Talented Rapper Drops In

Every Saturday morning the First United Unitarian Church in Koreatown serves a large cart full of food to the people that have stood in line. There are probably many people in that line who would rather be sleeping in after a long work week. Nevertheless, their need gets them out of bed and into line.

About half way down the line there is a stairwell leading up to the massive doors of the church. Our group set up at the stairs and began to spread cheer with our songs. Our two guitarists improvised and we took requests, which turned out to be mostly Christmas songs and well-known hymns. When we sang the former, people danced. When we sang the latter, elderly Korean people sang them in Korean!

https://youtu.be/0qmk7H9NfZk

Soon we were joined by a talented rapper. He began to perform for the crowd by using his chest for percussion and rapping Christian songs he had written. The lyrics spoke of the struggles he had overcome in his experience. The woman who is clapping on the sidewalk has led out in this food bank for over 20 years! She started this work with her husband and continued this work after his death.

https://youtu.be/kAW3Ppd_Mi0

After he performed a few songs he and his significant other told us that this was an unplanned stop for them: “We were driving around and realized this place was giving away food and we needed food.” They told us what music does for them, “It takes us to a new place where we forget about how poor we are right now.”

From the looks of the people in line, it was clear that they were not alone in their response to the music.