Rappin’ for Jesus Lyrics

[Verse 1: Pastor Jim Colerick]
Well, I wrote this song for the Christian youth
I wanna teach kids the Christian truth

If you wanna reach those kids on the street
Then you gotta do a rap to a hip-hop beat

So I gave my sermon an urban kick
My rhymes are fly, my beats are sick
My crew is big and it keeps getting bigger
That's 'cause Jesus Christ is my nigga
Woo!

[Verse 2: Pastor Jim Colerick]
He's a life-changer, miracle arranger
Born to the virgin mom in a manger
Water to wine, he's a drink exchanger
And he died for your sins
I preach the word, that's my gig
And I rhyme better than Notorious B.I.G
All the other MCs, I wish them well
But if you live in sin, you burn in hell
Now I'ma pass the mic to my lovely wife
She's a fly MC and the light of my life
So to bust a rhyme without further ado
Take it away, Mary Sue!

[Verse 3: Mary Sue Colerick & Pastor Jim Colerick]
Jesus Christ is my nigga
He's the son of the original G

And he was sent to Earth to elucidate the way that we should be
(What?)
Like if another MC says, "You're a freak!
You're a lame-butt rapper and your rhymes are weak!"
I don't get mad and I don't critique
I forgive him, and turn the other cheek

I don't blaspheme and I don't brag
I don't cuss, and my pants don't sag

I do exude a little Christian swag
And I'm proud to be an American!
[Verse 4: Pastor Jim Colerick & Mary Sue Colerick]
Jesus Christ is our nigga
Let his light shine through ya!
Let his love pop a cap in your butt and say hallelujah
Jesus Christ is our nigga
He's a homie MC, JC, you see
He's an honest, caring, peace-loving nigga like me

[Verse 5: Pastor Jim Colerick & Mary Sue Colerick]
If you do drugs and you think you're cool
You need to come to Sunday school!
Put those drugs in a garbage can
Stand up tall, you're a Christian man!


[Outro: Pastor Jim Colerick & Mary Sue Colerick]
Word up!
I'm freestyling!
Hit me!

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About

Genius Annotation

“Rappin' for Jesus” is a song that was popularized by its YouTube video, which went viral after its upload in 2013 and has been viewed over 50 million times. The song was allegedly written by Pastor Jim Colerick with his wife Mary Sue from the West Dubuque 2nd Church of Christ in Iowa. The video was uploaded to YouTube in 2013 by Brian Spinney, who claimed to have directed the video with his pastor while in high school.

The main reason for the video’s viral success is due to its shock value and absurd nature. The song begins with a white pastor performing a seemingly innocent rap about Christianity, until the end of the first verse, where he drops the line “that’s ‘cause Jesus Christ is my nigga”. The song is primarily about Jesus Christ himself, as well as the power of using rap to reach out to the Christian youth.

However, it has been concluded that the video is fake due to several anachronisms. For instance, a website dedicated to the church was created in 2013 – the same year as the video’s release – despite the church purportedly shutting down in 2004. There are also no online records of Pastor Jim Colerick. Finally, a line in Mary Sue’s verse uses the slang term “swag”, meaning “style”, and the word did not gain this meaning until the 2010s, well after the video’s supposed creation.

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