Since its inception, the CM has chosen to define themselves as the Christian or holy division of hip hop culture as opposed to the hip hop or rap division of Christian culture. Within the genre of rap music, there are various subgenres such as gangsta rap, Conscious rap, old school rap, crunk, and reggaeton, but all of it falls under the rubric of rap and, by extension, hip hop. In choosing to define their music as simply being another subgenre - i.e., the Christian rap subgenre - of hip hop culture, the CM attempts to "keep it real" in order to maintain the validity needed to influence members of hip hop culture who may or may not be Christians. In their 2003 release, Holy Culture, The CM stated their reasoning is based on a passage from the Bible, St. John 17:15-19 in which Jesus is reported to have said to God:
“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
As the word sanctified means "to set apart", the interpretation maintained by the CM is that they are instructed by Jesus to remain a part of hip hop culture while being set apart from the majority of the followers of hip hop culture in order to influence it from within to conform to the mores and moral code preached by the followers of mainstream Christianity. The acceptance of this interpretation has been mixed, however. Despite their claim to be a part of hip hop culture, the CM has slowly found more acceptance, though not total acceptance, in the Christian community than in the secular hip hop community as the majority of their concerts are held at churches or church-sponsored events as opposed to secular venues. In 2006, the CM received a Grammy nomination for “Best Rock Gospel Album,” as opposed to any of the traditional hip hop or rap categories. Additionally, the CM has generally only been recognized at Christian and Gospel awards shows such as the Dove Awards or Stellar Awards as opposed to hip hop-only award shows such as the Source Awards or the Vibe Awards.
It's Going Down
The Cross Movement Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What's up yall? It's Life, yeah Im still rappin
Haven't been in action, but I haven't been relaxin
Took a little breather, cause it wasnt either or
It was war, my spirit was in need of the LORD
And Im sore from the fight, but its right now
Armed to the tooth wit Biblical truth, ready to be light now
And salt now, so let's put it on now
My position has risen from misery
No longer a slave to gifts that God has given me
Just to see, you can check out my history
Peep my time line, it's by Divine design, no mystery
I used to dabble in some black magic
Cause I used to sell crack on the corners to the crack addicts
Now I bust for Christ like I'ma akmatic
And if I sound mad, you're right cause I have had it
This life, we're all bad at it
And if you're not in the light, you're in the dark taken stabs at it
Trust Christ, He can adjust like craftmatic
And you can begin wit Him, instead of end tragic
(Chorus: repeat 2X)
Let's get it on now, get it torn down
Let the horn sound, let em know it's goin down
Ya city, ya town, ya hood, ya ground
Ya block, now know son, it's goin down
(T.R.U.-L.I.F.E.)
Life is priceless, that's why Christ did what He did
So when Im on the mic, it's to let men know the night gots vices
And Satan gots darts sharper then ice picks
I never wanna spit, jus to say that Im nice wit the verbs
You havent heard?, herb ain't righteous
Get it from the ground and found that you can pipe it
It wasnt meant to be a part of every day life, if
The hennesy is your remedy to the trifeness
You're lifeless, but if you accept Christ, His
Offer wont cost ya, and you'll escape the lightless
His life gives light to the path of the sightless
Strictness, tightness, narrowness, righteous
Death and life switch, when you know Jesus Christ is
LORD of your life and sacrafice biz
Is worth, the physical hurt, cause after this life
Its more then alright worship all light
Unflawed bodies wit an unflawed Christ
So let's get it tight, get our lives right
And let our light shine like Madeline Albright
(Chorus)
In this song, T.R.U.-L.I.F.E. talks about his journey in life and how he took a break from rapping to focus on his spiritual life. He says that he was in a war and his spirit was in need of the Lord. He is now ready to be the light and salt for the world. He used to dabble in black magic and sell drugs but he has now given up those ways to bust for Christ. He encourages others to trust in Christ who can adjust their lives like a craftmatic bed and begin their journey with Him instead of ending tragically.
Throughout the song, the chorus repeats the phrase "it's going down" which can be interpreted in different ways. It could mean that it's about to happen or it's time to take action. T.R.U.-L.I.F.E. uses this phrase to say that they need to tear down the walls of the city and let everyone know that they are going to spread the message of Christ.
Line by Line Meaning
What's up yall? It's Life, yeah Im still rappin
Life is greeting and informing everyone he is still rapping.
