10 Commandment Songs: A Few Kept, Most Broken | Playlist 🎧

10 Commandment Songs: A Few Kept, Most Broken features music courtesy of Adele, Behemoth, Omar Apollo, Taylor Swift & The Winstons among others.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another, That your joy may be full!” Truth, truth, and more truth. That said, on The Musical Hype, all the music we come across isn’t nearly as pure or innocent as the 🎙 Cedarmont Kids classic.  Let’s face it, popular music is secular to the nth degree.  It isn’t necessarily concerned with a moral compass and certainly not – wait for it – GOD.  Musicians and people alike break those Ten Commandments mentioned in The Bible (Exodus 20: 3 – 17) CONSISTENTLY.  That said, to be fair, there are some musicians who incorporate morality and spirituality into their craft.  That means that our 43rd compendium of 2022, 🎧 10 Commandment Songs: A Few Kept, Most Broken, has a mix of good and bad.  Yeah, it’s more ‘bad’ and commandment-breaking than good but at least someone’s trying to uphold those commandments, 😂! 

This isn’t the first time The Musical Hype has tackled the Ten Commandments.  There have been two previous commandment-fueled lists, both written in 2018: 🎧 10 Songs Where the Ten Commandments Were Broken and 🎧 10 MORE Songs Where the Ten Commandments Were Broken.  Neither were intended to be preachy or promote a specific agenda – they were compiled in good fun.  The same can be said of this new edition, 🎧 10 Commandment Songs: A Few Kept, Most Broken, which features musical selections courtesy of 🎙 Adele, 🎙 Behemoth, 🎙 Omar Apollo, 🎙 Taylor Swift, and 🎙 The Winstons among others.  This compendium is all in good fun and a bit more challenging to complete.  After spending weeks as part of the backlog, 🎧 10 Commandment Songs: A Few Kept, Most Broken finally comes to light!  

1. Behemoth, “Havohej Pantocrator”  

💿 I Loved You at Your Darkest • 🏷 Metal Blade • 📅 2018

“Our father, who art in hell / Unhallowed be thy name / Thy legions come / Thy enemies begone / On earth as it is in the netherworld.” 🚨 Certainly NOT The Lord’s Prayer 🎙 Behemoth! That’s HERESY 101 if I do say so myself, 🎙 Nergal 🚫 ✝. Throughout their brilliant 2018 album, 💿 I Loved You at Your Darkest, metal collective Behemoth consistently exhibit anti-Christian and anti-religion sentiments.  According to the front man, “It doesn’t get more blasphemous than this”. True and hella damning. A prime example of this blasphemy is the song at hand, 🎵 “Havohej Pantocrator.” If Nergal were ‘playing nice,’ that title should be Christ [Jehovah] Pantocrator. Ultimately, it’s a clever reverse of a famous icon – ‘Havohej’ is merely ‘Jehovah’ spelled backwards.  As for Pantocrator,  it simply means “the omnipotent lord of the universe: almighty ruler.”  Put the two together, and Behemoth are clearly crowning the Antichrist as the supreme deity. That’s not in line with the first commandment: ✝ 3 You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3)!  

“By thou holy name, Satan 

And his command 

Heaven shall burn! 

By thou holy name, Lucifer 

At his command 

Heaven shall blaze!”

Hmm, could a case be made for Nergal and Behemoth to be damned deeper in the pits of hell per Dante’s Inferno?  

Appears in 🔻:  

• 13 Disturbing Songs About the Antichrist (2018)  
• 15 Songs That Reference Things Associated with Religion (2019)
• 11 Songs Filled with Satanic Themes (2019) 
• 10 Musicians Who Possess Unique Beliefs or Oppose Religion (2020)
• Inferno 😈🔥 II: More Songs Reppin’ 9 Circles of Hell (2020) 

2. Doja Cat, “Woman”  

💿 Planet Her • 🏷 Kemosabe / RCA • 📅 2021 

With the release of 💿 Planet Her, 🏆 Grammy-nominated pop [genre-bending] artist 🎙 Doja Cat (Amala Dlamini) dropped the best album of her career.  Planet Her features no shortage of highlights including the ‘feminine’ song at hand, 🎵 “Woman.” “Woman” commences Planet Her exceptionally.  That said, ‘Houston, we have a problem!’ 

