Christian rapper nobigdyl says Instagram restricted song contrasting Jesus, Allah for violating 'local law'

Christian rapper nobigdyl said Instagram restricted one of his recent videos, which included Christian themes and contrasted Jesus with the gods of other religions, from being viewed in the United States after the platform claimed it violated “local law.”

In a series of Instagram posts shared on Jan. 5, the Atlanta-based artist, whose real name is Dylan Phillips, said he was notified that access to the video for the song “Got a Reason,” a collaboration with fellow Christian rapper KB, had been limited following what Instagram described as a legal request. 

According to screenshots posted by nobigdyl, the platform said it reviewed the content and restricted it “in the location where it goes against local law.”

“Instagram just restricted my content from the US because according to them it violated ‘local law,’” nobigdyl wrote. “Not their policies, the law.”

The artist, who was named the Fan Favorite in NPR's annual Tiny Desk Contest two years in a row, shared an image from Instagram’s notification explaining the decision, which stated that the company had received a legal request to restrict the content and conducted both a policy review and a legal and human rights assessment before limiting access.

Instagram, owned by Meta, did not specify which law the content allegedly violated.

Nobigdyl later posted some of the lyrics from the video that was restricted, which included references to Jesus’ resurrection, biblical passages and Christian communion imagery, while also contrasting Christian beliefs with other religious traditions.

“[I]f He got up — it’s up/ He got up — it’s up/ this is not Buddha, Allah, Krishna, Joseph such and such,” the lyrics read, in part. “Corinthians — I move in love I can’t be puffin up/ i ain’t got nothin' to say to the devil, I let God rough him up/ 10,000 legions at his right hand, let’s see who runnin' up/ hand me that passage in the Talmud, I feel like cuttin' up.”

In a series of follow-up posts, nobigdyl contrasted his experience with what he described as other controversial content remaining accessible on the platform. He referenced seeing a video involving Nick Fuentes that included racial slurs and hate speech, questioning why that material appeared to circulate freely while his own video was restricted.

“Meanwhile, I just saw a video where Nick Fuentes freely uses the word n----- (and 4 other slurs) on multiple accounts going viral,” he wrote.

“I wonder what ‘law’ I broke that Nick did not with his racist, xenophobic, hate-speech filled rant,” nobigdyl wrote. “I wonder what the real issue is with my content.”

In his final post, nobigdyl encouraged fans to stream the song elsewhere, referring to the verse as “law-breaking” in a sarcastic nod to Instagram’s explanation.

“Anyway, stream the law-breaking, Instagram-banned verse on ‘Got a Reason,’” he wrote.

Nobigdyl, who was recently featured on Jackie Hill Perry’s new album, has often spoken about faith, free expression and the challenges of navigating mainstream platforms as a Christian artist.

The rapper previously shared with NPR that his "beliefs and faith" affect "everything" he does, though he doesn't care for the label "Christian rapper." 

"I do have a different approach to thinking about how to care for the listener, considering where they are, how this can help them, making sure things are packaged in a way where I'm loving God and loving them. But that's my entire life, so I just apply what I apply to my life to the music," he said.

"I love CHH [Christian hip-hop]. I love it, not because it's like this exclusive group or niche. I love it because I've seen the effect, the positive effect, on so many people. So, if I didn't see that, then I honestly wouldn't care about it, because it's all hip-hop to me. ... When people ask me what I do, I just say I'm a rapper. If somebody identifies me as a Christian rapper, I'd never correct them, you know what I mean? Listen to the music and whatever you call me, that's what I am."

This is not the first time Instagram has been accused of censoring Christian content. In 2020, Bethel Music's Sean Feucht claimed Twitter, Facebook and Instagram censored his posts that contained videos of praise and worship.

Feucht wrote, "This is what we've come to in America! Instagram is now classifying my WORSHIP videos as 'harmful or false information' Religious Liberty? Freedom of Speech? Big Tech censorship?" he wrote at the time. 

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who's also a former Attorney General for Missouri, weighed in on the drama, tweeting his support for the worship leader-evangelist at the time. 

"Cancel culture meets #BigTech. Now @instagram is censoring a Christian worship leader who wants to post videos of praise and worship from places where there has recently been unrest. And that doesn't meet 'community standards'? Can't wait to hear the explanation for this."