As a millennial, it may not come as a surprise that I enjoy pop culture. I probably should pay more attention to politics and not spend a much time partaking in social media nonsense, but alas, I still do. I have discovered, though, that there seems to be a new focus on spirituality, mental illness awareness and activism in the music I listen to and even on the films we watch.
As an example of spirituality in musical pop culture, I'd like to look to Chance The Rapper, who is very well known for speaking about his love and his praise for God in many of his songs. In 'All We Got', Chance sings "I get my word from the sermon, I don't speak to the serpent." In 'Somewhere in Paradise," Chance raps very clearly his love for the Lord in the lyrics, "God is so awesome, devil's a liar, Take 'em to church but I need a choir." This might seem like a foreign concept to many people, a rapper rapping about the Lord, Who would've thought? I think for me, as a Christian, it really opened my eyes to the fact that a Christian does not have to fit in some sort of box. We can express our love and gratitude to God in however we feel fit.
I feel that Chance is paving the way for my generation to feel comfortable and confident with their spirituality. I love that he chose to songs to present at the Grammy's that were really focused on his spiritual awakening. That's not to say all his songs are about him on a religion level and that is totally okay. We are all sinners and Chance does not claim to be anything else. He is exceptional, he has a voice for the people and I truly think, he is using it for good.