Christian hip hop

Christian hip hop
Stylistic origins	East Coast hip hop West Coast hip hop Christian music Christian rock Gospel music
Cultural origins	1980s, United States
Typical instruments	Turntable, vocals, sampler, synthesizer, drum machine, piano
Mainstream popularity	1990s—present

Christian hip hop (originally Gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, Gospel hip hop, or holy hip hop) is hip hop music characterized by a Christian worldview, with the general purposes of evangelization (Christian mission work), edifying members of the church and/or simply entertaining.

History

Since hip-hop started in the 1970s, various hip-hop artists have expressed their spiritual beliefs, including Christianity in their lyrics.^{[citation needed]}

The first commercially released and distributed Gospel rap album was Stephen Wiley's 1985 album Bible Break, distributed by Benson Music Group.^[1][2][3] Reverend DeWayne GoLightly (aka Rev. Rap') was one of the first Christian hip-hop artist without a commercially released Gospel rap cassette.^{[citation needed]} In the same year by David Guzman founded JC & The Boyz. Some of America's premiere Christian rappers, such as: Michael Peace, SFC, Dynamic Twins, MC Peace, and T-Bone came out of this crew. They were the first group to appear on TBN and The 700 Club.^{[citation needed]} More commercially successful was the crew known as P.I.D. (Preachers in Disguise) who released five recordings. Michael Peace is an American rapper and one of Christian rap's first solo artists, who is considered the grandfather of Christian hip-hop.^[who?]

In the late 1980s, other crews emerged, including dc Talk and S.F.C. (Soldiers for Christ). S.F.C. was led by 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, JC & The Boyz, and S.F.C. were instrumental in bringing up and exposing newer Gospel groups such as LPG, Tunnel Rats, Future Shock, and T-Bone.^{[citation needed]} Christian emcee Danny "D-Boy" Rodriguez was another well known early Gospel rap artist but was murdered in 1990 in Texas.^[4]

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. In 1991, JC Crew emerged spawning the careers of Maximillian (West Coast beat box champion) and T-Bone. 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 and both 12th Tribe and Holy Alliance who were produced by Scott Blackwell of MYX Records. S.F.C.'s (Sup, QP, DJ Dove) 1992 album Phase III is considered to be a turning point in Christian rap.^{[citation needed]} Phase III was DJed and produced by DJ Dove, whose credits also include the Gang Affiliated, Gospel Gangstas' 1993 debut album.

Around the same time as Phase III, Dynamic Twins (Robbie and Noel) came out with their 1993 album No Room To Breathe. This album had a more hardcore "street" feel to it than other albums at the time.^{[citation needed]} 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; MC Peace (later known as Peace 586) was known for his smooth flow and delivery.^{[citation needed]} P.I.D. around this time re-invented themselves as the group Preachas, although their only album under that name was Violent Playgrounds.^{[citation needed]}

One of the major influences in the genre came with the formation of Gotee Records in 1994, co-founded by dc Talk member Toby McKeehan, making it the first record label marketed explicitly for Christian Hip-hop and R&B that was backed by a major label. The label was among the first to market the Contemporary Christian music market through distribution at Christian bookstores and playing on Christian radio. This trend continued with other labels such as Tooth & Nail's Uprok Records and others that gave an outlet to hip-hop artists who identified themselves as Christian and wanted a broader market. However, much of the sales of these Christian record labels was purchased by people brought up in the church and 70-80% of them being white.^[5] Recently, a number of artists and labels such as End Of Earth Records, Rezurrected Muzic, Cross Movement Records, Grapetree Records, Syntax Records, Deepspace5 Records, Universal Funk Records, Illect Recordings, and The New Unstoppable Records have purposely tried to market more to people who did not grow up in church as well as more to urban markets.^[6]

In addition, many major Gospel stars were getting in on the hip-hop & rap genre. Kirk Franklin joined with the 1 Nation Crew in the album Kirk Franklin presents 1NC. Gospel legend Pastor Shirley Caesar recorded a duet "I Know The Truth" with Tonex in which she raps.^{[citation needed]}

Another element of the hip-hop culture is the disc jockey, aka, deejay or DJ. In January 2008, the American-based, One Accord DJ Alliance (OADA) created a network of Christian Disc Jockeys and Radio Announcers from around the US, Canada, and the UK.^{[citation needed]} In September 2009, the Higherground Record Pool (HGRP) and One Accord DJ Alliance (OADA) held their first Gospel DJ Conference at the Crowne Plaza, Queens, NY. The first known Gospel DJs were honored at the event. Kingdom Affiliates Record Pool (HGRP) also was represented at the conference. The next conference is planned for September 2011 in Atlanta, GA.^[7]

