard, of course. Otherwise: Matthew 12:43-45
In 2009 Snoop Dogg announced that he had joined the Nation of Islam, then in 2012 he switched gears and became a Rastafarian after a short stint as a reggae artist. Now he claims to be a born-again Christian.
His conversion to Christianity is possible, but given this track record, highly suspect. Even Bob Dylan was "Christian" for a time.
From the article:
In 2009 Snoop Dogg announced that he had joined the Nation of Islam, then in 2012 he switched gears and became a Rastafarian after a short stint as a reggae artist. Now he claims to be a born-again Christian
....................
If I had to bet, I would say he is simply following potential dollar signs like many of the so-called believing country singers whose lyrics are predominantly about getting drunk and having sex.
........................
Nobody is beyond redemption. We will see. We will “know him by the fruit he bears”.
It was hard for the early Christians to accept Paul soon after his Damascus road experience and conversion. Takes time to ascertain that it is genuine.
It seemed to me to be a cross between Jay Leno's Jaywalking segment and Saturday Night Live's Black Jeopardy sketch.
This isn't Jack Barry's game show...
-PJ
The two top hip hop songs today, actually the two top songs of any genre right now on the charts are:
“God’s Plan” - Drake
“Pray for Me” - the Weeknd ft. Kendrick Lamar
Drake’s “God’s Plan” in particular has broken several records relating to online play, and religious leaders have analyzed the video.
“Pray for Me” is from the Black Panther and involves a lot of allusions to Christ and the cross.
Go figure. :)
bookmark
M.C. Hammer isn’t afraid to rap about his faith.
During a committee meeting that I serve on at the denominational level, I made the point that the future church is NOT going to be filled to the brim with people like me . . . or us. I am 61 years old, have been in church all my life.
I think gains to be made in Christian membership will come (will have to come) from people whose view of Christianity has been shaped by popular culture that is very wrong (likely intentionally so) about the nature of Christians and Christianity. They will be people that have experienced dead end after dead end in their search for meaning, fulfillment, acceptance and love. They will not look like me. They will not think like me. And I probably won’t like their music or lifestyle. But I have an obligation to reach out to them and offer them Christian love and brotherhood. It is certainly something Christians need to be thinking about.
Snoop Dogg? I thought it was Snoop Lion, then Snoop Puma, and now it’s back to ‘Dogg’?
He has to exercise the same forgiveness he demands of others. Otherwise it will serve as an excuse for him to return to the pigsty many of us have turned from as well.
Can’t cherry pick bible verses or rap lyrics. I wish Calvin well and welcome to the kingdom.
Not a very convincing testimony he gives.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.