Ready-To-Use Music: The Life of Pablo

SYNOPSIS

Kanye West’s controversial seventh studio album featuring many collaborations and is only available via streaming services.

INTRODUCTION

This album is typical of many in the album charts at the moment, with lyrics featuring an uncomfortable mixture of biblical references and explicit language, which is the issue explored through this session. For this reason, you may not wish to play the tracks to your young people, but you could alternatively look at the lyrics alone, or substitute the album with one of several others currently in the album chart.

THE SESSION

Ask: Have you ever thought about the things you listen to and the space you are giving it in your mind? We allow all sorts of things to influence us, are we sure all of these things are a good idea?

TRACK 2: FATHER, STRETCH THESE HANDS

Ask your group; if you had never heard this song, what might you expect this song to be about, given the title? It sounds like it could be a worship song, so what might we expect the lyrics to be? Play the song and provide copies of the lyrics for the group to look at. Explain that you know these lyrics may cause offence but that you think it is important to make space to explore the issues raised by these lyrics. You are not recommending the music, but rather being realistic about the kind of music the group may choose to listen to, and creating a safe space where you can openly explore the themes.

Say: Clearly, when you look more carefully at this song, it really isn’t a worship song! There is a growing trend in current music to include swear words and language which may be sexually or racially derogatory. Some of these tracks, including the one selected, carry an uncomfortable reference to God while also referring to far less wholesome ideas.

Ask: Is this ok? If not, why not? Provide Bibles and ask someone to read James 3:1-12. Ask: what does this passage say about this song and others like it? Do you agree that the mouth cannot speak praise and insults in the same breath? How does this challenge the things that we may listen to? What does this say about the things we ourselves say?

Remind your group that God is interested in our whole lives; we cannot be one thing in one context, perhaps at church, and a different thing among our non-Christian friends. The fact that these lyrics feel uncomfortable is a good thing; it’s like a warning bell we should be aware of. Challenge the group, in the week ahead, to pay particular attention to the things they are listening to and to choose to turn music off when they find lyrics unhelpful.