Heroes and Villains: Is hip-hop a cancer or a cure? | Lecrae | TEDxNashville
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- When we prostitute things like misogyny and violence for the sake of entertainment, we perpetuate villainous ideas as heroic. Hip hop is one of our generation's perpetrators, but is also the art form that can turn this ship around.
Lecrae is quickly developing into one of the biggest music stories of the year and his Cinderella rise has been noted everywhere from RollingStone, XXL Magazine, Vibe Magazine, The New York Times, The Atlantic, the cover of The Huffington Post to industry trades such as Billboard Magazine, Variety and Vulture. His performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, perfectly timed with his album’s release, had fans buzzing as he performed multiple hit records from Anomaly. He’s performed at the BET Experience, cohosted The Dove Awards, co-headlined the highest ticketed tour in the country (Winter Jam) and received a nomination for Best Impact Track at this year’s BET Hip Hop Awards. Sway Calloway, MTV News Executive Producer and host of his own nationally syndicated radio show, The Wake Up Show, recently proclaimed Lecrae as the “Evolution of HipHop.”
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx
I had to pause so many times during this, just to summarize his thoughts and expressions, brilliant talk. Thank you crae
+Joe just like me
So I'm not alone lol. His sentences were complex but it made me really think.
Joe your pic aupports your commenr
my Kirk mommas bot? boy lmbo
yes it was a very intelligent presentation
This was absolutely amazing, one of the best ted talk ever. Great job Lecrae Moore.
Great TED talk by Lecrae. He kept it 100.
Wassssssup!! Bishop!!
What's up bro?
+Bl5H0P I'm subscribed to you
+Jordan Scott same
💯
So much respect for this man. Opening up mind instead of just screaming out words. I'm 37 years old and I still look for mentors, they are hard to find in this day and age, but this man should be looked as one.
This man knows what he's talking about, rad artist & smart man! #keepthegoal
badboyfox007 #kaka
Excellent representation of the Hip Hop community. I really miss the days when Hip Hop edified the community. Brothers like you are really keeping hope alive. God Bless you brother! Keep up the good work!
“today you’ve heard one story, may we all have the humility to hear many more”
i love how comfortable he is up there. all that performing experience really shows
I was fortunate enough to only listen to great, socially conscious hip-hop when I first got into music. It shaped me in a positive way and so I am also a living example of how this is possible.
Exactly what I've been thinking for many years!! I'm a huge hip hop baby and the part that makes me mad about it is when people praise uneducated behaviours and idolise these "villains. What an amazing topic, Lecrae. Respect.
Good to understand origins of hip hop - not always bad. Lecrae has an important role in modelling positivity to his community, positive lyrics - so sad so many no fathers.
Take the time to watch. Keep an open mind. It's an exceptional talk
I used to listen to lecrae way back like 5 or 6 years ago, maybe more, glad to see he's still doing his thing. Definitely has a brilliant message that needs to be heard.
I love listening to your Godly wisdom. When I was saved a dozen years ago I missed listening to hip-hop/rap; I choose not to put those negative words in my mind (the thing I think about is the thing I will do)....I choose to keep my mind on The Word of God and how I can serve Him! Then a friend introduced me to your music and 116; I am SO happy! I went to see you when you came to upstate NY and felt edifice. Thank you for all you do; your (and other Christian artists) music fills a void with a positive message!
So glad i watched this. As a huge hip hop fan its refreshing and opens the mind to thinking in a different well! Lecrae you are the truth
Lecrae for President.
+Lyrical Opposition AYO!
💯
adonay sebhatu hahaha what's up, Adonay!
Jonathan Santos 100!
i do good job in president..because my english
no good...same like americans
Love Lecrae! My brother in Christ.
Watch ((*New* we don't speak the same Jesus.)) on TH-cam now.
Watch ((*New* we don't speak the same Jesus.)) on TH-cam now.
Watch ((*New* we don't speak the same Jesus.)) on TH-cam now.
Sorry lecrae is not christian
+yamika mumba lecrae was Christian. his music like (tell the world) is Christian. But his pride made him want money. Worldly rapers like lil Wayne told him that he was good and should rap with them. And I think that the illuminati told him to drop Jesus out of his songs so he can make money of it.
