UNIQUE WAYS RAPPERS HAVE PORTRAYED JESUS CHRIST.

Christian themes have long proliferated hip-hop. There have been a slew of rappers over the years who have either directly proclaimed to be. Or implied that they are the Son of God. Whether it be through Christian imagery. Like Kendrick Lamar wearing a crown of thorns, or downright proclamation. When Kanye West compared himself to Jesus, Jesus Christ has remained a steadfast presence in rap music since its inception.

Lil Nas X is now the most recent rapper to embody himself as Jesus Christ. On Jan. 8, the Montero rapper announced his new Christian-themed single “J Christ” would drop on Jan. 12. The cover art for the song caused a ruckus online as Lil Nas X could be seen getting crucified on the cross, not to mention the song in question has also caused some issues with Christian listeners because of Lil Nas X’s sexuality as a gay man.

On Jan. 8, 2024, Lil Nas X hit up X, formerly known as Twitter. To announce an upcoming single titled “J Christ,” which is set to drop on Jan. 12. Along with cover art that finds a crucified Nas X. Being hoisted up by several individuals.The Georgia rap crooner says the single is “dedicated to the man who had the greatest comeback of all time.” Aside from the cover itself, Lil Nas X also shared a short video clip teasing “J Christ” in which he portrays a futuristic version of Jesus Christ on the cross before transforming into an angelic robot.

Tupac Shakur

Following the release of Kendrick Lamar’s fifth studio album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Kung Fu Kenny was spotted multiple times donning a $3 million diamond-encrusted crown of thorns. While Kendrick’s previous works have all toyed with faith and explored Christian themes, Mr. Morale found the California rapper embodying the Son of God quite literally. Die-hard fans who’ve studied Kendrick’s work even realized that the title of his fifth project could be interpreted as “Jesus & His Disciples.” Kendrick decorating the crown in diamonds in turn potentially symbolized the way rappers use wealth to mask said pain and said burdens. It’s all speculation, but K Dot’s penchant for religious metaphors has been heavily dissected for years.

Kanye West

Anyone who has ever listened to a Kanye West song knows the man has discussed religious themes and used Christian imagery for years. Dating back to “Jesus Walks” on his debut The College Dropout, Ye has long compared himself to the Son of God. He’s never done it so literally as he did in his 2006 Rolling Stone cover story. Throughout the story—in which he talks about his infamous “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” one-liner delivered during a televised Hurricane Katrina fundraiser—Ye is pictured as a bloodied Jesus Christ figure.

A few years after the shoot, Ye would go on to compare himself to Jesus on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and more directly proclaim to be God himself (“I Am a God”).

Nas

Nas stars as Jesus Christ in his 1999 music video for “Hate Me Now.” And fully reenacts the Son of God’s crucifixion. The visual also stars Diddy, a devout Catholic. Who had requested that he be cut from the video if it aired on national TV. The video premiered on MTV’s TRL on April 15, 1999. And Diddy was irate that his request was not honored. Things then took a dramatic turn when Puff allegedly stormed into Nas’ manager, Steve Stoute’s office with multiple bodyguards after the video aired. Stoute was allegedly smashed over the head with a champagne bottle, and a lawsuit followed that was later settled out of court.

When it comes to why Nas went the religious route at all, the New York rapper gravitated toward the imagery of the crucifixion because he felt he was being ostracized from society. Nas said in 2007 that he also wanted to stick it to New York’s then-mayor Rudy Giuliani, who at the time criticized a Passion of the Christ play for portraying a Black Jesus. “My thing was I wanted to be crucified like Jesus in the video to get back at all those people that don’t want to see a black man doing his thing,” Nas told Rolling Stone in 2007.

Ma$e

Ma$e had announced his retirement from rap during a phone call to Funkmaster Flex in 1999 and chose instead to become an ordained minister. He led two churches in Atlanta and Phoenix before returning to rap in 2004, growing closer and closer with 50 Cent’s G-Unit collective.

By 2006, he dropped off a new mixtape titled Crucified 4 the Hood: 10 Years of Hate. The former minister, returning to his “Murda Ma$e” rapping style, used the tape’s cover to depict himself as the crucified Christ.

Ja Rule

During Ja Rule‘s performance at the 2023 BMI R&B/Hip Hop Awards back in September of 2023. A shirtless Ja was placed in the center of the stage tied to a wooden column while rapping his biblical track “One of Us.”  The performance was an obvious ode to Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. And it attracted the attention of Ja’s longtime nemesis 50 Cent. Who clowned the rapper for the stunt. “Look at this s**t head, is he supposed to be Jesus [grinnig face emoji],” 50 Cent wrote on Instagram alongside a clip of the performance. “WTF you can’t make this s**t up. LOL so stupid!”

Ja Rule ended up responding to the insult. “We ain’t forget — enjoy these criminal charges and lawsuit, d**khead!” Ja wrote. He was likely to the felony battery charge 50 Cent is reportedly facing over throwing a microphone at a fan during a show.

Ab-Soul is another rapper who has toyed with religious imagery for the majority of his career, but never so literally as on the cover of his third studio album These Days… in 2014. The religious cover was meant to communicate that Soulo sacrificed so much on this album in order to save his fans from bad rap music.

Remy Ma

Remy Ma raised eyebrows when she appeared as a crucified Jesus Christ in the music video for “Shesus Khryst,” the intro track off her 2007 mixtape of the same name. Donning a crown of thorns in the desert, Remy claimed to be the “BX Savior” and said she came back like she never left in a similar way to the Son of God.

Stormzy

On Stormzy‘s debut studio album Gang Signs & Prayer in 2017. The UK rapper helmed a darker rendition of The Last Supper for his cover. Decked out in all black. Stormzy can be seen standing in the center of the table, surrounded by his “disciples” in unsettling balaclavas. In an interview with the art director Mark Farrow. He said the photo was inspired by Stormzy’s own Christian faith. But added he thought Last Supper renditions were often corny.

“We had to be really careful. The Last Supper has been parodied a million times. And we all felt that if we couldn’t bring something new to it. Then it would just end up looking clichéd,” art director Mark Farrow told NME in 2017. “I think with the black set and the balaclavas. Which was  Stormzy’s idea, we’ve achieved that. It then just remained for it to be beautifully lit and photographed by John Ross.”

In 2021, Dax released the visual to his song “Child of God.” The video finds Dax aiding a dying Jesus Christ. Moments before he was forced to drag the cross to his own crucifixion. The song itself finds Dax rapping about the “trials and tribulations” he’s faced the past few years. But ultimately thanks God for helping him see the light.

“Dear God thank you for leading me down this path/I’m thankful for the man that I am,” he raps.

Blac Youngsta

Blac Youngsta faced the wrath of the internet after posting a mock Crucifixion photo on his Instagram back in 2017. The photo was an ode to Tupac Shakur’s album cover of The 7 Day Theory, but people begged Youngsta to take the photo down. Atlanta rapper Ralo even went so far as to offer Blac Youngsta $10,000 just to remove the photo.