A Tale of Two Half Time Shows: Are the Lyrics and Music of Bad Bunny OR Kid Rock Praiseworthy for Christians?
Kid Rock and Bad Bunny Lyrics and Quotes: Polarization and the Pursuit of Truth.
Conservative Christians: When you FULLY embrace Kid Rock and the TPUSA half-time show, it confuses people because Kid Rock, in the past, glorified underage sick, meth-consumption, prostitution, drug abuse, pornography, and dozens of other vices. Further, the TPUSA show, which some considered ‘Christian’ also contained some use of inappropriate language and some glorification of drinking, smoking, revenge and other unbiblical things. People who aren’t conservative Christians know that the Bible does not support such things, so they are confused that you, in your praise for the TPUSA show, seem to be okay with them. (This only applies to those who, without nuance or reservation, highly recommended and praised the TPUSA halftime show FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE. This does not fully apply to you if you praised the show from a political, patriotic, musical, or any other perspective. That said, people who are Christian who did praise the show from a political/patriotic perspective run the risk of confusing some people outside the faith, because they know that Christian values are incongruous with what Kid Rock has espoused in the past…and what he has espoused in recent songs and social media posts.) Progressives see some conservative Christian support for Kid Rock - who has spoken against Christian values for decades (literally) and they just don’t understand, and it seems hypocritical. And, quite frankly, the best excuses I read from conservatives for their positive views of Kid Rock were weak at best, and pointed to his recent potential conversion. Well, as John the Baptist said, produce fruit in keeping with repentance, Kid Rock, so that all men would know that you are a disciple of Jesus.
Further, due to America’s extremely complicated relationship with racism, and the fact that, in past decades, many (NOT ALL) who claimed Christianity in America espoused slave-owning, fought against the Civil Rights Movement, supported separate-but equal, and generally tried to justify abhorrent racist beliefs with the Bible…some people are suspicious when conservative Christians speak out strongly against ANYbody who is a minority. If you haven’t genuinely studied the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Civil Rights Struggle, and past racial atrocities, then it would be a good idea to do so. It is not without rational reason that many are wary of Christians and their treatment of race. Too many of us failed that test in the past, to our shame. (I say this as a Southern Baptist pastor.) So when Christians denounce Bad Bunny with vehemence, then don’t be surprised if some people wonder if racism underlies such denunciations. As such, conservative Christians should communicate clearly, sensitively, and humbly, rather than bombastically and pridefully.
Progressive Christians: When you guys FULLY embrace Bad Bunny and celebrate his successes and the Super Bowl halftime show without nuance or reservation, it strikes conservative Christians who have read his lyrics as incongruous and strange. Yes, there is much to celebrate when a person from a downtrodden, disadvantaged, and mistreated commonwealth like Puerto Rico makes it big. Puerto Ricans are Americans, and Christianity is NOT exclusively American in any way, shape, or form, and there is nothing more biblical or Christian about speaking English as opposed to Spanish. BUT. As outlined below, Bad Bunny’s lyrics to all of the songs I actually looked up are vulgar, prurient, objectifying to women, juvenile, immature, pornographic, and teach young men to treat young women as sex objects to be had in every corner of the globe, while discouraging any sort of marriage or mature relationship. Are they worse than Kid Rock? In many ways, they are - they seem more pornographic and flippant, with just as many references to illegal drug use and alcohol. That said, they don’t reference underage sex predation - that I could find - and that is an awfulness in its own category. But progressives: when you praise a person with prurient, womanizing lyrics like Bad Bunny, it makes absolutely no sense to conservative Christians, because Bad Bunny sings about SO many things diametrically opposed to biblical teachings, and why would a Christian of ANY kind support such awfulness?
Further, I completely understand the vitriol directed at Kid Rock. There is no defending his actions, his lyrics, his arrest record, and many of his current social media posts, and his most recent songs. For the majority - nearly the totality of his life - he has boldly and proudly stood against many, many teachings of the Bible. HOWEVER, the core of Christianity is the Gospel - Good news of grace to those who do NOT deserve it. When you excuse the drug-praising, womanizing, over-sexualized, infantile, alcohol-glorifying songs of Bad-Bunny, but slam the same thing out of Kid Rock, it seems hypocritical. Conservative Christians wonder why you might not be willing to give Kid Rock a chance to show that he has been saved.
