My thoughts on P.O.D and reggae music

I was shocked and disappointed at a young age when Sonny Sandoval cut his dreadlocks. When asked in an interview about why he cut his long hair, Sonny said that he "felt God tell him that it was time for a change and a new level of maturity." Before i give my own opinion on his drastic change in musical style between "When angels and serpents dance" and "Murdered Love", i will take the time to give some background to some of the Rastafarian elements involved in P.O.D's music. 

Emporeror Haile Selassie was believed by Rastafarians to be the incarnation of Jesus Christ who would one day return to the earth for his people, the Rasta's. He is seen as conquering lion from the tribe of Judah and hailed as God. He was believed to be immortal until he died. Rastafarians attempted to give explanations to still uphold his divinity though his mortal body is gone forever. 

It is easy to get confused by some biblical terms used by Rastafarian Reggae musicians. Titles such as "Jah" and "I and I" or the oneness of persons have been used in reference to Haile Selassie, not Jesus.

 Bob Marley was seen as a great prophet of Haile Selassie as he spread the message of Rastafarianism and called for the unity of people to turn to Haile Selassie and leave Babylon, the western world. Bob Marley has popularized Reggae music before his death. Wearing dreadlocks in Rastafarianism symbolizes a dreadful fear of God. Smoking weed was also considered to be spiritual in the mind of Bob Marley and other Rastafarian's. 

What is a Rasta? There is no set standards, definition, or beliefs. You can wear dreads, smoke weed, and listen to Reggae in Jamaica and be considered Rasta just as you can have short hair, avoid weed, and live away from Jamaica while still being also Rasta. On the other hand, you can wear a rastacap, smoke weed, wear dreads, listen to reggae, etc. and not be Rasta. This is a very small movement in the world. 

In my view, i suspect that Sonny did not realize all of this as he said that they believe in Jesus Christ just as the Rasta's do, thus part of the reason he cut his dreads and drifted away from Reggae is because he realized some of the influences and anti-Christian lifestyle he was representing. Rasta's worshiped a black man, whereas Christians did not. While i respect his decision, i don't think that he had to go that far. 

The name "Jah" is found in the Bible:

Psalm 68:4

" Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him." 

We as Christians should know that it never belonged to Haile Selassie. The same biblical references to Zion, Babylon, and Jesus Christ all belong to the true son of God who lived years ago, never to Ethiopia and any other black, white, or red man. Even Haile Selassie hailed Jesus Christ, the true conquering lion of the tribe of Judah as king of kings and Lord of Lords. The rightful crown belongs to Jesus and not to any other man. To the creator God, we are all made the same which define the term "I and I." With spiritual discernment, we can wisely separate truth from falsehood. 

This is my opinion on P.O.D's change in musical influence and style. Worship dedicated to God does not restrict itself to one genre of music, but is open to all kinds. 

Gangs and rap music

When i was in high school, there were a lot of kids who were very fascinated with gangs and being a "thug." This typically tends to come from rap music more than any other genre of music and i find it very disappointing at how young teens are given many opportunities and a future are being influenced by the lives of Chicago rappers such as Chief Keef, Fredo Santana, lil Reese, and by the media in general. Many people i knew in high school were still young, immature, and most probably depended on their parents. They think being a gangster and fighting is cool, but they are in reality posing a false appearance. The most likely reason they act tough is very simply because they are easily influenced by a "gangster" attitude. They don't have a strong mindset or attitude of their own. People like this don't realize how gangsters actually live and especially rappers like Chief Keef. When i hear people holler "GBE", "Oblock", "Three hunna", it makes me think they speak in ignorance. From what i hear, gangsters really have no regard for human life and truly do kill in cold-blood. The personalities that young high school teens show are too fabricated and if they truly saw exactly how these rappers live, they wouldn't support that kind of life-style because they never grew up in that kind of environment.

The media tends to glamorize sex, drugs, violence, and most rappers i listen to tend to make gangs seem cool and they're your "friends" when nothing could be further from the truth. Perhaps i'm wrong, but from what i hear from some former gang-members, they won't help you progress as an individual and if you are honest with yourself, you would not want to live their kind of life-style. Honestly, i was a bit shocked to learn that Chief Keef was actually a gangster rapper ever since he released his famous song "I don't like" and a bit surprised that many high school teens were listening to him, already behaving as if they were gangsters by saying things like "Free my n-gga such and such.." When they weren't even imprisoned. A simple word of advice, don't throw up the blood sign if you have never killed anyone or went to prison, don't act like your in prison if you've never been in prison, and don't rap about being a gangster if your not a gangster. I know of a couple of real gangster rappers and they are nothing like many people who use the label "O.G" like a fashionable trend.

