Nu Thang
About
Nu Thang is a viral video starring a young boy wearing a purple "Jesus is Lord" shirt rapping a song called "Nu Thang". It has inspired several remixes and parody videos.
Origin
The Christian rap group DC Talk released it's second album in 1990 titled "Nu Thang", which contained the a track by the same name. The cover starring the child was uploaded to YouTube on April 26th 2011.
Lyrics
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Ya know He's doin' it God is doin' a nu thang Ya know He's doin' it God is doin' a nu thang Ya know He's doin' it God is doin' a nu thang Ya know He's doin' it God is doin' a nu thang My God is doin' a brand nu thang But, since time began, He remains the same Faithful, forever to His word And solid, a cornerstone unstirred But, look down through the ages and you will find God doesn't change, but He knows the time From harp to piano, and song to rap Ya know, God's wit us, so we can not lack and so (chorus) God is doin' a nu thang In our lives so… We're doin' a nu thang Through Jesus Christ God is doin' a nu thang Through our music |
We're doin' a nu thang So He can use it God's usin' this music and we're comin' strong DC Talkin', often singin' a song To make ya think twice 'bout the way thatcha live And, let ya know Christ is the one that'll give Peace in ya heart, a nu start Call on the Lord, and he'll do His part A brand nu thang to ya raggedy walk He might just match it up to that big ol' talk (repeat chorus) (bridge-repeat intro) Like an MC, I'm here to boast I rap about Christ, yo here's a dose So loud and proud of the God I serve Try to say He ain't wit it…huh, ya got nerve Christ is the reason for dc Talk He's the focus of our daily walk, y'all Without him, we ain't nothin' but names But through God, we're doin' brand nu thangs (repeat chorus) God is doin' a nu thang We're doin' a nu thang [5x] |
The Kid
The singing kid in the video is 29 year old Michael Clancy, a lawyer from Phoenix, AZ, and was 10 years old at the time the video took place in 1992. He uses the YouTube account "lawforthemasses".[1]
When questioned by HyperVocal, he had this to say about his first reaction to the video:
"I was notified by my friend Jordan via Facebook that he saw a video that he thought was me. This was when the video only had 74,000 views. After I had a minor freak out, I contacted the user who posted it, “conradcliff” and told him who I was. I didn’t know him. We exchanged emails and he told me his uncle, who is an executive with CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) had sent him the video thinking it was him as a boy. When he saw it, he 'just knew it would go viral.' He was right." [2]
Spread
The video saw a significant increase in views when it was posted to Reddit on April 29th, 2011, and subsequently hit the front page.[3] The following day it was posted to The Daily What.[4]
Search
Search queries for "nu thang" saw an enormous spike following the upload of the video to YouTube at the end of April.
Derivatives
External References
[1] YouTube – lawforthemasses
[2] HyperVocal – EXCLUSIVE: Meet Michael Clancy, the Young Lawyer From That Nu Thang Viral Video / 5/4/2010
[3] Reddit – For some reason this kid's rap career never took off… / 4/29/2011
[4] The Daily What – Oh God No of the Day / 4/30/2011
