Holy Hypocrisy: Christian Label Suspends Rapper for Extramarital Affair

After the music site DaGospelTruth.com revealed that several gospel artists were having extramarital affairs, Christian record label Cross Movement Records (CMR) announced that it had suspended rapper Da T.R.U.T.H. (whose real name is Emanuel L. Lambert, Jr.).

(For details on the scandal, read 'Love Triangle Takes on a Whole New Meaning! The Story Unfolds About Tye Tribbett & Da T.R.U.T.H.')

The Philadelphia-bred rapper's alleged extramarital affair with the wife of his friend and fellow gospel singer had been the topic of discussion on the gospel rumor mill for several weeks before the Grammy nominee announced his hiatus from the industry.

Da T.R.U.T.H. essentially confirmed the speculation when he posted a statement on his personal Web site, www.DaTruth.net, announcing that he was taking "a sabbatical from music ministry and teaching" due to a "moral indiscretion" in his "personal life."

CMR has now released a statement announcing that the strict Bible-based music label will not permanently sever ties with Da T.R.UT.H. but would temporarily institute a "suspension of the promotion and forwarding of" of the two-time Stellar Award winner.

The statement continued: "While obedience to the Word of God is the high standard for all who name the name of Christ, for the Christian leader, the standards and the consequences are even greater. We at CMR plead for your prayers for our brother Da Truth whom we sincerely love. We also ask for your prayers for his wife, his family, his Pastor, his Elders and Church during this very hard time in their lives. In addition, we both thank and applaud Da Truth for his letter of confession found on his site, as well as ours. We declare that in Da Truth's case, in light of all the circumstances, in light of the authoritative stand by which he preached, and in the case of the Christian leader, this should be the commendable example of the responsible servant."

No word from CMR or Da T.R.U.T.H. on how long the "suspension" or "sabbatical" will be.

Da T.R.U.T.H., who has taken a very public stance against non-Christian music artists – unaffectionately called "secular artists" by churchgoers -- is not the first rapper to come under fire from CMR for alleged adultery.

The label dropped rapper The Ambassador back in May and then posted a statement explaining why to fans.

"It is with much grief, severe disappointment and an overwhelming fear of the Lord that Cross Movement Records is sad to announce that we will be discontinuing the forwarding and promotion of the Artist and Minister, The Ambassador AKA William "Duce" Branch, due to recent findings of moral failure in his marriage. It is CMR's past, current and prayerfully, future position that living in moral compromise is unacceptable and never allowable in the lives of any of the ministers that we co-labor with. We continue to hold up the teachings of Christ as the standard for all Christians and especially those in Christian leadership and public ministry. Although it is a rare find these days, discipline is still one of the true marks of the true Church."

Do you think the label should have suspended Da T.R.U.T.H.?