Song: “Jesus is Just
Alright”
Artist: DC Talk
Album: Free at
Last (1992)
Track: 4
Just as way of background, this track was my favorite on
this album when it first came out, and I know I was not alone. I, like a great many others, worked really
hard to learn the third verse and be able to keep up with Toby Mac rapping it. As a side note, I sang along with him so much
ten years ago, that I tried to rap this again yesterday, just to see if I
remembered it, and I only stumbled on one line.
The song has lessened in my estimation over the years, mainly because
the novelty of that rap has worn off, and the song itself isn't all that great. Frankly, the Doobies did it well the first
time, and we really didn’t need a hip hop version of the tune. That being said, I do not think I'm
overstating it when I say that this track was hugely influential and important
to the album's success.
And it's a total theological train wreck.
The Good
The good here is simply the concept. The point of the song is that DC Talk isn't
going to sell out, but they are going to continue to sing about Jesus. Okay, that’s a good topic for a song. And that’s really where the good stops.
Neither Good nor Bad
There’s a lot of generally harmless repetition and meaningless
sections to the song. A huge chunk of
the song is instrumental, or with some sort of sample in the background, or
just repeating the chorus. Nothing wrong
with that in a rock/rap song, and I generally think the music is pretty good
here. Again, thanks to the Doobies.
The Bad
The bad here is that they aren't at all singing about Jesus,
but about themselves. They are doing the
EXACT thing they are singing against.
Take a step back and look at this song.
The point of the song is that DC Talk is not going to sell out, but
they’re going to sing about Jesus. And
then they sing about themselves, just like any secular group.
Let's just look at the first verse to make the point
here. Remember, the point of the song is
to say that DC Talk is not going to sell out and stop singing about Jesus. So how do we start it off? "Toby Mac. And the Mac is back no slack."
Really?
"On a DC track that's jacked beyond
comprehension."
Okay. One line about
how great Toby is, then a line about how great DCT is.
"I believe that I failed to mention that there's a lack
of recognition when it comes to His position."
Ah! At last! Toby spends more than half of the verse
talking about himself and his band, and then finally mentions God.
Same story in verse 2.
The verse starts out with Toby rapping about how cool he is until he
finally says the word “Jesus.” But
instead of talking about Jesus, he proceeds to tell us how bold he is because
he used the word. “For those who think
they heard, I did use the J-word, because I ain’t too soft to say it, even if
DJs won’t play it.”
The third verse actually starts off mentioning Jesus, but
even there it is about Toby. "I'm
down with the one who is known as the Son." Okay, yes, we have a mention of Jesus, but it
is really about how great Toby is for singing about Jesus, not about how great
Jesus is. Despite the fact that the
verse does have some nice lines in it about how money is temporary and that it
cannot be about “me,” it is also littered with hypocritical lines about “me” such
as “Never trite when I write” and “With the flow in the know on the go like a
pro.”
Almost literally, the most Christian lyrics in this song
were written by the Doobie Brothers.
That's a problem, guys, especially in a song about how dedicated you are
to singing about Jesus.
Overall
It’s a fun song, but the subject matter actually highlights
the problem with a great deal of the problem, and that is that the album is
self-focused. It is particularly
highlighted here because the song purports to be about how we should be
focusing on God, no matter the cost, but in reality, God is not a major player
in this song.