Podcast Transcript:
Welcome in to what might be the first episode of the BeachCast podcast, and what might be just some temporary musings. If you’d rather read this than listen to it, you can check out my website, Beachcast.tv, or just go to my Facebook page, Chase A. Thompson. Generally speaking, I avoid publicly weighing in on political issues, especially on social media. So this post/podcast is an anomaly, and if you think it is a mistake, there is a significant chance that you are correct. Lord, protect me from my foolish opinions. This began as a project to understand a controversy, and it ended up at over 20 pages. Should it just be for my consumption and understanding? Maybe. For now, I will release it as a podcast, and maybe a blog article. I hope that is not a dumb decision, because I have no desire to cause any sort of controversy with this, but rather, to provoke humble self-reflection and a consideration of what sort of things we praise and approve of.
For several years, I have been watching as the political polarization in our country has gotten more and more extreme. It has concerned me because I completely agree with the words of Lincoln - which he got from Jesus in Matthew 12 - that a divided house cannot stand. Right now, America seems to be far and away at its most divided that I’ve ever seen in my 5 decades of living here. I grew up in Alabama, the heart of college football country, and when you are born in Alabama, you are basically born into either an Alabama or Auburn family. I don’t know that many other states have a similar dynamic where people genuinely care about college football 24-7, 365, but most people in Alabama do. For many, it is a (somewhat) good-natured rivalry, but for a very large portion of the Alabama citizens, there is genuine animosity between the two schools that goes way beyond the bounds of rivalry week. Generally speaking, football morality, if there is such a thing, depends on which side of the game you are on. A play that is clearly pass interference to an Alabama fan is nothing of the sort to an Auburn fan, and vice-versa. Your opinion is not based on what you are seeing, or your knowledge of football, but WHICH SIDE you root for. If Alabama wants Charles Bediako to play basketball, even though he signed a professional G-League contract, most Alabama fans would say that its fair, because other teams are doing it too. Most Auburn fans would decry such a move. Similarly, if the exact same situation happened, and Auburn wanted to play a player with professional G-League experience, Alabama fans would go crazy, and Auburn fans would justify the move. It’s not a matter of right or wrong, it is a matter of who you pull for.
A great example of this is the unbiased Scottish Football announcer Allaster McKallaster, who is a great social media follow. Everything the Scotland team does is good, right and perfect, and everything the England team - cheats that they are - is devilish, wrong and an affront to decency. McKallester’s announcing is, I think, purposefully over the top, and it is hilarious. Politics today is almost exactly like the worst aspects of Alabama vs. Auburn, Scotland vs. England, Hatfields vs. McCoys, and the Montagues and Capulets, only much, much worse. As a pastor of a diverse church in a diverse state, my concern with politics is the extreme polarization that it has brought to the church. I’ve seen the beginnings of Civil War all across churches from Alabama to California. People arguing over ICE, over the fitness of this president or that, this action by law enforcement, or this bill, or this person, or whatever. I’ve seen fathers and daughters, brothers and sisters, and lifelong friends separated and devastated by political conflict, and it grieves me, especially in the church and in families.
What is the answer for the extreme division in this country? I’m not sure I’m wise enough to know, and honestly, I expect it to get worse before it gets better…if it even gets better. For Christians, however, I do know the answer. Rather than look to political leaders, or political parties for truth, we need to look elsewhere. Specifically, we need to look to the teachings of Jesus, and the Word of God.
Many - not most, but many - Christians right now basically fall in lock step with political lines. If leaders of the Conservative party support something, they support it largely without question, and largely without Berean diligence (see Acts 17:11.) Likewise, if conservatives are for something, especially if one particular conservative is for something, then ‘progressive’ Christians will be opposed to it…and vice versa. I think that is a dangerous precedent for the Body of Christ either way, and this Sunday’s Super Bowl presented a fantastic illustration of the dangers of this approach. If you were a Conservative, then you were, most likely, quite supportive of the Turning Point USA alternative half-time show, headlined by Kid Rock. If you were a Progressive, you most likely supported the mainstream half-time show, headlined by Bad-Bunny. Should Christians give full-throated, enthusiastic and passionate support to either of those half-time shows?
