Sometimes, your new favorite song feels like an old friend from the moment the first beat drops. That might be by design, especially when it comes to a few of 2025’s latest Christian Hip Hop joints. Andy Mineo, Lecrae, Tommy Zuko, and others are tapping into one of Hip Hop’s oldest traditions: sampling.
- Andy Mineo’s “Okayyy We Back” is a callback to “Return of the Mack” by Mark Morrison.
- Lecrae & Jackie Hill Perry’s “Tell No Lie” puts a twist on Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie.”
- Tommy Zuko’s “What He Say” pays homage to Big Pun’s “Still Not a Player.”
(viewer discretion advised)
Sampling 101
Sampling in Hip Hop is nothing new. Rewind to the birth of Hip Hop, just over 50 years ago. The genre’s earliest rap songs borrowed from Disco, Jazz, and even Rock. Partially out of necessity, and partially to honor the sounds and singers that inspired the world’s first emcees. Think of it like cooking: Hip Hop’s first music chefs combined a lot of familiar ingredients to invent tasty new dishes, but for your ears instead of your mouth.
Should Christians Sample from “Secular?”
The debate about Christian rappers tapping into mainstream beats is almost as old as rap music itself. If there is a true, black & white correct answer, we may not have it until Jesus comes back. (At which point, who would even care anymore?)
If the rapper is straight up lifting another person’s beat (Christian or not) and making little to no effort to breathe new life into it, put their original stamp on it, or use it as a launching point for something fresh, that’s whack. Or at the very least, a lazy cover song.
Well-done karaoke.
The win is when their sample game is so strong that you end up preferring the Christian Hip Hop twist over the original beat, and the song ultimately brings more ears into CHH/possibly even God’s kingdom.
CHH’s Biggest Barrier
What’s the biggest reason people don’t try new things?
Be it music, food, or experiences. It’s a low-key fear of the unfamiliar.
This has always been one of CHH’s biggest barriers. For most (but not all) people, we like what we know and we know what we like. Anything outside of that feedback loop is often unwelcome.
Sampling can be an onramp into a genre bustling with innovation and inspiration.
There’s a Spiritual Angle Too
Genesis 50:20 talks about God taking what was meant for evil and using it for His good.
Not written about rap music, of course, but hey, we’re sampling here!
In 1 Corinthians 9:22, Paul says, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” .
By DJ Mike Couchman
