Christian hip hop

Christian hip hop (originally gospel rap, also known as holy hip hop or Christ hop) is a form of hip hop music which uses Christian themes to express the songwriter's faith. Only during the 1990s did the term "Christian hip hop" become descriptive of this type of music. While the audience is typically Christian, the music is also used in (Christian) missions work for the purpose of evangelization. Christian rap and hip hop artists are professed Christians who often use their background as a positive issue to spread their religion.

History

Stephen Wiley was the first artist with a commercially released and distributed gospel rap cassette with his 1985 tape Bible Break. Rev. DeWayne GoLightly, known to many as Rev. Rap was the first Christian Rap artist without a commercially released gospel rap cassette. Rev. Rap also began writing and sharing the gospel in rap in the fall of 1985 in Madisonville, Kentucky. He produced his first cassette titled The Word, (which includes his version of the Books of the Bible), and 5 other tracks in the summer of 1986. At age 54, Rev. Rap is the longest running Christian rapper. In his 22nd year of sharing gospel rap, he is considered one of the pioneers of the genre known as Christian rap/holy hip hop. More commercially successful was the crew known as P.I.D. (aka "Preachas In Disguise") who released two popular, funky Gospel rap recordings ("Here We Are" and "Back to Back"). There was another well known artist, the young Christian emcee Danny "D-Boy" Rodriguez, who was murdered in 1989 in Texas. A tribute album was recorded in 2006, The Fallen Soldier Compilation: A Tribute To D-Boy, featuring several underground Christian artists.

In the late 1980s, other crews emerged, including dc Talk, S.F.C (Soldiers For Christ). S.F.C was led by Californian African-American Chris Cooper who originally rapped as Super C (short for Super Chris / Super Christian) and later became Sup the Chemist and then finally Soup the Chemist. Chris Cooper & S.F.C. were instrumental in bringing up and exposing newer gospel groups such as Dynamic Twins,T-Bone,[K2S Key to Salvation]], the Original Gospel Gangstas, Freedom Of Soul, and L.P.G. Cooper retired from the industry in 2003. -->

The 1990s saw the continuing trend of funky rap artists blending faith and rap, such as D.O.C. (Disciples of Christ) who emerged out of Oklahoma as well as the Gospel Gangstaz from Compton and South Central Los Angeles, California. Additional artists made a considerable impact on the Christian hip-hop scene. Such artists that contributed were Dynamic Twins, Freedom of Soul, IDOL King, Apocalypse. S.F.C.'s (Sup, QP, DJ Dove) 1992 album Phase III is considered as the turning point in Christian rap. This album was strong lyrically and the production was incredible in great part to DJ Dove and extremely talented DJ and producer who's credits also include the amazing debut album from Gospel Gangstas' 1993 album, Gang Affiliated. Around the same time as S.F.C's Phase III album Dynamic Twins (Robbie and Noel) came out with their 1993 album no room to breathe an instant Christian hip hop classic. This album was had a more hardcore "street" feel to it than other albums at the time. Great beats, strong message, awesome flows and catchy hooks were what allowed it to be embrassed by Christian hip-hop lovers who wanted an edgier feel. Freedom Of Soul (MC Peace, DJ Cartoon) followed with their second album, The Second Coming, (Caught in a land of time was their first) also their last album as a group. Freedom of Soul had a jazzier feel to them and MC Peace (later known as Peace 586) was known for his smooth flow and delivery. P.I.D. around this time re-invented themselves as the group Preachas with their only album under that name being Violent Playgrounds. This album had a strong east coast feel to it and also included popular samples from the secular rap scene. This era was booming with new talent and sounds that furthered the message to reach those who were not into the "cheezy" rap that was known as Christian rap, this era helped gain credibility to the music that has great beats, flows, rhymes and most importantly a message. D.O.C. matured under the guidance of former Prince guitarist and vocalist Dez Dickerson, while the gritty Gospel Gangstaz were ex-Bloods and ex-Crips who began ministering to gang-affiliated street youths and winning fans from Interscope to Snoop Dogg. The Gangstaz' 1999 release I Can See Clearly Now became the biggest selling Christian hip hop record at the time and won the group a Grammy nomination. Another group emerged during the 1990s by the name of A-1 Swift, a husband and wife team, with West Coast style. Their albums Turn Yourself Around and Tales from the Swift gained the support of Kirk Franklin, the Grammy Award winning Gospel artist.

In 2003, The Cross Movement out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania released their breakthrough album Holy Culture. Their fifth release, Higher Definition, was nominated for the best Rock Gospel Album Grammy.

By 2007, even major Gospel stars were getting in on the rap game. Gospel legend Pastor Shirley Caesar recorded a stunning duet "I Know The Truth" with Tonex in which she raps.

Artists and style

Many mainstream hip hop artists constantly acknowledge their faith in songs but are not typically considered Christian hip hop artists, as the lyrics in many of their songs contain content considered offensive or objectionable by many Christians.

In 2006, Rawsrvnt signed with the newly formed Flavor Alliance Media Group and released an all Worship Hip Hop album entitled In Rare Form featuring "Holiness" (Raw's hip hop version of the popular worship song). Rawsrvnt released two previous albums with more of a crunk/dirty south style. Other releases from Flavor Alliance in 2006 includes Craig Nice — self titled; Beyond Skillz — Past Tense; Fla.vor Alliance — A Little Off the Top. Pastor Tommy Kyllonen, aka, Urban D will release his 6th national release in 2007 entitled Un. Orthodox, under the label.