This podcast, and this article originated with that question, as Sunday night and Monday, I saw many Christians on social media weigh in. Some condemned the TPUSA show and praised the Bad Bunny show. Others did the opposite, and most did so, ostensibly, citing Christian and moral reasons for their support of one and outrage against another. It made me wonder: How can we Christians be SO divided on this issue? As somebody who was very unfamiliar with both Kid Rock and Bad Bunny, I made it my mission to research both artists and, specifically, the lyrics of their songs. As my doctor likes to say - we need data, and I spent hours putting together data on Kid Rock and Bad Bunny. Why? Because I want to try and understand our nation’s polarization, and because I pastor a very diverse group of believers in NorCal, and I want our church and all churches to look to Jesus and His Word for leadership first and foremost, because when we do that, we will be far less likely to be torn apart and divided over this week’s controversy, or next week’s controvery, whatever it is.
In Romans 14, Paul concludes his discussion of questionable matters/things that divide Christians, with this statement of truth: “Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.” I saw many, many Christians approving Bad Bunny’s show and condemning Kid Rock’s show, and many more Christians approving Kid Rock’s show and condemning Bad Bunny’s show. Since we are blessed if we don’t approve of things that God doesn’t approve of, I thought it would be helpful to get some data - mostly lyrical data - on Kid Rock and Bad Bunny, and see what the fuss is about, and see what it is that many are cheering or jeering. I started with Kid Rock. His lyrics - even his recent lyrics - are very concerning. Before you think I’m choosing a side here, keep reading and listening, because I found the same thing with Bad Bunny, to the point where I left this hours-long exercise in research wondering how in the world Christians could be happy with either artist. Before you turn me off or disagree, please listen to or read the volumes of data below, because I saw very few people - if any - put as much work into cataloging the lyrics of both artists.
I started with Kid Rock by perusing his Facebook page, from new entires to old entries:
February 9, Facebook: “Some tards still don’t get it! 
… People who get offended about everything DO NOT! Have a great weekend my fellow fa****! 
”
January 5, “Been on this hardcore health journey the last 5 years and really busting my a** to get in shape”
December 26
December 12, “Freedom matters. So does holding f****rs feet to the fire.”
November 22, “do y’all carry jim beam?”
November 20, “Thank God my private jet (Air F*** 1) won’t leave without me if I have too much fun again tonight! 
Kid “MF” Rock”
November 5:
And now, to the TPUSA half-time show:
Brantley Gilbert sang “Dirt Road Anthem” on the TPUSA show. He apparently slurred out/skipped/half-pronounced most of the swear words, but these are the lyrics to that song:
Light the bonfire, then call the girls
King in the can and the Marlboro man
Jack and Jim were a few good men
We learned how to kiss and cuss and fight too
Better watch out for the boys in blue…
Man, that s** is getting old
Man, mind your business, watch your mouth
Before I have to knock your loud a** out
I was brought up in a small town in north Georgia
Raised on southern baptist morals
In a front row pew for the Sunday roll call
Now everybody praise the Lord
…Never listen when they talking s***
My dad taught me how to stand my ground
Be a man boy and never back down
Don't start up something but if he's talking trash
You better throw the first punch and whoop his a**
Gabby Barrett “I Hope” a revenge song. (Amazing voice)
Lyrics: I hope you both feel the sparks by the end of the drive
I hope you know she's the one by the end of the night
I hope you never ever felt more free
Tell your friends that you're so happy
I hope she comes along and wrecks every one of your plans
I hope you spend your last dime to put a rock on her hand
I hope she's wilder than your wildest dreams
She's everything you're ever gonna need
And then I hope she cheats
Like you did on me”
The Good Ones, Gabby Barrett. (Great song)
He's a phone call to his parents
He's a Bible by the bed
He's the t-shirt that I'm wearing
He's a song stuck in my head
He's solid and he's steady like the Allegheny runs
He knows just where he's going
And he's proud of where he's from
Lee Brice Drinking Class - Glorifies pride and drinking.
“If you gotta, gotta label me
Label me 'proud’'
I belong to the drinking class
Monday through Friday, man
We bust our backs
If you're one of us
Raise your glass
I belong to the drinking class
Raise your glass
I belong to the drinking class
We all know why we're here
A little fun, a little music”
Full Lyrics to Country Nowadays by Lee Brice - a mix of right wing, conservative and biblical values. Some swearing, some glorification of drinking.
