Christian Rapper Sho Baraka Criticized for N-Word Use in Song

Christian rappers aren't supposed to curse, right? Well Sho Baraka, who released 'The Talented 10th' in February, does just that in a song featured on his latest album.

The rhymer says he's not using the words to gloat selfish ambition or to put anyone down. If anything, Baraka wants to make a point about racism and sexism in society -- harder topics he feels some Christian artists shy away from.

On the song 'Jim Crow,' Baraka raps, "That lady you call ho (yeah), that’s my lover / That woman you call bitch (yeah), that’s my mother."

Baraka uses the n-word on the hook, spitting, "...I see the masses wanna change me / I’m waiting for someone to save me / Until then, until then / Well, I guess I'm stuck here on n---- island."

During an interview with CNN, the 33-year-old Atlanta-based rapper explained that his work was part of a "wisdom." “Wisdom is wisdom and… that all wisdom comes from the Lord” and that “creativity, education, and all things good are not monopolized by Christians,” he said.

His album is named after an essay written by W.E.B. DuBois, who was believed to be agnostic at the time of his death.

The rapper does not agree with all of DuBois' ideas, but he does value Dubois' theory in the Talented Tenth because it is biblical based.

Dubois writes in his essay 'The Talented Tenth,' the "best, or the talented tenth of the black community, must be elevated and cultivated, to in-turn guide the mass away from the contamination of the worst in their own race and other races.”

Being inspired by this, Baracka wants to use his faith to help those who are most in need.

"Jesus stood for more than keeping people out of hell; he wanted to change their lives here on earth," said Baracka.

Listen to Sho Baraka's 'Jim Crow'

 Watch Sho Baraka's CNN Interview