There are moments when a song doesn’t just play through your headphones — it courses through your bloodstream like a call to something higher. “American Strong,” the latest single from Christian hip-hop torchbearer DPB, is exactly that. It’s a prayer disguised as a banger, a sermon riding the rhythm of a nation in need of healing, and an unfiltered expression of unity from a man who’s never been afraid to let his faith do the talking.
David Paul Brooks, aka DPB, isn’t new to this. He’s a veteran voice in the world of positive rap, having paved the road with the Grammy and Dove-nominated Disciples of Christ. Now, with “American Strong,” he stands solo but not alone, bringing every fiber of his purpose into a track that hits hard with both bass and belief.
The beat is infectious — a kinetic blend of marching drums and gospel-rooted pulse that seems to lift your spirit before the first lyric even lands. But when the words do come, they come with fire. From the jump, DPB chants “We are one yeah” like a sacred invocation. It’s not just repetition for the sake of rhythm. It’s repetition as a reminder. A rhythmic litany that says, Look around. We all bleed red. We all belong.
The heart of this track is its lyrics, which blend the poetic and the prophetic. Lines like “Stop the division, love is our mission” and “One for all and all for one” might read like slogans on paper, but in the context of DPB’s gravelly delivery and the song’s spiritual force, they carry the weight of lived experience. You hear the echoes of Sunday sermons, neighborhood rallies, and locker-room pep talks — all converging in a voice that speaks directly to the American moment.
But this isn’t some surface-level flag-waving exercise. “American Strong” is deeply rooted in scripture and spiritual conviction. It’s not red versus blue, black versus white, left versus right. It’s a declaration of divine design. “God created this great nation and each of us in His image,” DPB proclaims with unflinching sincerity. In a world obsessed with drawing lines, he’s out here erasing them. His message is simple: Unity is not optional. It’s essential.
The track hits its peak with verses like “No more judging, just loving” and “So let’s all grow in harmony that America can walk in its full glory.” There’s a near-revolutionary optimism here, but it’s anchored in humility. This isn’t a man preaching from a pedestal. It’s a fellow traveler, sleeves rolled up, ready to rebuild what’s broken with love as his toolkit.
What makes “American Strong” even more impactful is how DPB weaves in the musical DNA of church, hip-hop, and spoken word without losing cohesion. This is spiritual resistance music. It doesn’t scream. It declares. It doesn’t scold. It invites. It welcomes every listener — believer or skeptic, veteran or dreamer — into a space where being American is about shared values, not inherited labels.
It’s not flashy or dripping with pop polish. That’s the point. “American Strong” isn’t trying to seduce your ears. It’s trying to reach your heart. In a landscape where songs often fizzle out after the chorus, this one builds. Each refrain of “We wrote this song just become as one” piles on the urgency, like bricks laid for a foundation. This isn’t just a single. It’s a soundtrack for rebuilding.
So here we are, in a world frayed at the edges, where cynicism often gets more airtime than hope. And then along comes DPB, with a beat, a Bible, and a belief that we can still get this thing right. “American Strong” isn’t the anthem we’re used to hearing. It’s the one we’ve been needing.
You don’t just listen to this song. You rise with it. You remember with it. You believe again with it. DPB didn’t write a hit. He wrote a mission statement. And if enough of us take it to heart, maybe — just maybe — we’ll find our way back to each other.
–Lonnie Nabors