8: in a gang
10: drugs
13: sex
15: robber
17: went to jail
21: accepted Christ
37: became a Preacher
He isn't 37
+Dylan _DMB I think he referring to the fact he spreads the word through music
I just looked it up he Is 37
+Dylan _DMB oh wooow he is quite older then i thought... crud, hope he doesnt retire anytime soon
Yeah I know he won't retire he could right now but he wants to teach the gospel in his music
my hat is off to you lecrea, thank you for defending hip hop, may the Spirit continue to use you as a light to open blind eye's
Thank you for educating us on this history! Wise words and a great story. Thanks for being an inspiration Lecrae!
Has anyone else noticed how rap-able this speech is? It rhymes so beautifully.
Today you’ve heard one story. May we all have the humility to hear any more.
I really like those closing remarks. Is it fun to be in an echo chamber sometimes? Sure, and it’s healthy! But we need to branch out and hear other things that challenge our beliefs too.
Such humility from Lecrae. Sublime lesson from my brother in Christ.
Incredible. Very well done Lecrae
#LecraeForPresident
Twenty Paphonies. Yes please
love it but it kinda goes against ya know?
I would be for it
Regardless if you like Lecrae or are on board with the CHH Industry, I love this because this is all about the NARRATIVE. Narrative, narrative, narrative. Tell 'em, Crae
Sho Baraka: 'The Narrative' does well too. :D Similar actually.
Thank you Lecrae for sharing this insightful and timely reflection and unveiling of the perspective that many Americans of African Descent share. I saw you at The Greek in LA with Jill Scott. I love you brother you were already my favorite Rapper but you're on another level now. Christ in my rhymes!
This is a great speech. I love hip hop and rap music I've listened to it basically all my life. It has influenced me some when I was young and made me want to do more things that wasn't the best choice or it made me more open to it. I grew up with a parent on disability and one dead and went to a school where there were way more financially stable people than me and I felt like a outcast sometimes so I connected more with hip hop. I think sometimes of kids that are in the situation I was in without guidance listening to hip hop and trying to emulate these people and stories cause it does influence esp. the kids and if they are not strong and being intelligent about their decisions. I can see kids wanting to try to act out what they hear cause they think that it's cool or that they should. I wonder how much the artist think of what the impact could be of putting out such negative lyrics? I say if you have young kids that listen to it talk to them about it .
Reggae is the way
Hip-hop is the genre that has one of the most intriguing history I have been fascinated by.
I underestimated this. This was super legit. Really deep.
Many people should listen to this it has a huge message
Lecrae for President!!!
Totally bruh.
Why???
@@criticallycheesycaleb6681 Because it's rare to find a Western leader - esp. in the so-called free world - who understands the concept of a true hero outside of the propagandistic western lens, which is distorted to the point of accepting only "their kind" can be deemed heroic. I was being only slightly facetious with my comment but I bet Lecrae would make a 10x better leader than most of the clowns voted in by the western mob today.
@@GODLIMIT personally idk how much to trust him. He flaunted Romans 1:16 (I will not be ashamed of the gospel) for years and when he achieved a certain degree of mainstream success, he cut ties from it. Any connection to Christianity was removed from his bio when his 2017 ATWT album released. Does he still claim to be unashamed? I do not know his circumstances nor his heart, but as for me, I do not trust that behavior.
I LOVE LECRAE, ITS GOOD TO SEE HIM STILL GOING!
FOUND HIS MUSIC IN 2012 :) THE GUY IS A HIP HOP BLESSING
He is an all around blessing, Hip Hop included. 😊
Remarkably portrayed, remarkably narrated...a short and powerful history by Lecrae. Well presented!!!!!!
One of the greatest speeches ever!
I love how he brought attention to this! There is hope.
Wow that's a lot of research gone through :)
Tim Vels I
Very shallow research, it's very simplified and adapted to white folks/uneducated people of this lifestyle/movement.
@@BisQt
It’s a TED talk. Of course it’s simplified. It’s not a college course.
@@BisQt could you give me some sources to read/listen to?
Every hero in ones eye, can be seen as a villain to another.
This confirms what i personally feel...God has called Crae into this Life and he is in Gods Purpose...Keep on being a light Bro
That was soo so great. I learned new things! Thank you, Lecrae & all the organizers/ sponsors of this event!
