‘I think we made a mistake letting people in’: Worcester church officials, Fox News commentators criticize controversial rap music video shot inside
"To identify certain people as not good people, that’s over the top.”
In a recently released music video for his song “Devil’s Work,” rapper Joyner Lucas, a Worcester native, stands in one of the city’s churches and pleads with God to take the lives of people he believes are wrong, and give back people he believes deserve to live. Now, St. Peter’s church officials, who said they spoke with the rapper before filming took place, say they aren’t pleased with how the video turned out.Throughout the video, Lucas gulps down Hennessy cognac straight from the bottle and holds a large white Bible. People he believes should still be alive — Martin Luther King Jr., Michael Jackson, and rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. – have photos placed on top of coffins.
Joyner Lucas drinking Hennessy during the music video for his song, “Devil’s Work.”
Lucas also calls out President Donald Trump — a portion of the song lyrics refer to the president as “a bigger threat” — as well as Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren and Fox News host Laura Ingraham. All of them have photos placed atop coffins, too.
President Donald Trump’s photo on a coffin in rapper Joyner Lucas’s “Devil’s Work” music video.
The video was posted to YouTube on May 2. As of 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, it had well over 6.4 million views. Lucas, whose real name is Gary Maurice Lucas Jr., was nominated for two Grammy awards in 2019 – Best Rap Song for “Lucky You” and Best Music Video for “I’m Not Racist.”
The lyrics for “Devil’s Work,” riddled with expletives, question God’s “cherry pickin’” abilities of who dies and who remains alive.
“Give us back our loved ones and take the evil with you (Lord), Send them suckers straight to hell, they don’t need a vigil,” the song goes at one point.
Monsignor Francis Scollen said the parish will no longer allow videos to be shot within the church.
“I think we made a mistake letting people in,” he said in an interview with WHDH. “Our intention, his intention, I thought, I think he thought, too, was to make a statement on violence, the problem of evil in the world. … To identify certain people as not good people, that’s over the top.”
The video also prompted a response from Lahren on Twitter.
“Truly disgusting,” she wrote. “You don’t have to like me or respect me but this is too far. This isn’t ‘art’ it’s sick.”
Truly disgusting. You don’t have to like me or respect me but this is too far. This isn’t “art” it’s sick. https://t.co/hvKOGw4zCk
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) May 3, 2019
Lucas also shared what appears to be a screenshot of a direct message on Twitter from Lahren.
“Although I don’t appreciate you depicting and calling for my death in your latest music video, I would like to sit down and talk with you on or off camera,” she wrote. “Maybe we can find some common ground.”
Accompanying the screenshot, Lucas wrote, “I wonder how this conversation is gonna go.”
I wonder how this conversation is gonna go @TomiLahren 🤷🏽♂️ pic.twitter.com/pEn34LHvmG
— Joyner Lucas (@JoynerLucas) May 6, 2019
Watch the full music video (contains explicit language):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WrMzFlLk7Q
