Features : Eden Hill takes listeners on a brisk, thoughtful hip-hop Christian trip with “Afraid”

It is all about the trip, not the destination, and it is Christian with all the elements people want in hip-hop and rap but with no preachiness and no pretense that the decision to believe takes away all doubt and pain.

What it does have is all the pleasure of listening to an accomplished artist work out his message in beat and melody.

“Basically, ‘Afraid’ is a journey from believing falsehoods about God to knowing the truth,” said Eden, “but not walking in it, to, finally, accepting the truth and then figuring out how to walk in it.”

The flow of his rap varies with the stages of the journey, told to beats delivered by piano and drums. Main points are accented sharply by strings.

“It was a very, very fun beat to make,” he said. “It started out with the piano, for sure. The piano is more like a classical tone, and it’s kind of like a build-up throughout the whole progression.”

Turmoil and doubt kick it off:

Look I don't even know where to begin
Probably I should start looking within
And find the broken bits of me that hide discretely underneath my skin

 The intensity, volume and speed of the piano and Eden’s rap build until the music suddenly stops. Into the silence, Eden says:

I feel

The drum drops on

Psychotic

And it’s off to the races.

Familiar trap and Eden’s trap deal with the same life reality. The difference is in reaction and perspective.

On the one hand is anger, bravado, defiance or violence, from the natural human perspective. On the other hand is Eden’s spiritual perspective, which trends toward hope.

Hardship and fear are present in both.

“It’s a really raw, vulnerable song that deals with a spiritual awakening and seeking healing and understanding through faith in God.”

He doesn’t shy away from the “mental turmoil” that comes through dealing with regret and shame.

The song deals with common misconceptions, like God is just there to give us what we want.”

Maybe I could get a bit of this
Maybe I could get a bit of that
Come on God I’m doing what you're asking

The music helps tell the story.

“The orchestral buildup engages the listener in the story, where all these thoughts are coming up, all these doubts and misconceptions are coming up. The music represents the train of thought behind the lyrics. Then the drums hit at the empowering moments.”

And I got it going for me lyrically I’m blessed
I’ve been picked out of the sin I had he called me elect
And you can see the transformation grace is taking effect

Eden’s Christian journey began in church before faith fell away from middle school through high school and college and a 10-year career in secular rap. That period involved witchcraft, communion with dark spirits, New Age spiritualism, “all that dark energy stuff.”

Then one night, “Jesus met me in an acid trip.” The meeting included a terrifying vision of his physical and spiritual death, and he came out of the dream with the thought, “What if Jesus really is the way, the truth and the life?”

He stopped making music after 2020 when, he says, God withdrew his gift for music “until I promised that I would make my music to glorify Him and to be honest.”

This year, he started his career all over. He has released an eight-track album, Patience, and two singles, “Trust” and now “Afraid.”

He calls himself “a pivotal figure in Christian rap,” by which he means being honest about the Christian journey.

Most Christian rappers, he said, don’t talk about struggling with faith because “they want to promote Christianity as your life gets better instantly when that’s not really the case.”

“Christianity is a hard walk. While we’re on this planet, we’re gonna struggle.”

“Being a pivotal figure in the Christian hip-hop space, I want to show people that, ‘Hey, this is it. This is a battlefield, but we have armor and we have a protector. We have angel armies on our side.’ And not only that, but there is a wonderful eternity ahead of us.”

“Afraid” introduces the 10 tracks on his next album, Fear No Evil. The album drops on October 4.

It will be “kind of like a cinematic journey about going from spiritual bondage to peace and spiritual freedom.”

Wanting or seeking a Christian message is not necessary to appreciate his music. His lyrics are not pablum. They deal with struggle, doubt and hardship. Believe in Christianity or not, the lyrics serve up food for thought and the music creates a lively, energetic space for thinking.

“The truth is, we live in a broken world. We live in a world burdened by poverty, by wars, division in politics, division in households, littered with hardships left and right, and it attacks us personally. Christian or not, we carry the burden of this world. I just want people to know that there’s hope.”

Ride the hope along with Eden Hill. Connect with him on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.

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