One of the most notable groups in Holy Hip Hop (HHH) history is The Cross Movement. The Cross Movement is a group out of Philadelphia including The Ambassador, Phanatik, Tru-Life, and The Tonic. Before The Cross Movement, HHH was a very passive genre, speaking of Christ only when necessary. However, the East Coast Cross Movement taught incredible lessons through their complicated and noteworthy lyrics, speaking on Christ 100% in every song, as noted in Flame's track titled Cross Movement off his Rewind album. The group formed a record label known as Cross Movement Records, where they now sign the most popular artists of the genre including Lecrae, Trip Lee, Tedashii, Everyday Process (Mac the Dulous, and Iz-Real), Da' T.R.U.T.H., FLAME, R-Swift, and DJ Official. Their final album as a group was released in 2007 titled HIStory: Our Place in His story. On the last track of the album titled "The Last Cypha" they speak about handing off the baton to other artists in the genre; specifically those under the CMR label.

While many notable studios and artists share influence in Christian hip hop, no one style dominates. Christian hip hop features all conventional hip hop styles, such as East Coast(Japhia Life, Rob Hodge, Georgio Bonadaz, Shabach, Shai Linne), West Coast (or Left Coast) (Mr. G-Reality, Real Truz, T-Bone, and Ice 4 Christ), Dirty South (Eddie Hollywood, Lecrae, Tedashii, Pettidee, C-Micah, Dre Murray, WyldBill , and Thisl, MidWest (Flame, Max Deizal, Zeke, Json, Breev Eazie, Lyricalize and Fiti Futuristic) or even prison rap.

Sites like Rapzilla and SphereofHipHop.com are premium and known destinations for Christian Hip-Hop. HolyHipHop.com exceeded 140,000 Digital Downloads in 2006. Christian hip hop themed videos and DVDs are also increasing in availability and popularity. Christopher "Play" Martin (formerly of Kid 'N Play) released a DVD on Amen Films entitled Holy Hip Hop which made it to Blockbuster Video Stores in March 2006.

Live events such as RapFest (held annually in August in New York City) as well as conferences such as Flavor Fest (held annually in November at Crossover Church in Tampa, Florida), the Holy Hip Hop Music Awards & Artist Showcase(held annually in January in Atlanta, Georgia), and the Texas Holy Hip Hop Achievement Awards (held annually in Houston, Texas) have helped to foster the genre among evangelical youth and young adults. Other notable events include The Yuinon & H.P., based in Detroit, Michigan.

As artists and groups desire to make their music more relevant and effective to its listeners, the music continues to push the envelope. Groups such as Peculiar Image blend Worship & Rap over live music, to create a fusion of styles that pulls generations together, in a Worship setting.

Many ministries such as S.E.A.L.S. Ministryz (Saints Engaged Against Lucifer 4 Souls) dedicate their energy towards connecting with the inner cities by using Christian Hip Hop as the means for connecting. By creating a nationwide network of underground musicians with the same drive, they are able to get the music out effectively spreading the popularity of the culture as well as encouraging the life changing messages contained within the music.

Reaction

As with many inchoate and newly formed musical genres and subgenres, Christian hip hop initially had difficulty finding an audience. Despite early rejection, Christian hip hop has managed to follow other forms of Christian music, such as Christian metal, in becoming a dominant force within contemporary Christian music. Christian music awards shows such as the GMA Dove Awards and Stellar Awards have added rap and hip hop categories. Some church congregations have adopted hip hop-themed musical worship. 2007 Holy Hip Hop Music Awards received appearances by Kurtis Blow, GrandMaster Caz and even Ma$e walked in unannounced and went to Pastor Eddie Velez on stage in front of a packed audience to apologize for saying that Christian rap was not of God five years earlier. 2007 Holy Hip Hop Music Awards also received a written endorsement letter from the mayor of Atlanta acknowledging the event's support by the City of Atlanta and recognizing its 7th year.

Christian hip hop has enjoyed some crossover acceptance as well. One of the most notable mainstream reactions to Christian hip hop was to KJ-52 (pronounced "five-two") and his single "Dear Slim", which was written to Eminem in an attempt reach him with the message of Christ. The song became famous and controversial among Eminem fans when it was featured on the hit show Total Request Live. KJ-52 began to receive hate mail (including death threats) from Eminem's fans, though KJ-52 claimed that the song was not a "diss". This also led to the single being disparaged by VH1, an issue the artist addressed in his song "Washed Up".

The United Kingdom has also recently received Christian hip hop with groups such as BoomboomTown, Ministri of Defense, Dwayne Tryumf , Jahaziel and One Love; although their music has been increasingly played in underground Christian hip hop circles, they have yet to achieve mainstream success. Recently Jahaziel Received airplay on Londons Choice FM with DJ Richard Blackwood as the host who has expressed a liking for his work, namely the song "In My Neighbourhood". The Christian hip hop scene is also in Japan, with artists such as Yoshi Blessed and Hinds 57 who is now in the comedic pop group BAD. In other countries Christian hip hop has been present in recent years, for example in Germany and South Africa.

Most Popular Music Videos

• Lecrae "Jesus Muzik"
• Da' T.R.U.T.H. "Who Am I?"
• Lecrae "Prayin For You"
• Pettidee "I'm a Vet"
• T-Bone "Name Droppin'"

Categories

• Performers of Christian hip hop music

See also

• Syntax Records
• Christian music
• Contemporary Christian music
• List of Christian music videos
• Rapzilla

External links

• Christian artist and painter with a background in graffiti/hip hop
• Holy Hip Hop Internet Radio Network