Hip hop fans are hard to find in the Sydney Anglican church. To some extent this is just further evidence of the largely middle-class and monocultural make-up of Sydney's large Anglican youth groups.
While rock, metal and emo are all popular musical styles among Sydney Anglican teens, rap, r&b and hip hop tend to be more popular amongst working-class and minority youth, including Chinese and Islander Christians.
Yet, one Sydney Anglican who is a fan of many forms of rap and hip hop is Springwood Anglican Church parishioner Jesse Gardiner.
The 22-year-old welfare worker is not surprised that many Sydney Anglicans might not like rap and hip hop due to the preponderance of coarse language and explicit sexual and drug references.
"I actually don't really listen to much secular stuff anymore, and this is not because I don't enjoy or appreciate it," he says. "Some of D Dre's beats are just classic, Eminem has some amazing stuff, early Mobb Deep has some phat beats and really raw rhymes and of course there's 2Pac and P. Diddy."
"It was almost as if hearing a good rhyme/beat just struck a real chord with me, and this motivated me to look and listen to more. I guess the funny thing is from my appearance and the neighbourhood I've grown up in, you probably wouldn't think I'd ever take an interest in hip hop music. It just seemed to be a form of expression that had real appeal and meaning for me and I just enjoyed listening to it."
However, Jesse says the subject matter of much secular hip hop has turned him off the genre.
"There's the foul language, the sex-talk, derogatory lyrics, low view of marriage and sexual relations, the emphasis on wealth, the prideful and boastful lyrics and the need for revenge," he says.
"I think hard on this issue when it comes to all music, reading and television and what is "okay' to consume, and is there a line that needs to be drawn, and where? In terms of hip hop specifically, as I've grown older I've probably come to agree more and more with the simple adage, "rubbish in, rubbish out'. I've really wrestled to know what is right here and so recently binned a few items which I came to feel ought not to be a part of my collection " or anyone else's."
Having acknowledged this, Jesse went for more wholesome rap material.
"I was sitting at my family computer searching on Amazon.com for CDs under the keyword search "Christian rap'. I streamed some samples, really liked what I heard so decided to order an album."
Jesse says parents concerned about their kids' interest in hip hop can direct them to the "quality, accessible, helpful alternative' provided by Christian artists. He recommends the Mustard Empire, a rap collective who appear in the Mustard tent at the Black Stump festival, as well as overseas artist da' T.R.U.T.H.
"I'd just say that I think hip hop music is profoundly powerful and engaging, and as I've discovered Christian people expressing themselves through rhyme, this has been of great encouragement and help to me as a Christian," he says.