“Baby, worship my hips and waist / So feminine with grace…” 🚨 Uh-oh! “Worship my hips and waist?” You can’t do that men and Doja Cat, you oughta be ashamed of yourself for encouraging it! Don’t you know that God is jealous and doesn’t approve of worshipping ANYTHING other than him? As Exodus 20:4-5 clearly states: 

✝ 4 You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…  (Exodus 20:4-5)  

You’re not allowed to worship women! Furthermore, you’re not allowed to worship men either! God is ‘jelly,’ and not the kind you put on biscuits or toast!  Also sketchy: “I touch your soul when you hear me say, ‘Boy’ / Let me be your woman.”  She touches his soul? 🚨 Shouldn’t that be G-O-D? Otherwise, Doja delivers a surefire bop! She begins Planet Her with some groove – always a plus.  The chorus is repetitive but ultimately sweet.    

“Woman 

Let me be your woman 

Woman, woman, woman 

I can be your woman.”  

As for the verses, Dlamini paints the various roles of women. The first verse is sung and smoother in quality, while the second features those aggressive, gives no fucks bars. Yeah, probably should’ve used another word other than for under consent of the king – oops! All told, “Woman” is one hell of a way to kick off Planet Her – fitting!

Appears in 🔻:  

• 13 W Songs: No Rhyme or Reason (2021) 

3. Adele, “Oh My God” 

💿 30 • 🏷 Melted Stone / Columbia • 🗓 2021

Honestly, I can think of a pair of 🎙 Behemoth songs that would qualify for the misuse of God’s name – “God = Dog” and the aforementioned 🎵 “Havohej Pantocrator”. 🚨 Reversing God’s names = not cool per the third commandment:  ✝ 7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. That said, is God cool with the oft-used, desensitized phrase, “Oh my God?” Probably not, hence why we opt for an 🎙 Adele (Adele Adkins) song as opposed to something heavier, more devilish.  Of course, depending on whom you ask, the devilish thing might actually ‘hold water’.  

“Oh, my God, I can’t believe it 

Out of all the people in the world 

What is the likelihood of jumping 

Out of my life and into your arms?” 

Ah, Adele, you 🏆 Academy award/Grammy winner, you – you’ve been caught red-handed 🚨! At least, 🎵 “Oh My God” is a wonderful song that keeps 💿 30 engaging, sinful, and commandment-breaking or not!  The sound of the record (🎛 Greg Kurstin) embraces modern pop while not compromising Adele’s core sound. “Oh My God” is energetic, rhythmic, and tuneful throughout. That sinful chorus is the centerpiece, exploring the plight that is love.  “Teetering on the edge of Heaven and Hell / Is a battle that I cannot fight,” she sings at the end of the chorus. Is she being explicitly Christian with the lyric? NO! this song is about love and NOT God’s love 😜! 

4. Kanye West, “Closed on Sunday” 

💿 JESUS IS KING • 🏷 Getting Out Our Dreams / Def Jam • 📅 2019

🎵 “Closed on Sunday,” an intriguing song from 💿 JESUS IS KING, runs past two-and-a-half minutes. 🎙 Kanye West works with a minor key, and there’s a sense of enigma regarding the production work. Besides his own production skills, he produces with 🎛 Brian ‘AllDay’, Frederico Vindver, Angel Lopez, and perhaps most notably, Timbaland.  Even with that many producers, “Closed on Sunday” is subdued, almost signaling that sense of the Sabbath Day – a day to praise, reflect, and refrain from work. 👼 Ah, that means that in this instance, a commandment isn’t being broken but rather, being kept! ✝ 8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God… 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. 🙌 🙌 🙌 

Of course, the lyric that most stands out appear right at the onset, via the chorus: “Closed on Sunday, you’re my Chick-fil-A”.  At a most basic level, Chick-fil-A is a Christian fast-food restaurant that is closed on Sunday, like many places were back in the day.  Despite the fact that there’s no commandment-breaking, this is a controversial lyric, given the organization’s controversies, specifically regarding the LGBTQ+ 🏳️‍🌈 community 🚨. Beyond the Chick-fil-A talk, West tones things down singing, “Hold the selfies, put the ‘Gram away / Get your family, y’all hold hands and pray / … No more livin’ for the culture, we nobody’s slave.”  If nothing else, “Closed on Sunday” is a compelling discussion piece, and as the linked Genius article suggests, finds the 🏆 Grammy winner in a different mindset compared to the past.   

