{BLOG} Josh Markovich – The Craft

For me personally music is huge, I love both playing and listening to it alike and many times the appropriate song is the only thing that can change my attitude and call me into action.  If a song is written with a genuine message on any number of topics like politics, love, or faith, sometimes it’s one of the most effective methods for me to see aspects of my life in a new light. Most people would not link contemporary rap or hip hop music with religious principles or lifestyles, but contrary to popular belief there are artists in all genres that create uplifting, faith based music. Listed further down is a link to a song called “The Craft” by an artist called Blackalicious that really struck me when I first heard it.  This song stood out to me above 99% percent of all the rock, indie, folk, and other hip hop music I listen to due to the genuine message in the content of the lyrics.  I know the lyrics are hard to hear so I have attached them below so you can follow along while listening.

Blackalicious starts his first verse with giving thanks to a higher power for his God given gifts, listing many ways in which he could have lived for himself and not for a bigger purpose. He continues to humble himself by saying things like “I’ll never master me”, “work in itself is such a blessing”, and for all these results of God working in his life he “vows to be a vessel”.  Different than the rap/hip hop you hear on the radio…yeah, just a bit.

I am not writing this blog to promote Blackalicious, or even any style of music, I am in fact writing and using this artists’ song to make a point that I believe we are ALL created with God given gifts, responsibilities, and opportunities to fulfill our own unique “Crafts” and ultimately find God’s purpose for our lives. Whether God has wired you to be a musician, a therapist, an athlete, or a labor worker, He HAS wired you.  If you believe that simple concept that God has created you, then you can surely believe that He has created you for a reason and a purpose.  For most people, believing that God is our creator is not very difficult, but it is rather difficult to demonstrate being a “vessel” of our faith within our daily routines. I encourage you to identify your own God given Craft and begin

At the very end of the last verse of the song the artist says, “The only way to be a leader, lead by the way you live”. Most everyone would agree that hypocrites are not good leaders. If you preach one thing but live by something else, most people will not want to follow you.  I would argue that in some capacity whether you are a parent, a friend, a company owner, or a student, we are ALL leaders. With that being said, I encourage you to spend time to identify your own God given Craft and begin using God’s help to transform your daily routines into a vessel of your faith.

Listen to this song here – Blackalicious “The Craft”

Lyrics to “The Craft” :
[Chorus]
This Craft, this beat, this rhyme, this vibe
This style, they say music gives new life
From a source inside that is forever flowin‘
This stage, this mic, this crowd, this show
This life, I’ve been given a gift tonight
And for that, I vow to be a vessel

[Gift of Gab - Verse One]
I didn’t have to be, given the gift to rip
I’ll never master me, I know that it’s from Him
or Her or It, dimensions that sit
Waitin‘ to sift through me, I fall short, still it hits me swift
I didn’t have to see, I could of hit the lick
I could of drifted it quick, I could of quit so quick
It’s really a trip, I guess I was picked
I don’t know what I did to deserve a ride like this (Damn!)
I didn’t have to eat, I could of been so thin
I didn’t have to be, quoting these sentences
I didn’t have to reap, the work put in but then
even the work in itself was such a blessing
I didn’t have to see, the planet lip to lip
I didn’t have to make, a livin‘ writ to writ
I didn’t have to dream and then begin to live it
And for that, I vow to be a vessel

[Chorus]
This Craft, this beat, this rhyme, this vibe
This style, they say music gives new life
From a source inside that is forever flowin‘
This stage, this mic, this crowd, this show
This life, I’ve been given a gift tonight
And for that, I vow to be a vessel

[Verse Two]
I give thanks for my rhymin‘ ability
I don’t front like it’s not a responsibility
I can open a mind, if the youth will listen to me
I’m not goin‘ to front, like I’m on some killin‘ spree
and as hard as the times are, God is livin‘ through beats
that come not from minds, but that travel through spiritual reasons
Some of the time, I feel like, it’s not even me
No mon-ey can buy gateways to infinity
Still I’m hun-gry to shine, when I know I should let it be
I want but I have, every single thing that we need
So help me align self with soul and then I’ll be free
To sculpt and design verbal styles and experience freedom

[Chorus]
This Craft, this beat, this rhyme, this vibe
This style, they say music gives new life
From a source inside that is forever flowin‘
This stage, this mic, this crowd, this show
This life, I’ve been given a gift tonight
And for that, I vow to be a vessel

[Chief Xcel samples]
“Let go, do what’s in front of you”
“Then, let go, then do what’s in front of you”

[Verse Three]
This ain’t leisure, although it feels
It is a duty, a way to live, another way to give
Another way to just, have communion
With the source of the sun and moon and, a way to pay the bills
Displayin‘ skills, I take it REAL serious
The vibe’s so mysterious, not just one more day to kill
..and I could lose my connection
if I do not respect it enough, fade away it will
Day to day it gives energies
That replenish me, if I believe and I say it will
and act on it, ’cause action is the key to freedom
Only way to be a leader, lead by the way you live

[Chorus 3X]
This Craft, this beat, this rhyme, this vibe
This style, they say music gives new life
From a source inside that is forever flowin‘
This stage, this mic, this crowd, this show
This life, I’ve been given a gift tonight
And for that, I vow to be a vessel
[ The Craft Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]