Tae Spears: Totally Uncut on If I Can Be Honest EP

Hailing from Milwaukee, hip-hop artist Tae Spears starting rapping when he saw the impact it had on young people and hasn’t stopped since. The Midwest emcee recently released his latest project and although it’s only a six track EP, If I Can Be Honest quickly pulls you in and holds your attention for its entire 18 minute duration.

Though many will undoubtedly take the “Parental Advisory Warning” and the language that goes along with it, as a reason to write off this album and possibly even Tae Spears as a “Christian” Hip Hop artist, those claims aren’t unfounded. I will argue that it’s the strong language on If I Can Be Honest that evokes the pain and the hurt that’s necessary to drive home Tae’s point.

Beyond the music itself, which is a taste of the classic hip-hop many rap purists long for nowadays, If I Can Be Honest shines a light on an important issue I believe is plaguing the world at large and finding its way into the church.  This issue is how lust rears its ugly head, cripples the hearts of many man (and some women) and destroys marriages. In our technologically advanced society, temptation is one DM slide away and Tae is open and honest about it; “marriage will never cure lust/ so all the issues that affected me is now affecting us,” he raps.

From beginning to end, If I Can Be Honest is bold, raw and painful to listen to in some instances.  The resentment and regret seeps through this project.  On the soulfully sampled “Hourglass,” Tae says,

“I want my wife back/ but [man] sometimes we stray too far to ever come back/ but I understand that nothing is impossible for God/ so I’m praying hard he changes her heart/ but if not still heal mine/show me I’m not bound to what I was/show me I’m forgiven/show me I’m covered by the blood.”

Only God knows if Tae’s marriage can come back from this, but maybe If I Can Be Honest will serve as a warning and encouragement to those having the same struggles as Tae.  Maybe husbands and wives will fight to find complete contentment and satisfaction in one another before they are in a position to fight to get them back.

Listen to If I Can Be Honest Here