"Embracing your stigma... is an act of defiance"
Such a profound statement.
This. This! Preach! Thank you for getting this message across
One of my favourite TED Talks yet
"Today we've heard one story; may we all have the humility to hear many more."
This Hits me right in the heart when walking around school I hear kids listening to rap And then later I see them talking about drugs. Like it's true but then I listen to Lecrae and hear better things. To me, rap Is a hero his song bring wisdom when I'm down and bring me more joy when I am happy.
This is AMAZING! I love how he worded this! Even using a bit of comedy to get his point across. Amazing way of saying this! GREAT job! Keep it real Lecrae!
he speaks so well and he's so clean...
Great talk that I hope brings positive awareness and inspiration to the upcoming generation of artists!
This is the type of artist I LOVE seeing Represent Hip Hop and not the Mumble Idiots who go out of their way to Perpetuate Negative Stereotypes which they think gets them "Street Credibility"
@@user-rl8ji i like to learn about what makes murderers tick too.
@@Tenchu_87 8 months has changed me and I actually despise trap music now I listen to very few artists in that sorta genre. Because I’ve learned how bad it is.
As a life long hip hop fan I love this.
I love this video. He is a first hand source for advocating that rap music is what you make of it and it by itself doesn't make you into a villain.
I am so glad their are people willing to make "negatives" into something positive. I look up to LeCrae because we both have the same grind and passion we see the issues with our entertainment world and it needs to be cleaned up. #GodSpeed #EBGH
One of the best talks I've ever heard on hiphop.
Lecrae got me into rap and his lyrics are so powerful and true!!! luv ya and God bless
Very impressive, Lecrae! Public speaking ain't easy and you went up there and handled it like you've been doing it for decades. The content was great, your delivery was spot on, and it's a message with telling and hearing!
always refreshing to hear someone speak eloquently about a subject I am passionate about thanks for sharing
Lecrae is the man
Forgive me , but that cardigan is fire!!!
Fantastic talk, Lecrae!! Totally sharing this.
This is by far the best Ted talk I’ve ever listened to 💯
lecrae is terrific PRAISE GOD!
Lecrae speaks with such an incredible ability to get people to listen and hear the story. This was incredibly insightful! This is someone I want talk to more because he can teach me a few things. This type of information is very good to have so we can be more wise than those of the past.
That piano threw me off, I was like how is he going to work that into this? Then he just left.
Best Ted Talk I have ever watched. This grand scale considerations for reshaping the struggle of countless people across the world.
I'm an Athiest but I love Lecrae and what he's trying to do and his music is just wonderful the lyrics are powerful and just amazing
there are never any excuses or justifications for wrongs that you know are wrongs within your heart. look within.
imagine of 2pac got to live long enough to speak at TED
He’ll have talk show that be bigger than Oprah
Wow, what a crazy thought. He would be bursting with wisdom. Wish we could hear what he would have to say today (especially now in 2020)
Tupac is the least insightful rapper of all time.
@@NK-vd6wv you don’t know what you’re talking about lmao
One of the best ted talks I’ve seen in a while
man this is pure gold!
Love his wisdom and his allegories! Smart, funny, honest and entertaining!
I just discovered this! Wow! Amazing! I used it today in a class of seniors here in Japan!
Impressive talk, eloquently put, great quotes to exemplify the argument being made. Very much enjoyed!
Interesting testimony. Sounds like he's hoping to help hip-hop become a cure. I agree that determining who the hero is is subjective. Sometimes we understand our own stories more when we hear someone else's story. I would love to sit down with LaCrae and compare notes from his upbringing and mine covering at least how we lived through the 80's and 90's.
My parents were married at age 18 in upstate New York in the late 1950's. My mother is of American Indian descent, the Onondaga tribe of the Iriqois Nation, and she looked it. Beautiful tan skin and thick dark hair. I obviously inherited my father's Welsh heritage with pale skin and blond hair. Our father went into the airforce to get training. He was on the other side of the continent most of those early years, but when he WOULD come home, another baby was on the way! I'm not sure where he would have been able to get a job otherwise. They'd lived through WWII, with my mom losing two uncles in the war.
