Weekly Blog Post 4

“Paul said if Christ ain’t resurrect then we wastin’ our lives/Well that implies that our life’s built around Jesus bein’ alive”

With this thesis Lecrae delivers his hit song “Don’t Waste Your Life.” In this music video Lecrae uses a variety of contexts to deliver his message.

In its original context, this video is part of a series of promotional videos for Forefront Record’s Don’t Waste Your Life Tour. The five commercials expand on the thesis presented in Lecrae’s song, speaking out against narcissism, laziness, secular hip hop, and even uncompassionate Christians.

In this video, Lecrae uses the life of a wealthy businessman to make his point. Upon reaching the hotel he is staying at, the businessman finds a manila envelope lying by his door. Inside the envelope is a copy of the Bible and a “letter”: the hand copied lyrics of “Don’t Waste Your Life.” The context of how the letter is written on the page is extremely important to Lecrae’s message. A close look at the letter will reveal that it is not written is poetry form, as lyrics usually are, but is instead written in paragraph form. This shows that, while Lecrae certainly wants to create high-quality music, he does not intend for his creation to be seen as just a song. He wrote it as an open letter to the world. It is a plea to live for Christ, because everything else is worthless.

While the businessman (played by Cam, the singer in the hook), several of his friends show up at his door. They have apparently planned a party. Through the context of the party, the businessman sees the words written in the letter have a point. He leaves the room to finish reading the letter and picks up the Bible.
As the businessman leaves the party, a subplot develops showing the robbery of a gas station. Through this context Lecrae once again shows us the futility of life. This point is brought home when one criminal is caught, and the other escapes. Through the facial expressions of the businessman and the robber who escaped, we see an emptiness to life.

The final scene of the video depicts the businessman sitting at an empty table. The robber who was caught sits down at the table, and his face is finally shown. It is Lecrae, the very one delivering the message about the futility of life outside Jesus Christ. This juxtaposition of contexts reinforces Lecrae’s message. The wealthy and poor, the guilty and the innocent, the scorned and the exalted, sit at the same table with the lyrics and the Bible. The implication is clear: the Gospel is for everyone. Every life outside of Christ is, indeed, wasted.

Lecrae uses the contexts of letters, hotels, parties, robberies, and tables to deliver his message. Through the juxtaposition of unexpected contexts (lyrics in paragraph form, the wealthy and the poor, etc) Lecrae delivers his passionate plea: Don’t Waste Your Life.