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By: Michelle, 17, Toronto |
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By: Michelle, 17, Toronto |
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When I did a survey in my High School, a group of teens were asked for their definition of Christian music, 47 out of 50 of them answered loud gospel choirs. However, when asked if they had ever listened to Christian music, 49 out of 50 teens answered no. How interesting it is, that the majority cast their judgement without ever having listened to this genre of music. The reality is that having the music categorized as "Christian" can cause many limitations and stereotypes in the secular music industry.
What is it about that name that has teens turning the other cheek? Aspiring Christian artist Brett Russell replies, "people think that if a person is a Christian artist, they are going to be like "Hey I love Jesus" and therefore the media reflects it as having weak beats, weak lyrics, and weak productions."
Christian music is actually composed of many different styles, such as, r&b, rap, hip-hop, alternative, reggae, pop and rock.
Why then, are people not being exposed to it? Christian hip-hop artist Chris Watt A.K.A Jusachyl comments, " Young people can only listen to what they are given, and the media is not giving them any positive music. There's a choice between a positive message and a negative one and radio stations should be playing at least as much positive music as negative."
The primary factor behind the matter is simply that Christian music is a minority in the secular music scene. Toronto Radio personality DJ X states, "the radio stations, T.V. stations, and record companies want to cater to the demand of the majority. It is all about the money. How much money can be made, how much people are listening, and what are our ratings."
Nonetheless, the blame lies not only in the media, but also in the artists themselves. "Most Christian artists are just branching into the Christian audience and not trying to branch into the secular market," says Russell. This would explain why most Christian music is played mostly on am stations rather than fm.
Jusachyl points out, "A lot of stereotypes were probably true, back in the day Christian hip hop was horrible. I didn't even listen to it! Nevertheless, today the music is as good if not better than the secular music that is out there."
Despite the stereotypes, there are several artists who have succeeded in breaking these barriers. Bands such as Creed, P.O.D, and Jars of Clay have successfully made it into the temporal music scene. Most listeners have no clue though, that these bands are in fact Christian. This is due to the fact that these artists do not want to portray themselves as "Christians". As a result, the media and the public take their music seriously.
In the end the true importance is in the music. Once people decide to get past the label and really pay attention to the music, they will have the chance to hear and enjoy it. In the words of William Shakespeare, "what's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." In other words, good music is still good music no matter what the title may be.
BACK © 2003 Tiny Giant Magazine