For centuries, songs have defined cultures, feelings, values and society itself during the time the song was written. Today, the rates at which values have changed over the years have increased drastically and have been mostly detrimental.

"Free From It All" by Lecrae, part of the album Gravity, was released in 2012 and is one of the poems that stands out the most in comparison with the other works in this album. I chose this song for a few important reasons. This song brings awareness to values that have shaped society today into the way it is: corrupt. His song cautions us on social approval, appearances, and the fear rejection; he doesn’t support the “normal” side, but rather the opposite.

Approval, a value that Lecrae’s song touches upon, is something unnecessary. As previously stated, the society that we live in today continues to decay, our generation continues to crumble. In this society, where the approval of others has been etched into the minds of every young man and woman as they get older, forms an ultimatum.

Society forces people to believe that they must change themselves in order to be accepted and if not, be rejected. This mindset creates a pressure in the heads of many teenagers in today’s society. In this reflection of society, he says,“You live for their acceptance, you die from their rejection...”

Nowadays, people in society strive to be accepted. They go out of their way to do things that are deemed acceptable by society, but that go against the morals they grew up with. They dress differently, they act differently, they talk differently, they listen to different music, and they do what is “cool.”

If they are not accepted, they struggle because the identity that they once had, they gave up, and the identity that they took ownership of was not accepted and they enter an identity crisis. Lecrae says, “Life is a cage, a prison of everyone’s approval... Live for everyone else gotcha losin’ yourself...”

That’s exactly how society functions as of today, a prison. The time wasted seeking approval, in the end, is the same amount of time wasted rotting in a prison. This is the reason why society continues to crumble; acceptance today is yes or no.

Another value that Lecrae speaks of is appearances, which ties in with approval and rejection. In the beginning of his song he says, “Round of applause, I pause to take a photo op, none of it's real; it’s just PhotoShopped, crop out my flaws and failures, my aches and all my ailments, now I’m picture perfect, take all my dirt and conceal it.”

Many people today focus completely on appearances; they have to look good to be accepted. They “remove” their flaws and failures, and they hide their faults and weakness and now they seem perfect. In reality, everything is concealed. He goes on to say, “No grace and no exceptions, all they want is perfection, the man in the mirror can’t even see his reflection...”

This is how many people feel today: locked up in a tight box, feeling as though they have to be a certain way, and there aren’t exceptions because society wants perfection. When these people look to themselves, when they do a self-evaluation they no longer see themselves, they see someone else. Their appearance no longer belongs to them.

Lecrae: “Insecure people obsessed with leaving impressions, ladies spending time on their faces, painting pretty lines, to you and me it’s makeup, to her it’s her disguise, you look her in the eyes and see her soul cry, ‘cause living for other people’s got her living a lie...”

Many people today can relate to this, sometimes the people that appear to be the most secure, popular and accepted are the ones who are most insecure. Sometimes it’s the people who do the rejecting are the ones who are in a disguise. Which is why it seems pleasing to the eyes of many who look at society as a whole and want to be accepted, but it’s just a false appearance. They only look at the cover of the book, but there isn’t anything on the pages. It all leads to emptiness. This creates a false hope in society because acceptance is based on appearances.

Finally, comes rejection, a process that renders difficult for many and a path that many go down. Lecrae shows what many people do in order to be accepted. Lecrae: “Fight for acceptance and struggle so you don’t ever lose it, but livin’ for their acceptance has got us stressing... They say they love you, but it’s easy to fall from their grace...”

Very frequently, as people fight a battle for acceptance, they lose and ultimately are rejected; a difficult phase. After all the work these people wasted changing their own appearance to mirror others by changing the way they speak, the way they act, the way they dress, they are rejected. Once they hit rock bottom, they give up and they turn to other things to make themselves feel better about the rejection, involving themselves with drugs, meaningless sex and other things that seem fulfilling but are not.

Near the end of the song, Lecrae says, “Why be a slave when you were made to be free from the guilt? To be free from the shame, you are more than a name, if you go down you got the freedom to get up again...”

Even though they fall, he shows that it’s not the end. The weight of rejection or the weight of trying to be accepted should not be something not to worry about. “Many winners will lose, many heroes will fall...”

If you fall, you can get up again and be free from it all.

Society carries values that are extremely detrimental. The cons outweigh the pros. From the struggle of trying to be accepted, to the changing of appearances to look pleasing to others, to the ultimate downfall: rejection, there wages a constant war. Learning to disregard the negative thoughts of others and embrace one's true identity could be one of the many solutions to how this crumbling and corrupt society can be rebuilt, but it’s not that easy. Many face battles, some are won and some are lost, but the ultimate battle is the war. We must decide to be free from it all.

This song means a lot to me because it is more evident each and every day. It’s eye-opening, especially in a society where most people my age seem lost. I went possibly too far into detail, maybe a bit carried away, and even off topic, but therein lies the power of music.