Appears in 🔻:  

• 11 Superb Sunday Songs (2021) 

5. The Winstons, “Color Him Father”  

💿 Color Him Father • 🏷 Metromedia • 📅 1969

“There’s a man at my house, he’s so big and strong / He goes to work each day, and he stays all day long.” That’s admirable.  Furthermore, “He comes home each night, looking tired and beat,” he never frowns, asking “How’s my child?” As these lyrics suggest, believe it or not, not everybody is out trying to break the ten commandments 👼. 🎙 The Winstons deliver one of the positive examples on 🎧 10 Commandment Songs: A Few Kept, Most Broken: 🎵 “Color Him Father” from their 1969 album of the same title. How did they deliver a positive example? Well, the collective highlights how special a loving, dedicated father is.

“I think I’ll color this man father 

I think I’ll color him love 

Said I’m gonna color him father 

I think I’ll color the man love, yes, I will.”

The chorus is incredibly memorable and more importantly, thoughtful and touching.  It 👼 exemplifies the fifth commandment: ✝ 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.  Making “Color Him Father” even more thoughtful is the fact that we learn this man who is ‘colored’ father isn’t the biological father! See Exhibit B, the second verse:   

“Our real old man, he got killed in the war 

And she knows she and seven kids couldn’t of gotten very far 

She said she thought that she could never love again 

And then there he stood with that big wide grin 

He married my mother, and he took us in 

And now we belong to the man with that big wide grin.”  

Wow, the feels, the feels, the feels given off this top 10 (no. 7) Billboard Hot 100 📈 hit. Also, deservedly, The Winstons were nominated for a 🏆 Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group.  🎵 “Color Him Father” is a song that the man upstairs can get behind 🙌!

Appears in 🔻:  

• The Winstons, “Color Him Father”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 41 (2022) 

6. Omar Apollo, “Killing Me”  

💿 Ivory • 🏷 Warner • 🗓 2022

“What I do makes me wonder if I’m alight / Holding back feelings like it’s the end of my life.” Woo – don’t die 🎙 Omar Apollo! Whoever is killing my boy Omar on 🎵 “Killing Me”, a single from his 2022, full-length, debut album, 💿 Ivory, is breaking one of the ten commandments 🚨! As the scripture reads, ✝ 13 “You shall not murder.” Credited as the sole songwriter, Apollo produces on this ‘murderous’ cut alongside 🎛 Mike Hector, Carter Lang, and Oscar Santander.

The sound of “Killing Me” isn’t ‘killer,’ but it is certainly a big time V-I-B-E.  Omar Apollo excels with a chill, guitar-fueled backdrop. The production has an R&B aesthetic. Vocally, he sings with ease, never forcing things.  Even his scandalous f-bomb slips right off the tongue with little force: “Love me like I’m gonna die / Fuck me like you fantasize.” Woo! 🚨 Well, Omar, you’re not innocent, buddy, as profanity technically breaks the third commandment, ✝ 7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Damn 🚨 – I mean – well, I guess most of us are commandment breakers then! Thematically, “Killing Me” isn’t about murder but rather those pesky matters of the heart – LOVE.  “That’s right, you’re killing me,” he asserts in the chorus, as he analyzes the universal four-letter word.  Even if he’s utterly sinful, he sings well, the music is chill, and the theme and lyrics are enjoyable, relatable, and effective.   