I just want to catch my fish, drive my truck, drink my beer,
not wake up to all this stuff I don't want to hear.
Like the same kind of gun I hunt with just killed another man.
Only thing mine ever shot was a deer from my deer stand.
I just want to cut my grass, feed my dogs, wear my boots,
not turn the TV on, sit and watch evening news.
Be told if I tell my own daughter that little boys ain't little
girls, I'll be up a creek in hot water in this cancel your a** world
It ain’t easy being country in this country nowadays. The direction the fingers point
When everything goes up in flames, saying I'm some right-wing devil
as I was red-letter Jesus raised it ain't easy being country in this country nowadays
I just want to cut my grass, watch my games, say my prayers,
not get a picture of a flag up in flames while people cheer.
Oh, the same one my granddaddy fought for. Stomped on like its trash and I'm
a downright hateful monster because I back the blue and badge.
It ain’t easy being country in this country nowadays. The direction the fingers point
When everything goes up in flames, saying I'm some right-wing devil
as I was red-letter Jesus raised, it ain't easy being country in this country nowadays
Because I have my morals, a small-town point of view.
You assume that you don’t like me means that I don’t like you too
It ain't easy being country in this country nowadays.
Hard to Love by Lee Brice: Seems to be an honest and transparent song that doesn’t particularly glorify being hard to love.
I am insensitive, I have a tendency to
Pay more attention to the thing's that I need
Sometimes I drink too much, sometimes I test your trust…
I'm hard to love, hard to love Oh, I don't make it easy…
I am a short fuse, I am a wrecking ball
Crashing into your heart like I do
You are like a Sunday morning full of grace and full of Jesus
And I wish that I could be more like you
Kid Rock songs. "Bawitdaba" from his fourth album Devil Without a Cause.
Some might say this song is an encouragement to jump in the pit and love those mentioned earlier in the song. Maybe. I hope so. But it honestly seems to hinge on that penultimate line, “I said, "It's all good, and it's all in fun. Meth, alcoholism, shooting up drugs, crooked cops, crack, drug addiction, prostitution, and pornography? Not all good, and not all in fun. Not even close. Kid says it ain’t fun looking for answers, but I disagree. That said, grits and D.B. Cooper? Those two things might be fun to some degree.
And his is for the questions that don't have any answers
The midnight glancers and the topless dancers
The gander freaks, cars packed with speakers
The G's with the 40's and the chicks with beepers
The Northern Lights and the Southern Comfort
And it don't even matter if their veins are punctured
All the crackheads, the critics, the cynics
And all my heroes in the Methadone clinics
All you b****** at the IRS
For the crooked cops and the cluttered desks
For the shots of Jack and the caps of Meth
Half pints of love and the 5th's of stress
For the hookers all trickin' out in Hollywood
And for my hoods of the world misunderstood
I said, "It's all good, and it's all in fun
Now get in the pit and try to love someone"
For the time bombs tickin' and the heads that hang
All the gangs gettin' money in the heads they bang-bang
Wild mustangs, the porno flicks
All my homies in the county in Cell Block 6
The grits when there ain't enough eggs to cook
And for D.B. Cooper and the money he took
You can look for answers, but that ain't fun
Now get in the pit and try to love someone
And then…things took an upward, better turn. Robert Ritchie was introduced - Kid Rock’s real name, and the entire tone shifted. He sang Cody Johnson’s country song, “‘Til You Can’t,” which is a very wholesome and lovely song - not explicitly Christian - but ‘Ritchie’ added a new lyric to it:
“There’s a book that is sitting in your house somewhere
That could use some dusting off
There’s a man that died for all our sins, hanging on the cross
You can give your life to Jesus, and he’ll give you a second chance
‘Til you can’t”
That IS explicitly Christian, and perhaps - hopefully - that is what has happened with Mr. Ritchie. This former vile sinner has perhaps been rescued by Jesus, and he is in the process of turning from his glorification of meth, drinking, womanizing, underage sexualizing, addiction, prostitutes, etc. I hope so. It is certainly possible, because Jesus rescued THIS vile sinner writing the article, and he is also in the process of turning from foul deeds done in the past - some of which still cling and bedevil in the future. I say with John “Amazing Grace” Newton that I am certain of two truths. I am a great (terrible!) sinner, and Christ is a great (wonderful!) savior.
