Hiphop Magnificat

Beloved Community,

I rapped at church this morning. I was talking pretty fast. Here are the lyrics. Thanks to all the folk who shared their thoughts and feelings about the work and were interested to see all the lyrics. I'll have the video posted soon. Subscribe to Marcos & la Guagua on Youtube to see it first or sign up for my email list here and get connected with Marcos & la Guagua's musical mission of reconciliation, lifting up songs of freedom by any music necessary.

This music was made to lift up what might be the most revolutionary text in the Bible, 
My man Johann Sebastian Bach’s setting of Mary’s song, 
Jesus’ Mom, from when God asked her to be his Baby’s Mother, 
And said she would conceive before tying the knot, 
It was asking a lot but she rejoiced, 
Singing sayings transfigured from Aramaic, to Greek, to Latin, 
So now this is “Latin Music”. 
Entonces, Nuestra Señora Cantó eso hace tiempo, 
But, take a moment to listen to Maria today, 
Can you feel what Maria has to say? Cuando dice: 

        Qui a respexit… 
        Anceílle su- 

Now this is just a snippet but the grandeur of the whole is within it.     
Mother Mary sings as if the Kingdom of God had arrived, as if Heaven were already here. 
Isn’t it heavenly? 
This little, brown, teen mom, fearless Palestinian girl dares to declare, 
That which don’t objectively seem to be there. 
That God has lifted up the lowly, 
sent the rich away empty, 
Cast down the proud, 
filled the lowly with plenty, 
And that this is and will be true for 
Omnes, Omnes, Many generations 
Now and forever, world without end 
for endless descendants. 
I believe this-every living word! But, it don’t seem to make sense given the      

Persistence of certain patterns of relations,         
Savage inequalities of social stations, 
Permanent members of United Nations 
Security council, charge you, a hefty fee 
We suggest you 
Retain counsel. If you can’t afford it than this court will appoint it for you, 
In order to 
Simply ignore you. 

80% of US criminal defendants defense depends on public defenders. 
The 99% and the one percenter’s 
Experience_is institutionally distinct. 
Didn’t take an asteroid to make our unions extinct. 
It took a Re-gun and an Iron Lady, 
Sí se puede? Yes we can? 

Definitely maybe. 
                                 
Definitely maybe probably perhaps.          
Do you hear the people’s scattered amens and golf claps? 
Do you hear the people sing along with Hiphop, 
While preserving prejudice? When will hypocrisy stop? 

And what do we mean by what we’re rapping? 
Do we care about “aboutness”? 
Is it straight up like Ellen in all her “outness”? 
Or closeted 
enduring like Turings 
Imitation game? 
Can Bach be back beats? Can hiphop be cheerful and gay? 
Or does it have to be hard ‘cause it started on a block that Macklemore said he hadn’t been to? 
But, I hope by now he’s come through. 
It ain’t that hard to get to 
1520 Sedgwick Avenue- I’ll take you! 
And Macklemore-Y’all can meet me in the Bronx 
Then we’ll stop by Harlem-birthplace of beatbox! Does   

Sightseeing have meaning?              
What are relationships made of? 
Mack mighta meant it in a narrative voice- 
I mean like, “made up”. 
I think that’s his right, a valid artistic choice. 
But, I’m not so impressed with how art adorns you. 
I’m interested to know if art has transformed you. 
If you don’t thirst for change than my art ain’t for you.I was- 

    Transformed by seeing the Kid and Kayla- 
Boundary breaking beat box. 
But, it’s like when De la 
Soul first hit the college campus. 
Do the fans like the music, 
Or just the canibus? 
She loves it, I perceive, 
With what Kayla mighta been through 
Helped train herself, 
Face misogynist haters and maintained herself on her hiphop course. 
What does it mean when her family supports?            a la Run 
Is the church a family? Will we ever be close, 
Or do we only come here to preach and pose? 

Definitely maybe probably perhaps. 
Can you hear the scattered amens and golf claps? 
Can you hear the people sing along with Hiphop, 
While preserving prejudice? Will exploitation ever stop? 
spoken                                    Omnes ends                     
God knows. 
I don’t. 
But, maybe we can be like Mary 
and keep all these things 
And ponder them in our hearts. 

Amen? 

Let the church say: Amen.

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