Delbert Harris grew up in Houston’s 5th Ward in the eighties, which was notoriously known for its crime and violence. During his high school years, he witnessed some of the violence firsthand when a friend of his was turned into human Swiss cheese by buckshots from a sawed-off shotgun. As he grew, Delbert would become a product of his environment, taking on the occupation of street pharmacist. But even while peddling drugs, he continued to pursue his dream of becoming a rapper. In 1991, he signed to a small independent label, Dead Game Records, where he released his debut project. Around the same time, his conscience began to work on him as he became convicted about his lifestyle. He went to church with a friend, which would end up being his Damascus Road experience. Delbert would give up secular rap, begin to pray and fast, and over time, started rapping for Jesus under the alias of Lil’ Raskull.

Lil’ Raskull would sign with the Houston-based Christian hip-hop label, Grapetree Records, which I often refer to as the Christian version of No Limit Records due to its tendency to sign southern acts and use incredibly cheesy album cover artwork. He released his debut Christian album, Controverse All-Star (which might be the cheesiest album cover of all his Grapetree releases), in 1996, following it up in ’97 with the subject of today’s post, Cross Bearing.

Like No Limit Records’ artists, I wasn’t a fan of most of the artists on Grapetree, either. The combination of elementary rhyming styles and corny synth-heavy instrumentals that most possessed didn’t appeal to me. I don’t remember who or what put me on to Lil’ Raskull, but somehow, in the late nineties/early 2000s, I started buying and listening to his catalog. One thing I know for sure. It wasn’t the album cover that pulled me in.

Intro – The album begins with a soothing little diddly that sounds like the perfect background music for getting a stone massage from a beautiful tender thang. The music is quite the contrast to the dialogue, which features a young lady claiming to be reporting live from Golgotha (the place where Jesus was crucified), and how Lil’ Raskull has returned to the horrific site an attempt to bear his cross, hence the album title. “Keep him in prayer, saints.”

Ashes To Dust – After thirty seconds of airy synth chords playing, Lil’ Raskull begins the record with a prayer asking “Father God” to send Satan, his imps, and every spirit that is not of God back to the pits of hell. Ironically, his prayer is backed by a supremely demonic-sounding bass line and tormented drums. Raskull goes on to rap about Jesus being his Savior, his haters that persecute him for his faith, Satan’s plot to get souls to burn eternally in a lake of fire, and quotes a few scriptures. During his second verse, Ras gets vulnerable, discussing the molestation he experienced as a kid: “Smokin’ weed, steady drinkin’ just to cover the pain/incident since I was young had me livin’ in shame/Why was I another victim being touched as a kid?/Did the Father hate the Ras or was it something I did?/A livin’ hell, but I won’t tell, I’ll just keep it inside/deny the demon that was with me was along for the ride.” Kudos to Ras for his vulnerability on this track, and I liked the hard, aggressively dark feel of the instrumental. The hook (which consists of a stereotypical demonic voice repeating the song title and Courtney “C-Note” Rutherford singing: “Don’t you know where you go, you will stay?”) was almost annoying enough to derail the entire song, though.

Wonder Years – Depending on who you’re talking to, the “wonder years” can mean a few different things besides being the name of an incredible TV show in the late eighties. Ras uses the term to talk about all the sins people commit before and during their walk with Jesus and reminds them during the hook that “If you stumble in the rumble don’t give up the fight, remember Jesus is the way, he’s the truth, and the light.” I like his message, but the grace he grants on the hook gets contradicted by the judgment he dishes out in some of his rhymes: “Sodom, Gomorrah, is fair for you to dress like whore, trick a condom, havin’ sex is what your marriage is for…Too many homies fall in love with the money they got, too many hoochies chasin’ Gucci trade they body like stock.” Despite Ras’ rivaling rhetoric, I enjoyed this record, mainly for the vibrantly crisp drums and that infectious bassline. Shout out to Kevin Arnold.

Good Life – When it comes to late eighties-early nineties R&B, Al B. Sure! is severely underappreciated. His catalog may not be as deep as others from that same era, but he and Kyle West were responsible for a healthy batch of incredible grooves I will forever cherish. Yoggie samples Al B’s “Naturally Mine” and turns it into an epically emotional backdrop for Ras to get off his version of one of King David’s Psalms. After kicking things off by speaking in tongues (heathens, please refer to the second chapter of Acts), Ras lets the listener sit on his conversation with God as he gets honest, discussing his pain, doubts, and struggles and openly wrestles with his faith (“Although I cry sometimes/can I/be the man you called me to be/will I/be the one that makes a difference in this land/and lead another from the state which I was in”). This is one of my favorite joints on the album.

Potter’s Vessel – Raskull invites his labelmate, Nuwine, to join him on this track. Nuwine (whose sound was definitely influenced by Tupac) and Ras both share parts of their testimony, but their main objective (like much of the album) is to get the listener “born again.” Roc A backs the duo with a hard instrumental equipped with a buzzing trunk-rattling bass line that is sure to get your head noddin’. This is the song that I imagine is playing in the drop-top on Clipse’s Lord Willin’ album cover.

