For the DJ Tells Me So?: Genre, Community, and the Construction of Christian Hip-Hop

To the outsider, Christian hip-hop may appear to have an identity crisis. While the label “Christian hip-hop” (CHH) is seemingly straightforward, differing views on how the genre should be defined have made distinctions between who is considered a CHH artist and who is not increasingly difficult to pin down. This study investigates the construction of CHH by looking to some of the leading voices in the CHH community—media practitioners. Through in-depth interviews with journalists, radio personalities, and other influential tastemakers, this article attempts to uncover the standards that are used to draw out the boundaries of CHH. Findings point to three defining characteristics of CHH: (1) “clean” lyrics and lifestyle, (2) a conscious commitment to promoting both the Christian faith and the CHH community, and (3) a conflicted stance over CHH’s relationship to mainstream (i.e., secular) hip-hop. In a genre that explicitly seeks to provide more than entertainment—where recording artists often function not just as performers but as faith leaders—this article carries important implications not only for the music industry but for Christianity as a whole.