Through the airforce, Dad became a pioneer in radar and computer technology. He worked his tail off trying to provide for so many kids. Unfortunately, his early work exposed him to a lot of radiation, and he and the other five men he worked with died with various cancers or autoimmune diseases before they turned 60. Dad's illness set in in his early 40's and lasted 14 years.
After living in government housing for a time with my family, I began my education in Arizona in 1962 and moved all over the country going to school after school until I graduated in 1975 in Texas.
In the early 70's most people I knew in high school smoked pot and drank a lot of alcohol. Our school was called "Wastebury" because of it. It was a mostly white school. My husband and I were just talking the other day about the concerts and parties - how they would reek with pot, - though I was never aware of any other drugs, I'd heard some were around - but again, I was the new girl in town, and didn't know a lot... but no one ever got arrested. War on drugs? What war on drugs, we wondered.
In the 70's I remember sitting parked in the very long gas lines hoping there would be enough left to fill my car. It was the same car four of us kids learned to drive in.
The economy was bad in the late 70's when I was in college. I was the first in my family to get a college education, and only one other of my four siblings also graduated from college. My parents couldn't help with my college financially, so I worked all the way through, taking whatever job I could find - waitressing, grading papers, doing temporary office work in the summers and finally becoming a residence director in the dorms. Of my 4 siblings, only one other graduated college.
I also received a few SSI grants based upon my grades to help pay for college, but not enough to keep me from having to work. I understood those grants to be available to anyone who applied and could keep the grades, no matter the color. I went to school one year in Virginia where there were plenty of black young people getting the same education I was in junior high. In fact, I had a crush on one of them - Darwood. WIsh I could remember his last name. When in the south, there were plenty of Hispanics getting the same education I was. I would love to sit down and talk with them to explore the similarities and differences in our upbringing during the same time.
I became a Christian as a senior in high school through the Jesus Movement that sprung out of the hippy movement. I had not grown up in church at all. It was eye-opening to me. It brought with it the "radical" music that changed church music from pianos and organs to drums, guitars and more. That has pretty much defined my entire adult life. Many of those musicians were greatly affected by the Vietnam war, and are still singing today. One, Barry McGuire, who recorded Eve of Destruction sung at Woodstock before he met Jesus, is 80 years old now and still singing. A great, little known docmentary that includes the music as well as the stories is here. Remarkable. www.amazon.com/First-Love-HIstoric-Gathering-Pioneers/dp/B000AS1Q3W
I married in 1980 in a bad economy under Jimmy Carter. Borrowing rates for homes was in the double digits - 12%. Those long gas lines were under Carter. The next year Reagan became president and began to enact laws to help the economy. I don't think of his greatness at all related to the drug war. I think of how he cut spending in the government and decreased taxes, and it actually caused the economy and jobs to grow, and how he challenged communism, ending the Cold War.
I became a mother in 1983 and now have three sons and three grandchildren. I'm old and have seen some things - but certainly not Lacrae's world. I dont' know that he has seen mine, either.
One thing that wasn't mentioned is the role welfare played on the drug war. Food stamps and other social programs began in the 1960's, and I am sad to say that they haven't done a lot to decrease the # of poor. I remember one semester in college when they didn't offer me the grant - because they'd given me a job instead. I was upset. I had grown accustomed to that free money. But I got over it and found fulfillment in my job. I think it's important especially for Christians to share stories, fill in gaps, rather than make accusations and assumptions, and realize that there will always be gaps in our understanding, and we should leave room for them.
+Sherush Momma Have you listened to his music? He talks about his growing up in a fair share of songs. The first one that comes to mind is "Just Like You." & if you go to the I am Second website, he shares his story there, too.
+Sherush Momma His book "Unashamed" by Lecrae Moore is available in stores & Amazon..that's a lot of his life described/ transcribed in there.
Thank you Lecrae , for the light you spread in many forms.
this is exactly why i love lecrae
Well so much for me tryna wind down...this TED Talk has me wide awake... in awe. What an amazingly complicated, yet eloquent summary on how politics, economics & perceptions influence hip-hop culture. Amazing, Lecrae. Thx
Never saw Hip hop from this point of view. Great insight Lecrae
really good
Man you're everywhere
+rabarisoa miadantoa tiana looks like you are aswell haha.