Only Voice – This one pretty much covers the same territory as “Good Life,” but this time over a somber loop from Kool & The Gang’s “Summer Madness.” Despite the redundant content (“Nappy-headed walkin’ on the back of my shoes” sounds crazy), I enjoyed this one, mainly for the soulful vibes in the instrumental.

Cross Bearing – The title track finds Lil’ Raskull having a “Take this cup” moment with God (for all you heathens, see Luke 22:42 to make sense of that reference). His struggle is backed by hard 808s and a cool jazz horn loop that gives the track a darkly tinted, leery feeling.

Wolf Tickets – The term “wolf tickets” has a few different meanings. As kids, we used it to describe when a kid talked tough but wasn’t willing to back up his tough talk with action. Ras uses the term to describe counterfeit tickets. In this case, the tickets are being sold by false prophets and other religious leaders whose doctrine conflicts with the Bible. Other than the sassy horn loop laced throughout the instrumental (that reminds me of the horn loop used in the instrumental for Jay-Z’s “Friend Or Foe,” and coincidently (or deliberately), Ras uses the phrase “friend or foe” in the song’s hook), I didn’t like this record.

Necessary Murder – Lil’ Raskull uses each of the song’s three verses to lay out a different tale of murder. Verse one outlines the world’s first murder: Cain slaying his brother, Abel. In verse two, Ras talks about his daily struggle to kill his flesh, and the last verse details the crucifixion of Jesus, the ultimate necessary murder. Ras doesn’t sound great in his verses, but I appreciate his effort in using a different angle to get his “come to Jesus” agenda off. The drums in the instrumental were flat, but I enjoyed the slick wah-wah guitar licks (courtesy of Yoggie) that give seventies blaxploitation energy.

Twisted – No, this is not a remix of Keith Sweat’s 1996 bop. Ras isn’t crooning (or whining) about some woman who’s got him messed up. He’s talking about the people who chose not to follow God, and like much of the album, he takes a few detours from the subject at hand along the way. I wasn’t impressed with Ras’ bars, but Yoggie’s instrumentation was entertaining. His bass guitar provides the track with a deep groove, and those wild guitar solos at the end of the record were dope as hell. Or heaven.

The Door Is Open – Sappy/melancholic chords and a few singing voices (Ter’ell and Sheree Smith) set the mood for Lil’ Raskull’s three-and-a-half-minute alter call.

Old Sunday School – Cute song title. Blaq Gold (great alias, by the way) reinterprets the “Message” instrumental, throwing some well-placed synth chords and a buzzing bass line on it, giving it a cleaner, more smoothed-out feel. This is the most comfortable Ras has sounded on the mic, as he finds his pocket and stays in that thing like two quarters, three dimes, and a nickel. This is one of my favorite records on Cross Bearing, and it makes for great roller-skating music.

Heaven’s Delight – Sticking with the original school hip-hop theme, this one remixes the song title and makes a couple of alterations to the instrumental from “Rapper’s Delight.” Sorry, y’all, but this was corny. That’s all I got.

Will I Ever Fly? – Ras wraps Cross Bearing, giving thanks and reverence to his Saviour, but he also uses the song to acknowledge his shortcomings and asks God for grace while he continues to grow: “Sometimes I wonder, when it thunder, is that God upset? Or when it rain, do that be angel tears that’s gettin’ us wet? ‘Cause we so filthy livin’, guilty, so much sin involved, for Jesus Christ to save a man, you know he had to be God.” Our host’s bars are accompanied by soft and somber R&B-esque instrumentation (which includes lush string chords and Yoggie on bass guitar) and the soft vocals of Kim Robinson on the hook, desperately asking God to help her correct her blemishes. I like hearing from woeful Ras. This is a good record for a Christian to listen to after remorsefully falling from grace, aka sinning.

During my previous post on Heaven’s Mentality, I talked about The Cross Movement being talented emcees with sharp lyrical ability. Yet, their holier-than-thou image and refusal to share anything personal in their music made their message harder to receive and left me questioning who they really are. Lil’ Raskull is their polar opposite.

Lil’ Raskull is not the sharpest lyricist, nor does he have the other traditional technical attributes that most of my favorite rappers come with, but the boy has heart. On Cross Bearing, Ras lays everything on the table, sharing some of his childhood traumas, dramas, and shortcomings, balanced with him openly grappling with his own adequacy and faith while simultaneously trying to get all listeners to come to Jesus. Yes, he does occasionally get into his self-righteous bag, but with all the other layers of him actively on display on the album, his sporadic smugness gets balanced out. The production on Cross Bearing isn’t perfect, but I enjoyed most of it, and it helps Ras’ unorthodox rudimentary rhyming style stand out more.

I’m fully aware that Lil’ Raskull’s music isn’t for the masses, and so is he. During “One Voice,” he raps: “They laughing at the Ras like they did Noah, but when God floods the city with flames, then it will show that maybe it was something to the words that he spoke, maybe it was something to the things that he wrote.” Only time will tell if Ras is a modern-day Noah, but it doesn’t take the world’s end to appreciate him baring his soul while he bears his cross.

-Deedub
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