KJ-52

KJ-52

Jonah Sorrentino (born June 26, 1975 ), better known by his stage name KJ-52, is a Christian rapper from the United States. The "KJ" part of his name refers to "knowledge and justification". "52" (which is pronounced "five two", not fifty two) is a reference to the Biblical story of Jesus feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fish. He was awarded the Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year for "Never Look Away" and Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards of 2007. On July 28, 2009, KJ-52 released "End of My Rope," which is the first single for his album "Five-Two Television."

Biography

Raised in Tampa, Florida, Sorrentino was the product of a dysfunctional family. He began writing rap songs at the age of 12, and at 15 became a born again Christian; he wrote his first Christian rap song while at home with a broken nose (sustained while pole vaulting.) While a teenager, he began working in youth ministry at an inner-city church. He also recorded a demo, but it was largely ignored (although he later called it "really horrible"). Around this time, he met a young, likeminded rapper named Goldinchild; the two formed the Sons of Intellect and began performing throughout Florida. Soon Goldinchild moved on and the Sons dissolved.

Career

In 1998, Sorrentino stepped down from his youth minister position to pursue his Christian rap dream full-time. He has said he still considers himself to be in the field of youth ministry, however, as the main consumers of hip-hop are teenagers and young adults. He fills a significant portion of his songs with messages intended for the current generation of youth, addressing a multitude of issues regarding the church, and Christians in general.

A relationship with Gotee Records' Todd Collins led to a deal with Nashville CCM label Essential, who released 7th Avenue, in April 2000. The LP featured collaborations with the Cross Movement and Knowdaverbs.

In 2002, Sorrentino released his second album, Collaborations. The album's title referred to the numerous contributions made to the album by guest artists, including Ill Harmonics, Pillar, John Reuben and Thousand Foot Krutch. Collaborations also represented his first nomination for a Dove Award, for "Rap/Hip Hop/Dance Album of the Year" in 2003.

KJ-52 at an Acquire the Fire event.

KJ-52 has won four Dove Awards, three in the "Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year" category. He took the 2004 award for It’s Pronounced Five Two, the 2006 award for Behind the Musik, and the 2007 award for Remixed. He received an additional honor in 2007, for "Never Look Away" from Behind the Musik, in the "Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song" category. KJ never tried out for American Idol, but suggested such in his song "Fivetweezy".

On October 2008, he released his album, The Yearbook: The Missing Pages, a re-release of his album, The Yearbook. It comes with the original record with a slip over cover that has a code to download the 13 songs.

His most recent album, Five-Two Television, released September 2009. The first single from the album, "End of My Rope," was released July 28, 2009, with a music video expected to be released as well. KJ also plans to release a free mixtape with the purchase of the album for ministry purposes.

Eminem Controversy

The most controversial track on Collaborations was entitled "Dear Slim". The track presented an open letter to Eminem, in a similar style to Eminem's song, "Stan". "Dear Slim" was premiered on MTV's Total Request Live, but was cut short, as is common for the show. The cutting short of the song upset Sorrentino by portraying the song as an open attack on Eminem. Sorrentino later said that the song was not intended to be controversial or as an attack on Eminem. His song "Dear Slim Pt. 2", which was included on his next solo project, It's Pronounced Five Two, addresses these issues.

Possible Eminem Response

On Eminem's new CD, "Relapse," there is a song called "Careful What You Wish For" part of which is (expected to be) addressed to KJ-52:

I got a letter from a fan, that said He's been praying for me Every day and for some reason It's been weighing on my mind heavy 'Cause I don't read every Letter I get, but something told me to go ahead and open it, but Why would someone pray for you when they don't know you? You didn't pray for me when I was local And as I lay these vocals I think of all the s*** I had to go through Just to get to where I'm at I've already told you at least A thousand times in these rhymes I appreciate the prayer, but I've already got God on my side

Discography

• 7th Avenue (2000, Essential)
• Collaborations (2002, Uprok)
• It's Pronounced Five Two (2003, Uprok)
• Behind the Musik (A Boy Named Jonah) (2005, BEC)
• The Yearbook (2007, BEC)
• Five-Two Television (2009, BEC)

Side Projects/Other Releases

• Peace of Mind (2003, BEC Recordings)
• Soul Purpose (2004, BEC Recordings)
• Behind The Musik (A Boy Named Jonah): Bonus Edition Version (2005, BEC Recordings)
• KJ-52 Remixed (2006, BEC Recordings)
• The Yearbook : Bonus Edition Version (2007, BEC Recordings)
• The Yearbook : The Missing Pages (2008, BEC Recordings)
• The Office Prequel Mixtape (2009)
• This is The Remix Mixtape (2009)

Music Videos

All videos are on Rapzilla

• Dear Slim
• Pronounced Five Two
• Behind the Musik
• Life after Death
• I Can Call on You
• Revenge of the Nerds Remix
• Fanmail
• Do Yo Thang
• Stuck in the 80's

Charts

Song	Album	Chart	Peak Position
Are You Real	Behind the Musik (A Boy Named Jonah)	ChristianRock.net	1
Back in the Day	It's Pronounced Five Two	Christian-HipHop.net	1
Dear Slim Pt. 2		Christian-HipHop.net	1
Never Look Away (Featuring Brynn Sanchez)	Behind the Musik (A Boy Named Jonah)	Christian-HipHop.net	1
Right Here		Christian-HipHop.net	1

External links

• KJ-52 Official Website
• KJ-52 MySpace Page
• KJ-52 The Yearbook Album Review
• KJ-52 Remixed Album Review
• KJ-52 Music Videos