I've made hip-hop a living for myself positively & negatively. With reality there is both good & bad. Yin and Yang. Cancer and Cure. If hip-hop is ALL YOU HAVE to make it through struggle, you must use it as a tool to get you from the negative spot you are in to the more positive place!
I absolutely love Lecrae. Won't ever forget going to a concert from his Anomaly tour!
'May we have the humility to hear more'.
You PREACHING!!!! I'm so glad I listened to this!
Some of these comments about Lecrae...Y'all sound like Pharisees for real. Stop judging! You have no authority to judge this man. Judge yourself so that you will be worthy when the LORD returns to judge the deeds of man.
honeyespresso amen right there
God is going to judge me for this man crush... :p
I am my own judge. Infact not even I have the right to judge anyone including myself. So why would a god have that abillity?
Damn! I hate such comments,,and then when you scroll down the comments there's nothing to do with whatever you're saying,,this is a way of spreading media hate on false rumors,,so sickening....
Amen my 👑 queen💋
Fantastic talk - one of the best of the day.
It's about dysfunction and embracing stereotypes. I don't see where today's hop is beneficial to anyone. Of course it's about money and no substance.
if it is of substance mainstream won't play it, and mainstream record companies are not interested, they love stereotypes ......
This was an Excellent, Excellent Speach, Synopsis of …3 …decades of history!! Thank You!! 🙏🏽 🙏🏽✌🏽🥰👍🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
Hip Hop will always be an art to me - though, the sadness is present
Great talk that will always be relevant. Thank you Lecrae!
Sad to say in 2020 this is so relevant. Please recognize We are blessed to be a blessing...spread love peace & joy...it's too nice to save for one special person or one special day! True Mirror Moment...Seen to SEE!
This is a great talk. Thank you!
15:20 "when the music was indigenous to its own community, it was positive, socially aware, and anti-drug. When it broadened out and diversified to the suburbs, it embraced criminality; sold it for profit." wow
Awesome!
Lord please bless ALL of those who grew up without fathers in their lives!! Even those kids that are growing up today without fathers today.. Amen....
9:59 "... caught the brunt of the blow."
Blow? Well played sir.
The way he says "heroes" sounds so much like "He rose" to me - didn't know the American pronunciation was different (the stress falls differently) but it's a nice reminder that indeed HE ROSE! 💞
Americans speak in many dialects; thus, stress that is placed on a particular part of a word, may or may not, align with the formally accepted diction of the American version of that word.
For Example: The formally accepted diction for the American form of the word "heroes" is heer-ohs, which sounds like "hear-rose." Some American dialects puts the emphasis on HE (which is the point of your comment) instead of the first 3 letters HER (which you would think would inflect the sound of the word HER (as in a feminine pronoun), but it does not.
💓💓
This is probably the best Ted Talk I've ever watched
Wow. Many people commenting, I believe with good intentions, can't believe hip hop could ever bear a positive message. Completely disagree.
Lecrae raps for a living. For those out there, what do you do? What is your message at YOUR workplace. Are you glorifying God? Do you hold yourself to the same standard as you hold Lecrae? smh.
bworiginal being a judgmental Pharisee Christian isn't to the glory of God. Go grab a seat!
Reid Monahan ... I love your comment!
I hope this reaches every hip hop artist or lover.
wow that was incredibly profound. ill be sharing this with the youth I work with. Every ghetto in the world resonates with hip hop and it's story. hip hop and most activist movements have their roots from colonialism. When western society had white people on top of other races on nearly every country in the world, their systems evolved to the point that they made tried to assimilate slaves and indigenous people to their society. unbeknownst to them the people out fought and out smarted them to the point they will eventually be equal or greater.
Reet Legna hip hop is not all that everything has bad side and a good side of it it saved my life for me ...
Beautifully said! Thank you for the information and the courage to bring the truth to the world. It is sad that the culture within rap music was forced upon a population and then turns around and blames them for it. It was all done systematically because having an entire "criminal" population generates more money than any of us can imagine and yet the population that has to bear the brunt of it has to fight for scraps. It is time for the villains that make billions off of suffering to be brought to justice.
I'm an Agnostic Atheist but I love Lecrae
Dude how can you be agnostic and atheist at the same time
@I see it like this I feel like they re 2 different things