Appears in 🔻:  

• Awesome Songs: March 2022 

7. Taylor Swift, “illicit affairs” 

💿 folklore • 🏷 Taylor Swift • 📅 2020 

“And you know damn well / For you, I would ruin myself / A million little times.” 🚨 Um, 🎙 Taylor Swift, you know you just broke a commandment, right? Sure, damn isn’t the worst swear word – a baby swear by my estimations – but, it still counts as profanity, technically, breaking the third commandment:  ✝ 7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Not to judge but the 🏆 Grammy winner has done worse with the potty mouth (Remember when she said, “Fuck the patriarchy” in 🎵 “All Too Well”). Anyways, this isn’t about some damn profanity.  It’s about a different commandment: ✝ 14 “You shall not commit adultery.  🎵 “illicit affairs,” which hails from 💿 folklore, one of Swift’s best albums to date, explores adultery.

In the context of folklore, “Illicit Affairs” has two very tough acts to follow (🎵 “august” and 🎵 “this is me trying”).  Even so, she doesn’t relinquish any momentum.  “Make sure nobody sees you leave,” she sings in the first verse, continuing, “Hood over your head, keep your eyes down / tell your friends you’re out for a run / You’ll be flushed when you return.” 🚨 Again, commandments broken! Swift encourages him to bear false witness against his neighbors (aka friends) + it’s clear this ‘get together’ is secret… Throughout, Swift must hide the relationship.  While the song is framed as an affair in the adulterous sense, the Geniuses absolve Swift of adultery, paralleling “illicit affairs” to her secret relationship with British actor, 🎭 Joe Alwyn.  My favorite part of this commandment-breaking number is… the bridge.

8. Juice WRLD, “Robbery”  

💿 Death Race for Love • 🏷 Grade A / Interscope • 📅 2019

The ‘big moment’ on 💿 Death Race for Love, the 2019 album by 🎙 Juice WRLD, is undoubtedly the infectious, irresistible hit single, 🎵 “Robbery”. “Robbery” features major-key production, fueled by some sweet piano 🎹 lines.  Even so, Juice WRLD has been ‘robbed’ of love (“She told me put my heart in the bag (in the bag) / And nobody gets hurt (nobody)”).  In this case, the rapper is the victim, much like 🎙 Omar Apollo was in 🎵 “Killing Me” (“What I do makes me wonder if I’m alight / Holding back feelings like it’s the end of my life”).  🚨 Whoever has robbed must know that they have broken the eighth commandment: ✝ 15 “You shall not steal.  Throughout “Robber,” his vocals are highly expressive, exaggerated to an extent, and imperfect in pitch.  Even so, this grit and pain he showcases in the chorus is quite appealing and charming.

In addition to the superb chorus, Juice is also ‘on’ during the verses.  One of his best moments occurs in the first verse in which he brilliantly combines a slurred vocal approach with drunken lyrics (“And now I’m drinkin’ too much, so I’ma talk with a slur”). In the same verse, he questions the legitimacy of her love.  In the second verse, he kicks the emo ‘up a notch,’ by “getting high when you don’t decide to answer” as well as “Throwing rocks at your window…” 🚨 Hmm, probably shouldn’t destroy her property though 😬, and I’m sure God has something to say about ‘getting high.’ Maybe you’re not that innocent, Juice?

Also appears on 🔻:  

• 50 Best Songs of 2019 (So Far) 
• 13 Songs That Perfectly Capture the Plight of Love (2020) 
• Crime: 5ive Songs No. 42 (2021) 

9. Lizzo, “Rumors” (Ft. Cardi B) 

🎵 “Rumors” • 🏷 Nice Life / Atlantic • 📅 2021 

“They don’t know I do it for the culture, goddamn / They say I should watch the shit I post, oh, goddamn.” 🎙 Lizzo comes out swinging from the get-go on 🎵 “Rumors”.  Of course, she also makes 🚨 God mad with that profanity, sigh. I mean, the shit 💩 is bad enough but, goddamn, Lizzo? ✝ 7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.  🏆 Grammy-winning pop artist is feisty and unapologetic; she has a bone to pick with the haters.  Her attitude = IDGAF – NONE! She’s assisted by fellow 🏆 Grammy winner, 🎙 Cardi B.