Artists and style

See also: List of Christian hip hop and rap artists

Sometimes faith may be evident in part of a song or other times an entire song or album may focus on Christian beliefs. Examples include MC Hammer's No. 2 single "Pray"; Richie Rich and his first single "Don't Do It"; many of Tupac's lyrics and his first posthumous record, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, the image of Tupac nailed to a cross pinned him as a Hip-Hop martyr; and even recent hip hop/rap artists like Jay-Z with Kingdom Come, DMX with "Walk With Me Now and You'll Fly With Me Later", Nas with God's Son and Kanye West with "Jesus Walks". However, these artists, although they may profess to be Christians, are not generally considered to be part of the Christian hip-hop movement. ^[8]

Artists such as FLAME, The Ambassador, Purified, Willie Will, Lecrae, Trip Lee, Sho Baraka, KJ-52, Blaze, modern messiahs, and Tedashii see themselves as preachers or ministers who proselytize to non-Christians or try to preach a Christian message using hip-hop as a medium.^{[citation needed]} Others, such as Tunnel Rats, LPG, Brethren, Manafest, GRITS and Skribbal, choose to be simply hip-hop artists who are expressing themselves since they are Christian. Their music contains expression of their faith.^{[citation needed]} This also relates to the argument similar in Christian rock and other Christian music genres where some artists welcome being called Christian artists while others would not want it to be labeled as "Christian music" so to not tie them down to the Christian music market. Others^[who?] see themselves somewhere in the middle, who may constantly acknowledge their faith in songs but are not typically considered Christian hip hop artists and see themselves as both preachers and entertainers and welcome acceptance in both the Christian music market as well as crossing over into secular markets.^[9]

While many notable studios and artists share influence in holy hip-hop, no one style dominates. Christian hip hop features all conventional hip hop styles, such as Midwest, Westcoast (T-Bone) and Eastcoast (Christiano), and Dirty South (Pettidee) or even mixed with other styles of music such as trip hop, rap rock, or crunk.^{[citation needed]}

Christian hip hop is also embraced and performed by UK artists such as Jahaziel Elliot, Guvna B, FaithChild, Melvillous,^[10] Sammy G and Simply Andy & Just C.^{[11][citation needed]} Some of these artists also incorporate elements of UK Garage, giving their music a more British sound.^{[citation needed]} The GL Live music event 2010, held in the UK saw a fusion of Christian rappers both American and British celebrate their faith together whilst demonstrating their own unique styles. This event was hosted by Simply Andy and included performances by American rappers Trip Lee and Tedashii.^{[citation needed]}

Reaction and Acceptance

Industry

As with many inchoate and newly formed musical genres and subgenres of Christian music, Christian hip-hop initially had difficulty finding an audience.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} Christian music awards shows such as the GMA Dove Awards and Stellar Awards have added rap and hip hop categories.^[12][13]

Performances

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),the Texas Holy Hip Hop Achievement Awards (held annually in Houston, Texas) and the Life Line Christian Rap Music Conference (held annually in April in Little Rock, AR) founded by CEO of Divine 7 Entertainment, R.J. Jenkins aka Ron Daniel (stage name), have helped to foster the genre among evangelical youth and young adults.^{[citation needed]} SoCity Fest conducts nationwide Gospel Hip Hop Artist Retreats, Artists/Industry Conferences, New Artists Showcases and is a Traveling Music Festival organized to encourage and enrich Holy Hip Hop artists in their ministries, while giving them insight on navigating the music industry. Other notable events include The Yuinon and H.P., based in Detroit, Michigan.^{[citation needed]}

Markets

There are differing views whether any form of hip hop can be considered Christian, but a consensus is that if the lyrics themselves have Christian teachings, then the song and music can be called Christian.^[14] There are some^[which?] church congregations that have adopted hip hop-themed musical worship.

In Australia, a multi-denominational group of Christian hip hop artists, led by Mistery from Brethren, have started a hip hop church Krosswerdz.^[15] The church has been modeled on Crossover Church in Tampa, Florida.

There is a Holy Hip Hop Music Awards, and the 2007 awards received appearances by Kurtis Blow, GrandMaster Caz, Cheryl "Salt" Wray and Mase 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[16] However, EX Ministries and other churches explain the distinction that Hip Hop culture and Rap music are not the same. The lyrics and music is not wrong but incorporating hip hop culture in the music is the problem. They conclude that "Holy Hip-Hop" is still associated with the mainstream Hip hop culture that they view as incompatible with Christianity's teachings.^[17][18][19]

Crossover

Holy hip-hop has enjoyed some crossover acceptance as well. One of the early accepted artists were Disciples of Christ (D.O.C.), while the gritty Gospel Gangstaz were ex-Bloods and ex-Crips who began ministering to gang-affiliated persons.^{[citation needed]}

