CHH artist Jaylafé recently addressed homosexuality. Check it out:

 For my debut album Dream Shift I wanted one of my songs to discuss homosexuality.  I felt like I had to.  Arguably the most polarizing political issue among Christians and the blazing core of a likely civil rights movement over the next few decades, I felt it wasn’t being discussed enough in Christian hip hop.  So, I went after it.  However, being that my instincts are to hit people over the head with proposition after proposition, I wanted to take a different approach in the songwriting process.  I envisioned a fictional character, a boy, and wanted to tell his story.  Ironically, this story has probably occurred, and the truth presented (that truth of the delicate tensions involved with this issue) is nothing short of fact.  This should be real to all of us, and perhaps to some it is already more real than you’d like.  Maybe you know an “Eric,” and maybe you are him.  Or her.   

We have to talk more, and here’s how I tried to do so…

(You can listen to the song here)

RAINBOW COLORED SCAR

(hook)

Will you see his (her) soul? Will you see his pain? Will you shine your light? Will you light the way?  Will you speak the truth in love?

The little cruel kids in Eric’s middle school

made him feel pitiful, miserable

He didn’t fully blend in, got teased for being gay

the things they’d say would sting way after they said ‘em

they’d replay in his mind each day

“You’ve got HIV and AIDS!”

the mean names melted into a numbing pain

it always seemed strange

he couldn’t like girls the way guys did

his eyes didn’t follow when a girl passed by

didn’t like it, he asked,

“God why did you make me like this? I don’t like this”

felt like God spited him, he cried himself into a world inside his eyelids

where he felt safe, and he could dream where his desires led

tantalized, he fantasized, looked at the guys passing by

never understanding why it got him so excited

it just did, and he just didn’t want to keep his lust hidden

discussed it in PE, the kids were all disgusted

and treated him rough, beat him up, they said they’d seen enough

kicked over a trash can and forced Eric to clean it up

they bullied him; teachers looked the other way

principal said she’d deal with it another day

he was just another gay kid no one knew how to handle

Eric was a handful, crammed full of issues

wishin for the love no one had for him

waiting for a person to explain God’s love

and any way that he could change

but that person never came

(hook)

He started searchin’ for love from his church friends

lookin’ for encouragement, wasn’t really sure if it would happen

but it was worth a shot, started goin’ to church a lot

hoping that someone would care, he would share personal thoughts

told them he was gay, and they seemed uncomfortable

they were still nice, but they really didn’t know what to do

they’d never really thought about how to love a person like him

they took one of three stances: 1. They’d give mean glances

totally hate Eric, or 2. They’d do the opposite

they’d say being gay’s OK and they’d give props to it

or 3. They’d try to ignore it and act like it wasn’t important

hadn’t sorted it out, they weren’t against it or for it

and none of these responses ever helped Eric one bit

he found acceptance in the group, but never grew from it

never heard the Gospel, never heard about hope in Christ

cut by his sin and by their slacking, the wound got opened twice

the seeds of bitterness were sown, he couldn’t get rid of it

lost in his confusion, he’d just sit in it

thought he’d never find any alternative to his alternative lifestyle

so he just embraced it with a bright smile and lived in it

then his wound healed up into a rainbow colored scar

he raised his banner high for all to see like a colorguard

proudly, loudly out of the closet like a beloved article

of clothing, wearing it, not a hint of embarrassment

he cherished it, made it his identity, his centerpiece, his everything

a bittersweet dream’s wedding ring of no love, just a spiral

wrapped around his finger

a poignant embrace that just lingered as he pointed at the world

(hook)

Eric started college filled with frustration

anger at the church and Christians, just hatred

fueled by bitterness, he became an advocate

for gay rights on campus, an avid kid, passionate

passin’ out flyers, organizing meetings

speaking for a movement, got people believing him

and he made sure to curse his upbringing

his parents and his church got the worst of his mudslinging

wanted to make an image, so he devised a scheme

needed a partner to fulfill his desires and dreams

sexual acts, Eric got promiscuous

got into some sexual things that messed with his health

developed white spots on the tongue, diarrhea

swollen lymph nodes, vomiting, it was getting frightening

he went and got a blood test, filled with unrest

in the waiting room, awaiting doom, he had one guess

and his worst fear came true when the nurse shared the news:

HIV-positive, he just stared at his shoes

couldn’t believe it, she tried to give details/ but he wouldn’t receive it

Eric went home and cried, screaming, “Why God? Why did you do this to me?

I hate you!  You got my life wrong!”

then five months later, he laid there in the hospital bed

his family all around him, five minutes from death

they shared the Gospel of Christ and pled with him

to receive Christ’s blood as he bled within

and the tears flowed, Eric fell into Christ’s arms

like a lost child finally home, and said, “I’m sorry,

please forgive me, receive me Lord, take me”

his pulse was fading and his voice was breaking

he looked into his parents’ eyes, only saw Christ’s love

tears flowing as the whole room seemed to light up

then his life slipped as his family held him

and the angels were all cheering in Glory as they welcomed him in

You can follow Jaylafé on Twitter @jaylafe

facebook.com/jaylafe

www.jaylafe.com