“Rumors” keeps things brief but potent – well – depending on whom you ask. Lizzo 🚨 flips the bird to the haters and uses adversity as fuel for her fire.  Why? Basically, she believes they are (1) being overcritical and (2) 🚨 breaking the ninth commandment, of course – ✝ 16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.  Though I never thought I’d cite him 😏, Pat Robertson says the following regarding the ninth commandment:  

But the commandment against bearing false witness has a much broader application. Outside the context of the courts, it is termed slander. It is possible to bear false witness or slander by spreading rumors. 

Hey, the song is called “Rumors,” so, judging by Robertson’s interpretation, we’re onto something! Lizzo’s vocals are playful, sometimes pitched while rapped and un-pitched at others. The melodic pre-chorus includes the memorable lines, “If you thought that I was ratchet with my ass hangin’ out / Just wait until the summer when they let me out the house, bitch.” 🚨 Holy SHIITake mushrooms 🍄🍄🍄! Besides ample attitude and personality, the production work by 🎛 Ricky Reed is sensational (spirited brass, banging drum programming). The addition of Cardi B in the second verse is perfect: “Last time I got freaky, the FCC sued me / But I’ma keep doin’ what I wanna do / ‘Cause all the rumors are / All the rumors are true, yeah!” Lizzo and Cardi B make a formidable pair – two badass, unapologetic women! 🚨 Sorry God, I repent for my word choices 🙊🙊🙊!

Appears in 🔻:  

• Awesome Songs: August 2021
• R Songs: No Rhyme or Reason, Vol. 2 (2022) 

10. Trippie Redd, “6 Kiss” (Ft. YNW Melly & Juice WRLD) 

💿 A Love Letter to You 4 • 🏷 TenThousand Projects • 📅 2019 

QUESTION: how much does the 🎙 Trippie Redd song, 🎵 “6 Kiss” have to do with kissing or kisses? ANSWER: very little.  “6 Kiss” appears on the melodic rapper’s 2019 album, 💿 A Love Letter to You 4.  He enlists 🎙 YNW Melly and 🎙 Juice WRLD (RIP) for the assist on his SINFUL, SINFUL record.  Again, the kisses aren’t essential on this one. Juice WRLD kicks things off aggressively yet chill – oxymoronic, right? Unapologetic and sexed-up, he asserts, “Do whatever I want, don’t give a fuck, live my life / … I got your wife, she my slut, she take nut…” 🚨 Ooh wee! Clearly, Juice WRLD is breaking commandment after commandment after commandment.  First of all, he ‘fucks’ around and breaks the third commandment, ✝ 7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Yeah, you can’t say for under consent of the king, Juice!  Then, he 🚨 breaks the seventh commandment, ✝ 14 “You shall not commit adultery.  Dawg, you said yourself that she belongs to someone else, yet you’re messing around with her.  Savage! Also, it 🚨 breaks the tenth commandment: ✝ 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” So sinful, Juice!  

Juice doesn’t stop there, insulting those who aren’t on his level, stating, “It’s funny how you pussy, but you never been inside one.” Now that’s just disrespectful! YNW Melly follows, focused on his joystick early on (“Nut, my kids, she swallow them” 🍆💦👅), as well as towards the end of his verse (“Chillin’ on that couch, fuck your bitch in her mouth” 🍆👅💦).  YNW Melly is also a 🚨 commandment breaker – three (with his fuckery, and referring to her as a bitch), seven/ten (sleeping with someone else’s wife). Finally, Trippie closes things out on the third verse, focusing most on living that “Fucking triple six life… that 6 kiss life 😈.” No, Trippie doesn’t worship Satan, but he sure messes around with 🎵 “The Number of the Beast” frequently.  Still, sounds like he’s 🚨 breaking the first commandment to me: ✝ 3 You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3)! Bad boys!!!  

Appears in 🔻:  

• Kisses: An Intriguing Compendium of Kiss Songs 💋 

10 Commandment Songs: A Few Kept, Most Broken (2022) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Atlantic, Columbia, Def Jam, Getting Out Our Dreams, Grade A, Interscope, Kemosabe, Melted Stone, Metal Blade, Metromedia, Nice Life, RCA, Taylor Swift, TenThousand Projects, Warner; Moondance, NoName_13 from Pixabay]