I’ve been reading a lot more books and I’m not just talking about fiction. True comics and superheroes will probably always have a spot in my heart, but nowadays I’m more interested in reading books to help develop me as a father, a Believer, and a husband. I’ve always loved to read, but what makes me want to read even more is the fact that many of my Christian Hip Hop or Hip Hop artists who are Christian read a lot as well. I daresay the reason that most CHH fans even know who John Piper is is because of certain artists within our subgenre. That was clearly the case with me. I remember on the Wade-O Radio Show when Wade-O used to ask artists what they were reading currently because I used to take notes, especially for my favorite artists. When S.O. mentioned his love for Elisabeth Elliot books, I ran out and bought the first one I could find. Also if you listened closely to artists lyrics they would drop the name of a book or an author or a Pastor that inspired them.
It’s no lie that Lecrae and many other artists put us on to Piper, but there are other amazing authors as well. I just finished reading Timothy Keller’s “The Reason For God” and the whole reason I picked it up was as soon as I saw the cover, I heard Lecrae lyrics. “Pick up ‘The Reason for God’ by Timothy Keller and read it/ there is a God you should believe in and His name is Jesus.” Those lines were from the song “Misconceptions” from the first Church Clothes. The reason I picked up Francis Chan’s “Crazy Love” was because of MC Jin’s project Crazy Love Ridiculous Faith. This led to me buying another of Chan’s books and another of Timothy Keller’s books and now I have a list of books that I want to read just because my favorite emcees either mentioned them or I’ve seen the influence of said author and want to read their work for myself.
Whatever field or industry you find yourself in, I guarantee you can’t go wrong if you read up on it. Just about every topic that can be touched on or whatever issue you may have has been written about. And if you find that not to be true, then maybe you need to be the one who writes the book on that particular topic. Reading is essential and helps keep the mind sharp, help inform how you see the world, and as you can see, helps artists craft amazing bodies of work. I challenge you to read a book today and see if it doesn’t help you grow into a better person.
