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Flame (rapper)

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Flame

FLAME (aka Marcus T.W. Gray) is a Christian rapper signed to Cross Movement Records[1] He met the Cross Movement crew in Chicago after a concert. Flame being a big fan gave some of his work to the group, Tonic (John Wells) was impressed and hence the first contact was made.[2] He released his self-titled debut album FLAME in 2004 [3] selling well over 98,809 albums . His follow-up project entitled Rewind was released in December of 2005 sold over 74,001 albums [4]. The St. Louis native has now released one more album--Our World:Fallen on April 17, 2007[5]. Flame is also set to release a follow-up album in Our World: Redeemed (August 2007).[6] On February 20th, 2007 it was announced that Flame's track "Gotta Notice" from the album Rewind (2005) was nominated for the 38th Annual GMA Dove Awards in the category Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year[7]. This summer FLAME will join the rest of Cross Movement for their final tour. The HIStory tour will be 40 days and nights in the summer and will reach every corner of the Continental US.[8]

Info

Flame, a.k.a. Marcus T. Williams-Gray, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He grew up in the inner city of St. Louis where he was influenced by the Hip-Hop culture. One of the most significant people in his life was his grandmother. She was his best friend who taught him many things about life and more importantly, Christianity. At the age of 16, Flame’s grandmother passed away. As a result of this event, Flame began attending church where the Holy Spirit convicted him and he was converted to Christ. Flame continued to grow spiritually and became more and more involved in his church. One day, Flame found himself in the music section of a Christian bookstore. Being part of the Hip-Hop culture and having done secular rap for years, he was drawn to the Gospel rap area where he picked up a cd by Cross Movement. The cd changed his life. Not only was Flame impressed by the artistic quality of the music, but also by the content. He found the lyrics saturated in Scripture being both encouraging and challenging. Flame’s desire to reach people in the Hip-Hop culture grew more intense. In 2000, after being edified through Cross Movement’s music, Flame made his way to one of their concerts in Chicago. This was where he met the group and provided them with a demo cd of his own work. Much to his surprise, he received a call back. Cross Movement began to build a relationship with Flame that was fostered over a couple of years. In 2002, Flame was invited on the Platinum Souls tour with Cross Movement. Shortly after, Flame was signed to the Cross Movement Records label. In October 2004, Flame’s self-titled debut cd was released nationwide. He was the first national Christian Hip-Hop artist from the Midwest. He gathered a large following in no time. In December 2005, Flame released his sophomore album titled, Rewind. On April 17, 2007, Flame released his third album entitled Our World Fallen, which is the first part of a two part series. On October 2, 2007, the sequel entitled Our World Redeemed is scheduled to release. This year, Flame’s song “Gotta Notice,” from the album Rewind, was nominated for a Dove Award as Gospel Rap Song of the Year.[9] Flame has been featured on numerous radio shows nationwide including Way of the Master , in local newspapers, The Pathway (Missouri Baptist Convention statewide newspaper), and World (Magazine) . His rapping style is characterized by a smooth, yet intense flow - reminiscent of many Midwest hip hop acts. Flame has moved some 98,809 albums, tours as far away as Alaska and Germany, and has one of his interludes from his first album blasting on Busch Stadium's loudspeakers every other time Albert Pujols comes to bat.[10]

Discography

Albums

Year Cover Album
2004 FLAME
2005 Rewind
2007 Our World: Fallen
  • 3rd studio album
  • Released: April 17, 2007
  • 1st album in a 2-album series.
  • "The album is a passionate, but basic, explanation of God's pursuit for His created people," FLAME says. "It's very simple, but it's a very informative appeal for people to run to Christ."[11]
2007
Our World: Redeemed

Guest Appearances

References

  1. ^ http://www.flame314.com/pages.asp?pageid=28970
  2. ^ http://ccmmagazine.com/features/3672.aspx
  3. ^ http://www.flame314.com/pages.asp?pageid=31993
  4. ^ http://www.flame314.com/articles.asp?columnid=2319
  5. ^ http://www.crossmovementrecords.com/articles_view.asp?articleid=33204&columnid=1089
  6. ^ http://www.crossmovementrecords.com/articles_view.asp?articleid=12698&columnid=1938
  7. ^ http://www.doveawards.com/categories/
  8. ^ http://www.crossmovementrecords.com/articles.asp?columnid=3821
  9. ^ http://www.myspace.com/flame314/
  10. ^ http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2005-09-14/news/rap-vs-rapture/
  11. ^ http://ccmmagazine.com/features/3672.aspx

External links

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