Prominent Christian Rapper becomes Lutheran

USA – In January 2020, rapper Flame (Marcus Tyrone Gray) publicly announced he had become a Lutheran. The prominent Christian hip hop artist details his theological journey from Calvinism to Lutheranism in a recently released EP entitled “Extra Nos.”

“‘Extra Nos’ discusses my theological journey over the past four years,” the Grammy-nominated rapper explains in a tweet. “My hope is that sharing these insights will bring you the Godly peace and freedom that I experienced.”

In 2018, Flame received a Master of Arts degree in theology from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri (a theological institute of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod). “I was asking a lot of questions of the Scriptures concerning things that I believed and ways that I thought,” Flame noted of his decision to attend seminary in a track entitled “Concordia.” Through the subsequent encounter with Lutheran theology, “the Lord began to illuminate my thinking in my heart,” Flame says.

“In particular, it was Luther’s teaching on justification that I had to grapple with in a way that I hadn’t before,” he explains. “It just really started to soften my heart and bring about this new joy.”

Through his encounter with the school, Flame came to realize the freeing nature of “the sacramental context and application of God’s grace through faith.” “It’s allowed me to place the emphasis outside of myself,” he says, “the emphasis of where do I look for that assurance, that peace, that I’m good with God and rather than just, you know, just this internal focus.”

This last line helps to explain the rational for the EP’s title: the phrase “Extra Nos” is Latin for “outside of us,” and refers to God’s use of external means (like Word and Sacrament) in applying the blessings of the Gospel to Christians. “We are to look extra nos, or outside of our ourselves, towards the righteousness of faith—which is our justification—for assurance,” explains Flame in another track called “Good Works.”

The EP contains tracks in a variety of genres, including rap, conversation, and straightforward teaching. Those wishing to unpack the Lutheran theology woven into Flame’s lyrics will benefit from a recent review by Gene Edward Veith, as well as an in-depth video on Youtube entitled “Extra Nos Explained”, in which Flame discusses his Lutheran faith with Jordan Cooper. A. Trevor Sutton has also recently published an article entitled “Hip Hop and the Christian Conversion Narratives,” which provides further insight into the use of rap as a vehicle for explaining one’s Christian journey.

*********************

Print this article