Christian hip-hop artist nobigdyl said Instagram recently limited access to one of his videos in the United States, claiming the platform told him the content violated “local law” despite containing explicitly Christian themes.
In a series of posts shared Jan. 5, the Atlanta-based rapper, whose real name is Dylan Phillips, said he received a notification from Instagram stating that his video for the song Got a Reason, a collaboration with fellow Christian rapper KB, had been restricted following what the platform described as a legal request.
According to screenshots posted by the artist, Instagram said it had reviewed the content and limited its visibility “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 has been named Fan Favorite in NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest two years in a row, shared an image of Instagram’s notice explaining that the company had received a legal request and conducted a policy, legal, and human rights review before restricting access.
Instagram’s parent company, Meta, did not specify which law the video allegedly violated.
Nobigdyl later posted excerpts from the restricted verse, noting that the lyrics referenced Jesus’ resurrection, biblical teachings, and Christian communion imagery while contrasting Christianity with other religious beliefs.
“[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 follow-up posts, the rapper questioned the platform’s enforcement standards, contrasting his experience with other content he said remains accessible. He referenced seeing a video involving Nick Fuentes that included racial slurs and hate speech, asking why that material was allowed to circulate while his faith-based video was restricted.
In his final post on the matter, nobigdyl urged fans to listen to the song on other platforms, using sarcasm to reference 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 latest album, has frequently spoken about faith, artistic expression, and the difficulties Christian artists face on mainstream digital platforms.
The incident adds to ongoing accusations that social media companies disproportionately restrict Christian content. In 2020, Sean Feucht of Bethel Music alleged that multiple platforms censored his worship videos.
“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?” Feucht wrote at the time.
