Over ten years ago I was working at a Christian music marketing company and was forwarded a phone call by a popular hip hop DJ.  He had recently become a Christian, which to me was exciting because I had jammed out to some of his most popular songs at parties for years.  However as we conversed about what he wanted to do with his talent since he became a Christian, I started to become increasingly worried.

Him: "I want to do a hip hop version of *Insert popular CCM franchise here*"
Me: "But....that's copyrighted. You just can't take that. Why not do something new?"

The more we talked, the more I felt that he was trying to play it safe by changing up his style and trying to force himself into a system that was not going to allow him to be himself musically.  He explained to me that he was discouraged about how since he became a Christian, he was receiving criticism about how his music had become watered down.  If you know anything about hip hop, you know that is exactly the opposite of what a hip hop artist wants to hear. They don't want to hear that since they have decided to be a  follower of Christ that their music is no longer relevant in the streets. However, this story is not uncommon.