At the end of the day, gangs really have nothing to do with any kind of music, but i think you should always rap about your life experiences, struggles, and inner emotions. Don't ever rap about being someone you are not because people will appreciate you more for who you truly are.

Why certain genres of music shouldn't be overly criticized

Music has apparently always been treated with more concern than any other form of entertainment. Many musicians are the targets of parents, teachers,the media, and society in general. Based on my observations, it is usually rock and rap that are often criticized more than any other genre of music. I believe that the media has shown music genres such as rock, rap, heavy metal, etc. in a negative light because these kinds of genres are not widely accepted among the general population. Where is the criticism against pop, jazz, reggae, country and other such genres? I hardly hear of any country singer or reggae artist being given a bad reputation, so why target some genres and not others?

I have reflected on arguments against listening to "gangster" rappers and "obscene" metal bands because of a certain image projecting negative influences. People refuse to listen to their albums because they feel no connection or anything "positive" within the music itself, however i see no reason why there should be a restriction on only those kinds of musical genres. The Beatles played ballad's, but their song "Helter Skelter" was focused on being loud, noisy, and ridiculous. It was originally intended to be heavy metal and made to demonstrate that they did not only play ballads. Remember that musicians like Elvis Presley along with other musicians of whom now in our modern society look very modest, but in their own respective time were considered to be obscene. For these reasons, music should not be treated as a trend, but rather an art to express individuality and sense of character.

I've heard it's been said before against my choice in music "Listen closely to the music you are listening to..do you see any positive influences? Do you see anything which you can relate to?.." That is not necessarily the goal of music, music does not pick sides, so that is a rather overly judgmental statement. When we were kids, we may have watched superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Spiderman, etc. use violence for the greater good, should we then follow their example? Should we then be against them because they use violence? Why not stop watching violent action-adventure movies simply because they promote violence? More importantly, no one in our society is obligated to fully disclose their personal lives simply to satisfy your requirements of a good role model. Businessmen are there to sell and market products, policemen are present to protect citizens, and doctors are there to help the sick, not to be judged by your standards. Furthermore, musicians are expressing their view and life-experiences, so if i can't relate to it, that's not of much relevance because understanding is the principal goal being set in focus.

With these things in mind, music should never seen as only an instrument for self-improvement because that's not the essence of art in general. Art is the expression of the self whether it expresses positive or negative feelings, thoughts, and emotions. What you want to incorporate into your music or the music you listen to is up to you. In conclusion, the personal lives of musicians should not affect your joy of listening to a particular genre of music.

What makes you a good rapper?

It seems like nowadays, people who listen to rap would rather listen to lyrically, well-versed rappers such as tu-pac, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Eminem,tech nine, etc. at least from my personal experience. While i do agree that rappers today have utterly terrible lyrics and more creative verses are preferred, i do not agree that having great lyrical skills is the only thing which essentially makes you a "good" rapper.

For example, many people I've encountered dislike rapper "Chief Keef" because of his horrible lyrics and flow. First of all, I've watched one of his interviews and he clearly stated that he is not a lyrical rapper. He hardly uses metaphors, but prefers to literally "get to the point" which is fine by my standards as long as there is some creativity to it. He's not necessarily a bad rapper, his lyrical content is repulsing to me, but i do give him credit for creating catchy songs such as "I don't like", "everyday", "Love Sosa" etc.

He did have a smooth and very rhythmical flow in many of his songs. Even in his latest album, although it wasn't as rich in creativity as earlier works, in some songs, his flow was still smooth and a bit melodious. I don't think it's sound judgement to dislike him just because you simply don't want people to think you have "bad taste" in music.

Which brings me to my next point, art has become more of a fashionable trend than an actual practice and beautiful expression of the self. Often, people criticize more than appreciate artwork and see it as an achievement to be made by "positive" people who are good role-models for citizens advocating for humanist values. Many have criticized him for his lifestyle and hence they dislike him as an artist. I find it to be quite absurd. Music is music, it's an art, not a lifestyle that deals with gangs, drugs, sex, women, etc. A person's art should not be ridiculed by their "negative" values, but you should look at it as their story, their way of expressing themselves through their art.

Comparing it to rappers such as Tu-Pac and Eminem, they have great lyrics and more quick-paced flow, but at times, i can't enjoy some of Eminem's songs since they sound a lot more like he's talking than actually rapping. Variety of flow is just as important as lyrical creativity.

What makes a good rapper? It's when you have an agenda to be heard, to have your own unique character reflected by your rapping voice and lyrics. Success is the key focus in expressing your life, beliefs, and values, even if your from the hood. From that point on, it doesn't matter if your a fake "gangster" or real or even what you rap about as long as you stay real to the art of music.