Tag: Christian Rapper

---

Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing well. Thanks for tuning into the 20th installment of The DIVE Series*. Last month, I dove into No More by Ty Brasel and More on the Way by Derek Minor, featuring Jon Keith, 1K Phew, and nobigdyl. Today, I will DIVE into a new track called Hell’s Most Wanted by Mike Malagies. I will do my best to review the track’s most important parts. As always, let’s DIVE into the music.

“…so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’.” ‭‭- 1 Corinthians 1:31

---

About the Track

Mike Malagies‘ single Hell’s Most Wanted has over 2,000 streams in less than a month of being out on Spotify. The track was released on June 16th, 2023.

---

Interpretation of the Track (Part 1)

The Intro to this track is as follows:

“They’ve been comin’ for me. Temptation, I’m free. Jesus set me free.”

Given the context provided by this song’s title, we can indicate that Mike refers to Demons when he says, ‘they’ve been coming for me.’ Another point he makes that further supports this indication is that he implies he is free from temptation only by the love and grace of Jesus. To clarify, God (specifically the Holy Spirit, who is God) is the only one that can free us from temptation and the sinful desires of the flesh. Mike begins the meat of the track with the first Verse:

“My circle keep on getting tighter think it turned into an oval. Thank God, the only time I like to get boastful. Couldn’t catch a fish, Jesus supplied with a boat full. High five God, we got Satan in a chokehold. Tap out. Jesus changed my life there’s nothing else I wanna rap bout. I just checked my bank account in Heaven, I’mma cash out. Got my game on like Smash Mouth. If you said a year ago I’d be here, I would pass out.”

Firstly, he mentions that he only gets boastful when thanking the Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:31 says:

“…so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’.”

This verse makes it clear that the only time we, as Christians, should be boasting is when we boast boldly in our faith in the Lord Jesus. In the next line, he references John 6, where Jesus miraculously turns five loaves of bread and two fish into enough food to feed 5,000 people. I believe he’s making the point in this line that he couldn’t find true self-worth and joy until Jesus supplied him with that self-worth and joy he longed for. Mike raps about having Satan defeated by Jesus on the cross. He continues rapping about not wanting to rap about anything other than his Savior, Jesus. Mike then implies having his riches in the Lord and looks forward to coming home to Heaven one day. He ends this first verse by saying he would pass out if anyone told him he’d be this successful a year ago.

---

Interpretation of the Track (Part 2)

He then hits us with the Chorus:

“Look at what my God did. Seen too many turn to snakes, they change like Moses rod did. Used to be a slave to sin, He freed me from my bondage. Running fast, I’m hell’s most wanted. I’m hell’s most wanted.”

Here, Mike conveys how great God is, that He freed him from the bondage of sin. John 8:34 states:

“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin’.”

This leads us directly into the verse’s next line, where Mike mentions that he used to be a slave to sin. He ends the chorus of this track by referring to the title of the single by saying, “I’m hell’s most wanted.” In context, this means that demons want to see his downfall more than those who do not actively follow Jesus. Why, you might ask? Because he’s more of a threat to Satan’s goals of turning humanity away from the Lord. Mike follows up with the Chorus by performing the second Verse:

“Holy Ghost in the building, but it’s not haunted. Snapping on the beat like a Thanos gauntlet. I’m hell’s most wanted. Heaven come down. Never went to parties, they all said I missed out. Laughed at me then, they remember me now. I got enemies now. I’mma pray for ’em. God created me to be a star, just like day four. Kick, push the Devil like I’m Lupe on a skateboard. Feeling free, my debt paid for. Screaming this is ‘God’s Plan’ like I’m at a Drake tour. Kingdom come. In Your presence, we undone. Feasting on that Daily Bread, won’t leave a crum. Delivered from the evil one. Because Jesus won. They ask ‘Mike where’d you get freedom from?’ I plead the blood of Jesus.”

Mike begins this verse with this first line about the Holy Ghost, implying that he has the Holy Spirit in him. He references the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s gauntlet of Thanos to emphasize how good his vocal flow is. He continues to melodically rap about praying for his enemies (and the ones who made fun of him for never going to parties). Jesus tells  his Disciples in Matthew 5:44,

“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

He then references Drake’s secular song God’s Plan by singing, “Screaming this is God’s plan like I’m at a Drake tour.” He ends this verse by brilliantly rapping about:

• Being in the Lord’s presence
• Consistently reading the Bible
• Being delivered from Satan because Jesus defeated death, sin, and the Devil on the cross
• Boldly pleading the blood of Jesus when people ask where he gets his freedom from

The Chorus runs one more time, bringing us into the third verse…

---

Interpretation of the Track (Part 3)

He finally performs the brilliantly-written third verse:

“Jesus can you do something for me like 21. And He did more than expected. Died for us all, then resurrected. Put me on the guest list. I wear a cross no necklace. Tell me who can be against us. Satan trying to arrest us. But I’m resting in the Lord.”

In this verse, he brilliantly references the popular Drake line, “21, can you do sum’ for me?” to convey that Jesus did way more than that. Christ died for all of our sins and was resurrected. He mentions wearing a cross, likely referring to the Biblical principle of “Bearing one’s cross.” In Luke 9:23, Jesus essentially tells His followers to be willing to go through hardships and things they may not want to do for the sake of following Jesus and following God’s will for their lives. He ends the track with this self-explanatory Outro:

“And that’s facts. That’s facts. For real.”

---

DIVE Conclusion

It is clear that Mike Malagies deeply cares about his relationship with Jesus and has a good understanding of Biblical principles. There are many Biblical references in this track. I will try to tie this single into a nice bowtie for y’all. Mike conveys the following are very crucial to being a follower of Jesus:

• Being delivered from Satan by believing in Jesus and what he did for us (defeating death, sin, and the Devil on the cross by dying and being resurrected)
• Being in the Lord’s presence through consistent prayer
• Consistently reading the Bible (staying rooted in God’s Word)
• Boldly pleading the blood of Jesus when people ask where he gets his freedom (or joy) from
• Praying for people (including enemies and persecutors of Christians)

These five points all link to the title of the track. The title refers to Mike being on the “Hell’s Most Wanted” list. This means that since Mike is a genuine follower of Jesus and consistently puts his faith in the Lord, he is a big threat to Satan, whose goal is to turn humanity away from God and into a sinful path of destruction. Mike Malagies refuses to go down the wide path of destruction and chooses to rest in Christ as his one and only Lord and Savior.

---

Thank You for Reading DIVE!

Thank you for reading this far into the article! I hope you all enjoyed this installment of The DIVE Series* on FiveTwenty Collective. Stay tuned for the next installment dropping on the 20th of this month (July 2023)!

---

About The DIVE Series*

In this series, I DIVE into the precise and potential meanings of Christian Hip Hop singles, albums, and EPs. In Special Edition installments of the series, I interview the artist(s) involved for the whole meaning of their art. Thanks for checking out today’s edition of FiveTwenty Collective’s DIVE series! I drop a new installment of this series on the 5th and 20th of every month (except on Sundays). God Bless, DJ Expander — **Listen to the full Hell’s Most Wanted single at the end of the article!** — Want more content from The DIVE Series? Check out the previous article now!