I actually think the Billboard summary of the night - surprisingly - kind of got it right, and reported on the overall production with a remarkably measured and neutral tone, something I haven’t seen a lot of in journalism or social media. The TPUSA event, from what I read, was either wholesome, lovely, patriotic, and Christ-honoring (especially compared to the vile mainstream halftime show) OR it was a racist, bigoted, Trump - aggrondizing, idol-promoting show dedicated to foul debauchery, hating women and immigrants, and virulently opposed to liberals and Democrats. Honestly, having watched it and rewatched much of it, I don’t think that show was either of those two things. There is enough troublesome material (Kid Rock’s past lyrics re: underage sex, his RECENT lyrics full of filth and swearing, his VERY recent FB posts peppered with vulgarity, and the songs on the TPUSA show that mentioned, and even touted drinking, etc.) that I could NOT recommend this show from a Christian perspective. I would not encourage other Christians to watch it for its Christian content, would not hold it up as a great example of Christian virtue, nor would I say that this show is a good contrast and exemplar of biblical values when compared to another show that was not.
That said, as far as most concerts go, it was restrained, at least partially wholesome, and it sounded quite good. I’m not a country music guy, nor a Kid Rock guy, but the performances struck me as on point and well done. I like the TV shows Chuck, The Mentalist, Sherlock, Elementary, and Star Trek the Next Generation. They sometimes glorify drinking, adultery, swearing, lying, cheating, and womanizing, but often they encourage morality and wholesomeness. Good shows by the standards of television, but NOT good (moral) shows by a biblical standard. Chuck is a fun show that demonstrates family love well and has themes of sacrifice, responsibility, and maturity. I would recommend it as a secular show, but NOT hold it up as a great Christian alternative to, say, Keeping up with the Kardashians. Chuck is the morally superior show to KUWTK, but it is not a great example of Christian values, and should not at all be promoted or described that way, because to do so is just confusing.
I can understand and sympathize with slamming TPUSA for picking Kid Rock as a headliner. His past behavior and song lyrics are vile, and his RECENT song lyrics and posts to social media still feature much of that same vileness. An organization as explicitly Christian as TPUSA purports to be can and should have had an alternate headliner. That said, the concert itself was hardly worthy of the vitriol I’ve seen many thrown at it. It mentioned things that have no place at an explicitly Christian concert, but also featured lyrics and actions that do indeed resonate with biblical truth. If you are a ‘progressive’ Christian, and your review of the concert was much more acrid than the one below, from one of the least Christian and least conservative companies around, I do wonder if your perspective is overly polarized by the extreme liberal vs. conservative wars that are playing out right now all across America. Here’s the Billboard summary of the show.
Billboard summary of the TPUSA halftime show. “And with that, it’s over. It was a respectful, enjoyable presentation that, as Kid Rock had promised, appealed to the conservative base, but there was no flame-throwing rhetoric, few speeches, and no mention of Trump. It’s largely just music with a relatively low-key production (and too dimly lit for my preference). Brice’s song was as pointedly political as it got. For the MAGA crowd (and likely Trump), it undoubtedly wasn’t far right or on attack enough (other than Brice’s song). For the far left, there weren’t really any moments to ridicule, except for generally not liking the talent involved and the overall production. It was a solid 15-minute presentation. They played it safe, and, sometimes, that’s OK, and, quite frankly, in this volatile, divisive world, a little bit of a welcome respite.”
Source: https://www.billboard.com/music/country/turning-point-halftime-show-kid-rock-lee-brice-1236175947/
As noted, I’ve read the condemning words of many, many progressive Christians who have raked the show with harsh criticisms while also praising the Bad Bunny show as a paragon of REAL American values that should be celebrated. And indeed, contrary to what many people seem to think, Bad Bunny, unlike many, many other Super Bowl half-time performers IS AN AMERICAN, because Puerto Ricans are Americans! But…did his actual lyrics warrant praise and adoration from ‘progressive’ Christians, or indeed any responsible adults? Let’s explore that question next.
