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KJ-52

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KJ-52
Birth nameJonah Kirsten Sorrentino
Also known asKJ-52, Tweezy
Born (1975-06-26) June 26, 1975 (age 49)
OriginTampa, Florida
GenresChristian hip hop
OccupationRapper
InstrumentRapping
Years active1993–present
LabelsBEC (current)
Essential (former)
Websitewww.kj52.com

KJ-52 (born as Jonah Kirsten Sorrentino, June 26, 1975 ) is a Christian rapper from Tampa, Florida. The "KJ" part of his name refers to his old rap alias, "King J. Mac,"[1] a name which he later described in one of his podcasts as "horribly cheesy."[2][failed verification] "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, which is also sung about in his song "Push Up" from The Yearbook and in the "KJ Five Two" on It's Pronounced 'Five Two'.[1][failed verification] 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.[3] On July 28, 2009, KJ-52 released "End of My Rope", which is the first single for his album Five-Two Television. His song "Dear Slim" is based on Eminem's song "Stan" and is a sort of personal message from KJ-52 to Eminem.

Works

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.[4]

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 (A Boy Named Jonah), and the 2007 award for Remixed.[5] He received an additional honor in 2007, for "Never Look Away" from Behind the Musik, in the "Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song" category.[6] KJ never tried out for American Idol,[7] but suggested such in his song "Fivetweezy".

On October 2008, he released his album, The Yearbook: The Missing Pages,[8] 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.

2009 Dove Awards[9] Another productive year for KJ-52 as he was awarded with "Rap/Hip Hop Song of the Year" for “Do Yo Thang”; The Yearbook; KJ-52; Jonah Sorrentino; BEC Recordings/Uprok

In 2009, he released "Five-Two Television", and album covering a variety of themes and rap styles. It is his first album in which autotune is used, a controversial step among his fans. The album brings us the (fictitious) story of Chris Carlino, a man who has ruined his life, through a series of interludes. As usual for KJ-52, the album includes both songs with a strong Christian message and songs that are meant only to entertain.[10]

KJ-52's song "You're Gonna Make It" appeared at the end of Cold Case Season 5 Episode 8 "It Takes a village".[11]

KJ-52 also rapped in the Newsboys version of "Jesus Freak".[12]

KJ-52 also rapped in the tobyMac[13] remix of the song "One World" on the album "Hip-Hope" which also includes the KJ-52 remixed song "What You Want"

KJ-52 is currently in the early stages of developing a new record that is slated to be released in the Fall of 2011.[14]

Eminem and "Dear Slim" controversy

KJ-52 was often compared to Eminem, as many called him a "Christian counterpart".[15] One of the most notable mainstream reactions to the Christian hip hop scene was to KJ-52 and his single "Dear Slim", which was written to Eminem in an attempt reach him with the message of Christianity, though Eminem claims to be a Christian. 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".[16] This also led to the single being disparaged by VH1 as No. 26 on their "Top 40 Worst Moments in Hip Hop",[17] an issue the artist addressed in a follow-up song titled "Dear Slim Pt. 2".[citation needed] In contrast, the GRITS song "Ooh Ahh" received positive exposure on various TV Shows and movies, such as The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Big Momma's House 2.[18] It was also featured as the theme song for the second season of MTV’s hit show The Buried Life [19]

Discography

Side Projects/Other Releases

Charts

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

References

  1. ^ a b [1][dead link]
  2. ^ "kj52's Podcast". Kj52podcast.com. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  3. ^ "38th Annual GMA Dove Awards Album of the Year Nominees & Winners". Christianmusic.about.com. 2007-04-25. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  4. ^ "Nominees for the 34th Annual Dove Awards". Published by the Gospel Music Association. Retrieved Jan 22, 2007.
  5. ^ Dove Award Recipients for Rap/Hip Hop Album. Published by the Gospel Music Association. Retrieved Jan 22, 2007.
  6. ^ "38th Annual Dove Award Recipients". Published by the Gospel Music Association. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  7. ^ "'Behind the Musik' with KJ-52". Published by CBN News Retrieved May 27, 2007.
  8. ^ According to Indie Vision Music http://www.indievisionmusic.com/wordpress/2008/08/19/8628/
  9. ^ "41st Annual GMA Dove Awards on Gospel Music Channel". Doveawards.com. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  10. ^ "KJ-52 RELEASES 24 TRACK FIVE-TWO TELEVISION TODAY || JOINS PILLAR & RUN KID RUN ON CONFESSIONS TOUR". Fusemix.com. 2009-09-22. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  11. ^ "Song Detective". Tvshowsongs.com. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  12. ^ om een reactie te plaatsen! (2010-07-05). "Jesus freak guest feature". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  13. ^ Cesky. "TobyMac - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  14. ^ om een reactie te plaatsen! (2010-12-17). "Nashville TN. (studio sessions)". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  15. ^ "The Christian Slim Shady? | Teens". Christianitytoday.com. 2001-01-03. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  16. ^ "ChristianMusicToday.com: KJ-52 Interview — Getting It Right". Christianitytoday.com. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  17. ^ "KJ-52 - 2006 GMA Music Awards". video.google.com. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  18. ^ Shull, Adam (2010-07-29). "Grits, Hearts of Saints bring local connections to town". Paducah Sun. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  19. ^ "GRITS "Ooh Ahh (My Life Be Like)" Finds Unparalleled Success as a Digital Single, Chosen as Theme Song for MTV's The Buried Life". Fusemix.com. Retrieved 2011-10-06.

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