My Top 60 Christian Hip-Hop Songs

As long as I can remember, hip-hop music has been the soundtrack to my life. Being raised in the Southside of St. Petersburg, Florida, hip-hop was the heartbeat of the community—an outlet for artists to express experiences of struggle, joy, and success in urban America.

Birthed in the Bronx in the 1970s, hip-hop has grown to become the biggest music genre in the world. Since the first mainstream hip-hop songs (Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” and Kurtis Blow’s “The Breaks”) were released in 1979 and 1980, the art form took off and never looked back. Among other things, hip-hop as a genre—with its capacity to pack tons words into its short spaces of catchy, rhyming verse—became the perfect conduit to communicate messages of substance. 

Enter Christian hip-hop.

Genre God Used to Save Me

God used Christian hip-hop (CHH) to save me 13 years ago (listen to the testimony of me and my best friend, international recording Christian hip-hop artist KB). The first time I heard the gospel in a way I could comprehend was at the end of a CHH album. God used the truths in that album to convict me of my sin and lead me to repentance.

The first time I heard the gospel in a way I could understand was at the end of a Christian hip-hop album.

The first commercial Christian hip-hop record was arguably released in 1982: MC Sweet’s Jesus Christ (The Gospel Beat). MC Sweet had a rhythm and flow similar to Kurtis Blow, who is now a Christian. As we can see, those saved within hop-hop culture often began using the genre to convey messages of truth regarding the person and work of Christ in their own lives. Kanye West is just the latest and highest-profile example.

CHH has evolved in many ways since the 1980s. Not only has the artistic quality become top-notch, but the truth and substance of the content has sharpened as well. CHH started garnering mainstream attention around 2012 when Lecrae’s album Gravity debuted at number three on the Billboard top 200 chart and number one on the iTunes hip-hop charts within its first week of release. At the time it was the biggest sales week ever for a CHH album. 

My Favorite Christian Hip-Hop Songs

Needless to say, CHH has become an important genre that seeks to bring the light of Christ into a dark world. To celebrate this genre and to provide an entry point to those unfamiliar with it, I’ve compiled a list of 60 of my favorite CHH songs of all time. The list spans three decades and includes artists who are now considered legends (The Cross Movement, The Ambassador) as well as newer artists on the scene (KB, Andy Mineo, Bizzle).

These songs—listen to them on a playlist we’ve created [Spotify | Apple Music]—are dear to me because they have helped shape my walk with Christ since 2006. Some taught me deep theological truths (we call this lyrical theology), and some have aided in my sanctification. Collectively they have remained the soundtrack to my new life in Christ.  

My list is not in order and is by no means definitive; another person’s CHH list could look entirely different. This is simply a list of songs that have encouraged me in my walk since I’ve come to faith, and I hope they will encourage you as well. 

1. “House Of Representatives,” The Cross Movement (1999)
2. “One Two,” The Ambassador (2000)
3. “Girl Named World,” The Ambassador (2000)
4. “The Godhead,” Flame (2004)
5. “Give Us the Truth, Pt. 2,” Flame (2004)
6. “Our World,” Da T.R.U.T.H. (2005)
7. “The Portrait,” Da T.R.U.T.H. (2005)
8. “Christ Crucified,” Shai Linne (2005)
9. “Solus Christus,” Shai Linne (2005)
10. “Justified,” Shai Linne (2005)
11. “Disconnected,” Stephen the Levite feat. Shai Linne (2006)
12. “Jesus Muzik,” Lecrae feat. Trip Lee (2006)
13. “After The Music Stops,” Lecrae (2006)
14. “Price Tag” Da T.R.U.T.H. (2007)
15. “Our God,” The Cross Movement (2007)
16. “Bad Ain’t Good,” Flame (2007)
17. “I Been Redeemed,” Flame feat. Trip Lee (2008)
18. “Go Hard” Lecrae (2008)
19. “Hold On,” Flame (2008)
20. “Joyful Noise,” Flame (2008)
21. “Who Can Pluck Us,” Flame (2008)
22. “Testify,” Shai Linne (2008)
23. “Martyrs,” Shai Linne (2008)
24. “Real Vision,” Trip Lee (2008)
25. “Cling to You,” Trip Lee (2008)
26. “Don’t Waste Your Life,” Lecrae (2008)
27. “Indwelling Sin,” Lecrae (2008)
28. “Get Busy,” DJ Official (Trip Lee) (2009)
29. “Make War,” Tedashii (2009)
30. “Fresh,” Tedashii (2009)
31. “Brace Yourself,” Hazakim (2009)
32. “Kadosh,” Hazakim (2009)
33. “Urban Missionary,” This’l (2009)
34. “40 Deep,” Lecrae (2010)
35. “My Life (Nice Aim),” Sho Baraka feat. Derek Minor (2010)
36. “Sure Thing,” S.O. (2011)
37. “I Signed Up to Die,” This’l (2011)
38. “I Can Bear,” S.O. (2012)
39. “Fallin,” Trip Lee (2012)
40. “One Sixteen,” Trip Lee (2012)
41. “Falling Down,” Lecrae (2012)
42. “Give It Up,” Stephen the Levite (2012)
43. “According to God,” Beautiful Eulogy (2013)
44. “You Will,” Andy Mineo (2013)
45. “100,” KB (2014)
46. “I Just Wanna Get There,” Jackie Hill Perry (2014)
47. ‘The Solution,” Jackie Hill Perry (2014)
48. “Uncomfortable,” Andy Mineo (2015)
49. “Here, 2016,” Sho Baraka (2016)
50. “Bless His Name,” Bizzle (2016)
51. “Not Today Satan,” KB feat. Andy Mineo (2017)
52. “All the Time,” Swoope (2018)
53. “Shining Down,” Swoope (2018)
54. “Praying Hands (Remix),” Ty Brasel feat. Trip Lee (2018)
55. “No Chains,” KB (2018)
56. “You Can’t Stop Me,” Andy Mineo (2018)
57. “Long Live the Champion,” KB (2018)
58. “Way Up (G.O.M. Remix),” Bizzle, Datin (2019)
59. “Testify,” Eshon Burgundy (2019)
60. “Boast,” S.O. (2019)