A few notes first. I do NOT speak Spanish. I wish I did. I live in a community (Salinas, California) that is around 80 percent Hispanic. I love Hispanic people, and I would love to speak Spanish. If you do NOT love Hispanic people - or any other race - and you claim to be a Christian…grab your Bible and read Revelation 5 and 7, and get it into your head that Jesus bought a people - with His blood - from EVERY tribe, nation, language and people. NOT knowing Spanish means I have to rely on lyrics websites for Bad Bunny's lyrics, and I don’t know EXACTLY what he sang on the Super Bowl broadcast. That’s ok, I think, because many will go out and stream or buy the songs based on the SB performance.
One other note, on Puerto Rico, home of Bad Bunny. When I taught at Shades Valley High School in Birmingham from 2017-2018, one of my teacher friends was from Puerto Rico and had family there. First, Hurricane Irma, then Maria devastated the island, and my friend was very worried about her family, which caused me to learn more about Puerto Rico at the time. Half the people on that island were without power 69 days after Hurricane Maria! That’s incredible. Puerto Rico is an island/commonwealth of the U.S. with a population of over 3 million U.S. citizens. (Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917.) These citizens do not have representation in the U.S. government - taxation without representation - a situation I have considered unfair and untenable for many years.
Visually, I was really impressed by the Bad Bunny show - with one glaring exception. Living in an agricultural community, I appreciated the nod to migrant workers, which - in many ways - help keep this country well fed, which is something I’ve grown to appreciate living in Salinas for almost 8 years. I loved the power-pole scene, which I assume is an acknowledgement of the aftermath of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico - scars that still last to this day. Only New Orleans people can begin to understand the devastation of Maria on PR. There were some beautiful sights in the BB halftime show, and I appreciated the understatedness of it. The one glaring problem from a Christian standpoint would be the tremendous amount of immodesty and booty shaking, and focus on the backsides. Some may celebrate that and call it female empowerment, but I believe it is objectifying women to the extreme, and it has no place on a Super Bowl broadcast meant for families.
The first Bad Bunny song on the Super Bowl halftime show was: “Tití Me Preguntó” (Remember, I don’t speak Spanish!), and here are some selected lyrics, translated.
Hey, auntie asked me if I have a lot of girlfriends, a lot of girlfriends
Today I have one, tomorrow I'll have another, hey, but there's no wedding
I'm gonna take them all to the VIP, the VIP, hey
Say hello to auntie
Let's take a selfie, say "cheese," hey
Let the ones I already f**** smile
I really like the Gabriela's
The Patricia's, the Nicole's, the Sofía's
My first girlfriend in kindergarten, María
And my first love's name was Thalia
I've got a Colombian who writes me every day
And a Mexican I didn't even know about
Another one in San Antonio that still loves me
And the ones from PR that are all mine
A Dominican who is a fresh hottie
Fresh, fresh hottie
The one from Barcelona that came by plane
And says that my d*** is fire
I let them play with my heart
I'd like to move in with all of them to a mansion
I'd like to fall in love
But I can't, but I can't, eh, eh
I'd like to fall in love
But I can't, but I can't
Sorry, I don't trust, I don't trust
Nah, I don't even trust myself
If you want to, stay today since it's cold
And leave tomorrow, nah
Many want my [semen]
They want to have my firstborn, hey
And take the credit
I'm bored already, today I want a brand new a**, heh
A new one, a new one, a new one, a new one, a new one (Hey)
Listen to your friend, she's right
I'm gonna break your heart, break your heart
Hey, don't fall in love with me (No, no)
Don't fall in love with me (No, no), hey
Sorry, it's how I am (How I am, how I am), hey
I don't know why I'm like this (Hey)
Listen to your friend, she's right
I'm gonna break your heart, break your heart (Hey, hey)
So yes, a very modern song about a guy who sounds like the very definition of a womanizer. (Definition: a womanizer is a man who frequently pursues, seduces, or has casual sexual relationships with many different women, often in a deceptive or insincere manner. The term generally carries a negative, disapproving connotation, implying a lack of commitment, emotional manipulation, or dishonesty in his pursuits.)
From a Christian standpoint, this song, which makes light of any sort of long-term commitment and glorifies and celebrates hook-ups and womanizing, is obviously unbiblical, and nothing in it is worth celebrating. I kind of thought we were in a place in even secular society where a male Lothario/Casanova was anything but celebrated, but it is possible I’m mistaken on that. Next song.
Yo Perreo Sola: “I Twerk Alone”
I twerk alone (Hmm, ayy)
I twerk alone (Twerk alone, haha, hmm-hmm)
I twerk alone (Haha, hmm, ayy)
I twerk alone (Twerk alone)
Perverts, don't get near her (No)
The club turns up when she arrives (Woo!)