Haven't been in action, but I haven't been relaxin
He has taken a break, but not a rest, because he was engaged in spiritual warfare.
Took a little breather, cause it wasn't either or
He took a break because he couldn't afford to be engaged in both spiritual and worldly affairs simultaneously.
It was war, my spirit was in need of the LORD
Life was engaged in spiritual warfare and needed the LORD.
And Im sore from the fight, but its right now
Life is tired from the spiritual warfare he has been engaged in, but he knows it is the right thing to do.
Armed to the tooth wit Biblical truth, ready to be light now
Life is fully equipped with Biblical truth and ready to spread the light.
And salt now, so let's put it on now
Like salt that adds flavor, Life is ready to add spiritual flavor to the world.
Get it torn down, for the King who wore the throne crown
They are ready to tear down the world's negative ways in honor of the King who wore the crown of thorns.
My position has risen from misery
Life has risen from a state of misery.
No longer a slave to gifts that God has given me
Life used to depend on the gifts God gave him, but now he is no longer a slave to them.
Just to see, you can check out my history
One can look at Life's past to see how he has changed.
Peep my time line, it's by Divine design, no mystery
Life's journey has been guided by Divine design.
I used to dabble in some black magic
Life used to practice black magic.
Cause I used to sell crack on the corners to the crack addicts
Life used to sell drugs to addicts.
Now I bust for Christ like I'ma akmatic
Now, Life spreads the word of Christ like a weapon.
And if I sound mad, you're right cause I have had it
Life is angry because of the world's negative ways.
This life, we're all bad at it
We all struggle with living life the right way.
And if you're not in the light, you're in the dark taken stabs at it
If you are not living in the light of Christ, you are living in darkness and struggling to find the right path.
Trust Christ, He can adjust like craftmatic
Trust in Christ, because He can adjust your life path like adjustable beds.
And you can begin wit Him, instead of end tragic
Start with Christ, and you won't end up in a tragedy.
Let's get it on now, get it torn down
It's time to start tearing down the negative ways of the world.
Let the horn sound, let em know it's goin down
Let the horns sound to signify that change is coming.
Ya city, ya town, ya hood, ya ground
This change is coming to every place and every person.
Ya block, now know son, it's goin down
Even your neighborhoods will be impacted by this change.
Life is priceless, that's why Christ did what He did
Life is valuable, which is why Christ sacrificed Himself for humanity.
So when Im on the mic, it's to let men know the night gots vices
Life uses his music to warn people about the dangers of the night.
And Satan gots darts sharper then ice picks
Satan's attacks are painful and powerful.
I never wanna spit, jus to say that Im nice wit the verbs
Life doesn't want to rap just to show off his skills.
You havent heard?, herb ain't righteous
Smoking weed is not righteous.
Get it from the ground and found that you can pipe it
You can smoke weed that is grown from the ground, but it doesn't make it right.
It wasnt meant to be a part of every day life, if
Weed was never meant to be a part of everyday life.
The hennesy is your remedy to the trifeness
Drinking Hennessy to escape your problems doesn't solve them.
You're lifeless, but if you accept Christ, His
Without Christ, you are lifeless.
Offer wont cost ya, and you'll escape the lightless
Accepting Christ is free and will bring light into your life.
His life gives light to the path of the sightless
Christ's life illuminates the path for those who cannot see.
Strictness, tightness, narrowness, righteous
Following Christ requires discipline, dedication, and a narrow focus on righteousness.
Death and life switch, when you know Jesus Christ is
One shifts from death to life when they know Jesus Christ.
LORD of your life and sacrafice biz
Christ should be the LORD of your life and guide your decisions.
Is worth, the physical hurt, cause after this life
The temporary physical pain of following Christ is worth it, because of the eternal reward.
Its more then alright worship all light
It's more than okay to worship the light of Christ.
Unflawed bodies wit an unflawed Christ
Believers will have unflawed bodies with an unflawed Christ in the afterlife.
So let's get it tight, get our lives right
Let's live according to Christ's teachings.
And let our light shine like Madeline Albright
Let's shine our light like a well-known politician.
(Chorus)
The chorus encourages people to tear down the negative ways of the world because change is coming.
Contributed by Landon G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Shawn Mayhall Sr.
on Name Up
Who is the first artist on this track ????