Church warns parents about impact of rap song ‘Child of the Devil’

Church elders in a Bible Belt town have called on parents to warn their children about a rap song with the title Kind van de Duivel (‘Child of the Devil’).

A letter signed by 13 Protestant church ministers and community youth group leaders in Vriezenveen, Overijssel, said they wanted to ‘create a bit of consciousness’ about the song by the Leiden-based rapper Jebroer.

The lyrics include the lines: ‘I’m a child of the devil. Mum, you don’t have to cry. Party like every day is my last, I hope you play this at my funeral.’

Church leaders attributed the song’s popularity to its catchy tune, but told parents they were concerned about the contents of the lyrics. Youth leader Niels Koerssen said: This is – in the negative sense – far more than just a song.’

In the letter, the church stressed it was not trying to ban the song or ‘ask children to keep out of the world we live in,’ but said it contained ‘many wrong ideas and encouraged the wrong sort of behaviour.’

The majority of Vriezenveen’s 14,000-strong population are affiliated with the Protestant Reformed Churches of the Netherlands.