Men are her hobby
She is spoiled like Nairobi (Haha)
And you see her drinking from the bottle (Ayy)
The boys and the girls want to get it with her
She is older than twenty, she showed me her ID (Uh-huh)
Ayy, she is skeptical of love (Woo!)
She's been single before it was a trend (Ayy)
She hasn't believed in love since "Amorfoda" (No)
The DJ plays songs and she knows them all
She climbs on the table and doesn't give a f*** about anyone (Woo)
When she twerks she doesn't stop (No!)
She smokes and gets h****
…And she calls me "papi" (Papi, keep going, yes, yes)
She's really hot like Natti (Ah)
Drunk and crazy, she doesn't care (Woo)
Let's twerk, life is short, ayy (Hoo)
Okay, so this song is less sexual, I guess, than the first song, but it still is all about drinking and sexual dancing and probably more than that. Nothing a Christian would hold up as an exemplar of morality, and no lifestyle any rational parent would want their kids mixed up in. Next song:
"Safaera" (Means debauchery or depravity.)
D***, how insane
You have a nice a**
Whatever you put on looks amazing (Lalalalala; aight)
Move it, move it, move it, move it…What a lack of respect, mami
How dare you come without panties?
Today you got ready and went out for me
And I thought that I was going to sleep, no
She came ready already, ready to brush together
She sucks my l*******, she gets on her knees, hey
How dare you, mami, to come without panties?
What do you think? F***** up man, hehe
I do whatever I want.
Tell 'em, Bunny
Ayy, ayy (Hahahaha)
Today we drink, today we spend
Today we smoke like a rasta
If God permits it
If God permits it
And honestly, verse two is just so completely explicit that I am not going to paste it here and censor it. It is really awful. The third verse is about dancing and having sex while doing illegal drugs like ecstasy. The fourth verse is also extremely explicit and sexual and not the kind of thing I can write down here, but is borderline X-rated. It’s just a really awful song. Drinking, drugs, explicit sex.
Do we care about objectifying women these days? I seem to recall a time when that wasn’t cool. Three songs in, and I am genuinely surprised to know some of the people who are celebrating Bad Bunny’s performance. I know, I know. He may NOT have sang/said all these lyrics during the Super Bowl performance, but they are there in his songs for all to read and download and stream, and they are just trashy. No father wants their son to behave like Bad Bunny claims to, and even fewer Fathers and mothers want their daughters to meet up with a guy like this who loves ‘em, drugs ‘em, and leaves ‘em. Probably lots of people would be ok with some sort of brief tryst with a celebrity, but the problem is that songs like this that aggrandize and normalize such behavior lead to IMMITATION, where many, many guys will learn to treat women like Bad Bunny purports to do. What a disaster.
One more song. There are 14 of them total that appeared in the halftime show, but this article is already long enough.
'VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR' This is a song where the singer tries to have a hook up with two women, and does so by getting them drunk and high and then taking advantage of them. Don’t believe me? Well, let’s see the lyrics:
Bring your friend if you like the idea, tell her we're partying tonight
We're gonna have a great time
Nobody's getting married here, but you're gonna want to stay (Hey, hey)
[Verse]
Take advantage, I'm single (Ay), single
Give me that look if you want me to give it to you
I'll take you to Puerto Rico for the whole weekend
After me, you'll delete Tinder
And I'm free, baby, I'm free
Look at me now, a pro at dancing
I'm free, baby, I'm free, hey, hey, hey
Tonight, the streets are alive, hookah, crushed pills
I don't waste time, I switch them up like Rosalía
Your girls and their whole crew are fine as hell, but that a** of yours, wow, stands out
We left the club, and it was already daytime
Obviously, I left with the one I wanted, hey
Long live the wild life
Throw it back, back, get in the groove, hey
Tell me if you're getting in, I know the way to the island
Drunk, all three of us, baby, I'm taking you both, ah-ah
She wants to kiss me, huh, I got her all messed up
Take your pictures now 'cause later I'm gonna mess up your hair.
Should people get women messed up (drunk and stoned) and then have sex with them? Didn’t the #MeToo movement address this kind of awful behavior?
