If you want to know what a protest song sounds like in 2025, don’t go looking for distortion pedals and three-chord punk riffs. Try instead the booming, gospel-rooted, beat-driven call of DPB’s “American Strong.” It’s not subtle, and it’s not supposed to be. This is music designed to grab you by the collar, look you dead in the eye, and remind you that faith, love, and justice are not mutually exclusive — they’re inseparable.
David Paul Brooks — known in Christian hip-hop circles simply as DPB — has been doing this longer than most artists who call themselves “conscious” even knew what a rhyme scheme was. He’s a veteran of the Disciples of Christ, a group that helped build the foundations of positive rap in the ‘90s before streaming turned the industry into a digital lottery. He’s not chasing algorithms. He’s delivering ministry. And “American Strong” is his latest sermon — one that thunders with a righteous urgency that feels earned.
This is not the kind of flag-waving, boot-stomping, blind patriotism that has infected parts of the American songbook. No, “American Strong” has more in common with Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” than with any country-radio bumper sticker hit. It’s a song that looks at the fractures in our national soul and chooses faith as the glue. It doesn’t deny the pain. It confronts it. But it also refuses to give up on the idea that we can be better, together.
“Stop the division, love is our mission,” DPB raps, and it’s clear he means it. These are not slogans for a T-shirt. They’re beliefs built from the ground up, through years of ministry, community work, and personal struggle. His voice is gravel-thick and full of conviction. It’s not polished, but that’s exactly the point. It’s real. And in a music industry full of synthetic sentiment, that alone is worth paying attention to.
The beat is clean, radio-ready even, but what carries this track isn’t the production — it’s the message. “We wrote this song just become as one,” he repeats like a spiritual incantation. And in a world that’s more fractured than ever — divided by race, ideology, fear — that phrase cuts through the noise with prophetic clarity. He’s not saying we’re there. He’s saying we have to work for it. Every verse. Every chorus. Every choice.
There’s a line in the middle of the song that lands like a thunderclap: “To put God back in so we can have liberty.” That’s DPB at his most transparent. He’s not hiding his convictions behind metaphor. He’s saying straight out: the foundation of freedom is faith, and the foundation of faith is love. If that makes you uncomfortable, good. That’s what real gospel music has always done — not soothe, but stir.
DPB isn’t here to entertain the culture. He’s here to confront it. “American Strong” honors the fallen, uplifts the struggling, and challenges the rest of us to stop playing safe. It’s not about party lines or patriot games. It’s about justice. It’s about love. It’s about a higher calling that starts with recognizing our shared humanity. “We are one,” he chants over and over, not to convince you — but to remind you.
In a better world, “American Strong” would be the kind of song sung in classrooms and community centers, not just churches and faith radio. It’s that essential. It’s that bold. And it’s that rare — a modern hymn for a country still trying to figure out who it is.
DPB didn’t just release a single. He released a challenge. And it echoes with every beat.
–Robert Christman