One of the most notable mainstream reactions to Gospel rap 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".^[20] This also led to the single being disparaged by VH1 as No. 26 on their "Top 40 Worst Moments in Hip Hop",^[21] an issue the artist addressed in a follow-up song titled "Dear Slim Pt. 2"^{[citation needed]} and "Washed Up." 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.^[22] It was also featured as the theme song for the second season of MTV’s hit show The Buried Life ^[23]

The hip-hop gospel scene also exists in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, France, New Zealand, Nigeria and South Africa.^{[citation needed]}

Forms and subgenres

Catholic hip hop

In the early 2000s many rappers in the Roman Catholic faith began including religious lyrics in their songs, as well as making careers out of Christian hip hop. Today, a number of active Catholic rappers and DJs are involved in what is known as the "Catholic hip hop scene".^[24] Various well known artists in the Catholic hip hop scene include Alkalyte, Massmatics, Sammy Blaze, Move Merchants, Flip Francis, Paradox, Manuel 3, M.A.S., Point 5 Covenant, Paul Jisung Kim,^[25] and Fr. Stan Fortuna. Catholic hip hop exists in the underground hip hop scene, and is yet to be noticed by mainstream hip hop labels.

See also

• List of Christian hip hop and rap artists
• Rapzilla

References

1. ^ Kingdom Careers - Find out who we are
2. ^ "Stephen Wiley - Bible Break". Crossrhythms.co.uk. http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/products/Stephen_Wiley/Bible_Break/44557/. Retrieved 2011-10-06. 
3. ^ "Beats, Rhymes and Bibles: An Introduction To Gospel Hip Hop" (PDF). http://www.josefsorett.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/beatsrhymesbiblestaap-websiteexcerpt.pdf. Retrieved 2011-10-06. 
4. ^ admin (2010-07-26). "CMA: Danny 'D-Boy' Rodriguez". Christianmusicarchive.com. http://www.christianmusicarchive.com/artist.php?id=5581. Retrieved 2011-10-06. 
5. ^ Cummings, Tony (January 2003). "Blessing the Martyrs". Cross Rhythms (72). http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/music/Americas_Holy_HipHop/7033/p1/. 
6. ^ "Hip Hop Column". Gospel Flava. http://www.gospelflava.com/columns/hiphop.html. Retrieved 2011-10-06. 
7. ^ "Higher Ground International Record Pool". Highergroundrecordpool.org. http://www.highergroundrecordpool.org. Retrieved 2011-10-06. 
8. ^ Deepa Shah (2008-04-29). "Holy Hip-Hop: Hostile Gospel". AllHipHop.com. http://allhiphop.com/stories/features/archive/2008/04/29/19752948.aspx. Retrieved 2011-10-06. 
9. ^ Rapzilla.com: Holy Hip Hop’s Civil War^{[dead link]}
10. ^ http://www.melvillous.com
11. ^ Just C. "Home". Justc.co.uk. http://www.justc.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-10-06. 
12. ^ GMA Dove Awards History: Rap/Hip Hop recorded song of the year^{[dead link]}
13. ^ "22nd Annual Stellar Award WINNERS (2007)". Gospelflava.com. 2007-01-13. http://www.gospelflava.com/stellar/stellarresults-2007.html. Retrieved 2011-10-06. 
14. ^ GospelFlava.com - Hip Hop Under Siege?. GospelFlava.com
15. ^ http://www.hope1032.com.au/Mp3.asp?ChannelID=6&year=2008&page_no=4
16. ^ Rapzilla.com - Holy Hip Hop awards Recap 2007^{[dead link]}
17. ^ "A message to Christian Rappers". Exministries.com. http://www.exministries.com/messagetocr.html. Retrieved 2011-10-06. 
18. ^ "ExMinistries Arguments". Exministries.com. http://www.exministries.com/arguments.html. Retrieved 2011-10-06. 
19. ^ Holy Hip Hop. NOT!
20. ^ "ChristianMusicToday.com: KJ-52 Interview — Getting It Right". Christianitytoday.com. http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/interviews/2003/kj52-0903.html. Retrieved 2011-10-06. 
21. ^ "KJ-52 - 2006 GMA Music Awards". video.google.com. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4361045648095264170&q=thoughtquotient. Retrieved 2011-10-06. 
22. ^ Shull, Adam (2010-07-29). "Grits, Hearts of Saints bring local connections to town". Paducah Sun. http://www.paducahsun.com/features/current/427685-gritty-artists. Retrieved 18 August 2010. 
23. ^ "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. http://fusemix.com/en/the-leak/1578-grits-ooh-ahh-my-life-be-like-finds-unparalleled-success-as-a-digital-single-chosen-as-theme-song-for-mtvs-the-buried-life-fusemixcom-music:. Retrieved 2011-10-06. 
24. ^ Phatmass.com - "Converting Catholics to Catholocism"
25. ^ Phatmass.com - "Catholic Hip-Hop and Rap Music"

External links

• Christian hip hop at the Open Directory Project