Well, I’ve read enough. Other songs performed seem to be very similar to those above. Songs like: DTMF (I should have taken more photos) is a break-up song where the singer drunkenly wishes he had taken more pictures of his ex. It ends, “I hope my people never move away And that you send me more nudesAnd if I get drunk today, may Beno help me”
Look, I’m not a song prude. I grew up listening to heavy metal, hard rock and rap, and I know Bad Bunny and Kid Rock are far from the first foul-mouthed singers and performers we’ve had at the Super Bowl. What’s new this year is that, in such an atmosphere of polarization, we have had one side trumpet the wonders and goodness of THEIR Super Bowl celebration while pointing fingers, casting aspersions, and attacking the morality of the other Super Bowl celebration. This might just be one of those instances where people in glass houses should set their stones down, look in the mirror, and worry about the splinter in their own eyes. YES, the TPUSA show had FAR less objectionable lyrics than those normally utilized by Bad Bunny, but that show was supposed to be patriotic, Christian, and family-centered, and I would expect any show put on by a purportedly Christian group to have the wisdom NOT to headline somebody known up until VERY VERY RECENTLY, for their vulgar lyrics and vulgar behavior. And the ‘progressive’ Christians lining up behind Bad Bunny and championing him? YES! There is much to celebrate in Hispanic and Puerto Rican culture. YES! The U.S. has for decades treated Puerto Rico horribly. YES! We live in a melting pot, and anyone who looks down on Hispanics or Hispanic culture foolishly doesn’t understand the U.S.A. OR Christianity. (Remember…Jesus didn’t speak English either!) That said, I am astonished that ‘progressive’ Christians and some on the left are celebrating a man in Bad Bunny whose lyrics are SO denigrating and objectifying of women, and encourage drug use and excess drinking.
Morally speaking, the TPUSA show had much less swearing in any language (though it had more ENGLISH swearing, because I heard Lee Bice say a word or two) and much more modest singers. The TPUSA show had some great performances, and I say that as NOT a fan of country music. It also was not very politicized, and I expected it to be. But the choice of Kid Rock as a headliner at this point in Kid Rock’s potential journey of faith is unwise and premature. His old song lyrics and his RECENT song lyrics are absolutely incompatible with following Christ, and they are loaded with elements that are objectionable to even irreligious people. His recent social media posts are about what you’d expect from somebody who wrote songs like that, and it is virtually unconscionable in this terrifying Epstein age that the headliner for a family-friendly, purportedly Christian concert would feature a singer who sang about having relations with underage girls. The TPUSA show, had far better lyrics and far greater modesty than the mainstream show, but it should have…and it should have been better. Yes, it mentioned Jesus, and some other good things, but it also glorified drinking, revenge, and other unbiblical things. A fine secular concert in many ways, but not one Christians should praise, in my opinion. Also…and maybe I missed it…but all of the performers I saw at the TPUSA show were white, and if we want to be an All-American show, that seems like a bad idea. (BUT, I may have missed it.)
Reviewing the show for The Hollywood Reporter, Ethan Millman said the performers "delivered nearly half an hour of religiously charged, star-spangled country music veering on jingoism and cringe." And you know what? That’s not true at all, and I wonder if Millman even watched the show. It was NOT religiously charged, unless you count the last couple of minutes, and it wasn’t really all that political at all, certainly not to a jingoistic level. I suspect Millman just wrote those words because he is team progressive, and therefore opposed to everything conservative.
The Bad Bunny show, alternatively, had a lot of nice things going for it, as already mentioned. The visuals were sharp, and I think it is great to have a singer from the PR. But the lyrics of the songs that were performed - EVEN IF THEY WERE EDITED FOR THE PERFORMANCE - are still abhorrent, and I’m quite sure tons more kids and young adults will be listening to Bad Bunny’s music after the performance. JUST BASED ON LYRICS, I don’t think either Christians OR irreligious people would want to their kids to act like the people that Kid Rock OR Bad Bunny sing about.
Which leads to my final conclusion. I can understand how people could enjoy EITHER show, while acknowledging the problematic nature of the lyrics, the performers and the booty shaking and twerking. What I simply can NOT understand is how Christians, given the commands of the Bible, would strongly praise and root for EITHER show. Beloved - let’s be wise about what we praise, promote, and propagate in the name of Jesus and Christianity, one way or the other.
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