Erica Campbell luh’s God. What’s wrong with you? When I
first heard this song, I saw it with the video and I was speechless. I heard
this song again on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show and she was a guest speaker
and she called the song the “Ratchet Righteous Turn Up Song” and I was tickled
pink.
Initial Impression
At first I thought, Wow, Erica has really taken gospel music
far. Watching the video took me back to my childhood when I was in church
faithfully. The choir director at my church was a bit stricter on her daughter
and she didn’t allow her to listen to certain gospel songs because they had a “worldly”
ring to them. I didn’t understand what she meant at the time and honestly I didn’t
think anything of it until I saw this video.
Don’t get me wrong I understand what she was trying to do
and that she is trying to reach a wider audience. It’s nothing new that Mary
Mary has crossed genres because this is something that they always do. However,
the video for me was a bit much. The big hair, the crowd of people, Jazzy Pha/
DJ Khaled guy and the dance moves were just coming at me all too quickly and I
wasn’t expecting it at all.
Process
I quickly asked my
friends what they thought about this song and they were turned off by the song
as well. However, I listened to the song again without the video and it was somehow
different to me. I was better able to perceive the message of the song and also
feel the song. The lyrics are very simple and to the point. She loves God because
he has done so much for her and continues to do so much for her. This is something
that I include in my prayers every night so I can relate. She goes on to bring in
the audience that may not love God in the way that she does. She tells them to
think about their life and their blessings and how they are not doing it alone.
She tells them to be thankful for having GOD on their side and to love him. She
tells them how without him things for them could be different. A very simple
message, not hard to follow at all. I like the message of this song and what it
is trying to convey but the video was a distraction to me. But Why? Why was this video such a big distraction?
This video was a distraction to me for the same reason I
keep my gospel music and my “worldly” music on two separate playlists on my phone
and computer. I don’t feel that they should mix. For me it’s out of respect.
Now I know plenty of people that have no problem mixing the two and they would
go from Future to Marvin Sapp in 2 seconds. That makes me uncomfortable. Maybe
it’s guilt because I was always told that the music of the world is bad. On the
other hand, I totally understand the need to take it there. You have to find a
way to connect. This was a way to connect with someone. Maybe it set with me
wrong but for someone else they said hey “Gospel music can be hype too.” It’s what
Erica Campbell said in her interview. This is the “ratchet righteous turn up.”
I get that. I understand that. We are in a different time and I recognize that
some things that I grew up doing or being taught are not going over so well now
and people have to do what they can to grab the attention of others. I
appreciate Erica for thinking outside of the box. I hope that the message got
to someone.
With peace and love,
The Sincerest Heart
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