List: Top 10 HHH Videos of 2007

Granted errrbody and they mamma got a "Top X" list (hey, it's the end of the year and, as journalists, we're feeling just as lazy as you) but I ask that you induldge me on my first bullet ranking.

Without further ado, I propose these are the best holy hip hop videos of 2007.


10. T-Bone – “Name Droppin”



Nashville’s CCM scene gets some love via cameos and moniker mentions from The Redeemed Hoodlum.

9. Othello – “Let’s Just”



Live action and animation with colorful backgrounds and wordplay comprise a clip that would make Common jealous.

8. Ras – “Bank On That”



The veteran gets to floss like a boss while braggin’ on his Daddy. (Side note: This clip set off a rash of H-town video recordings. Sometimes you just need a spark.)

CAUTION: BIAS AHEAD

You didn't really expect me to do a video blog without plugging my very first cameo did you?!?

S.O.M. – “You Don’t Know Me Like Dat”



Creativity, humor, and great cameos (Bushwick Bill, Shei Atkins, CY, Bruce Bang, DJ D-Lite, Gifted, and yours truly) artfully conceal the low budget of this bold cut.

7. Pigeon John – “Freaks”



If you need an introduction to PJ, watch this cut for a great summary of his silly, artsy, dope form of Christians doing hiphop.

6. Pettidee – “I’m A Vet”



Respect due and respect earned with this highly professional clip. Listen in for the old school HHH names dropped in the last verse.

5. John Reuben – “Word of Mouth”



Another excellently animated video (see #1 for the first) that takes us off the beaten path to Johnny Reubonic’s new sound.

4. Da’ T.R.U.T.H feat. Tye Tribbet – “Who Am I?”



Although not as visually impressive as some of the others on this list, it was undoubtedly the most successful, (gospel market) crossover cut of the year.

3. Knine – “For You”



YouTube at its greatest: “The Passion of the Christ” recut scene for scene to match the Dog’s hiphop spin on the Easter story.

2. Mr. J Medieros – “Constance”



Gut-wrenching illustration of the dark realities of the porn and sex slave industries. One of (if not the) most important videos in HHH history.

1. Theory Hazit – “I Just Wanna Go Home”



Simple, shape-shifting black and white animation communicates the soul-bearing personal story of Theory Hazit to near-perfection.

Honorable mentions:

• Grits feat. Pigeon John – “Open Bar”
• Red Cloud feat. Pigeon John – “Tapatio”
• Playdough – “Ghetto Blaster”
• Mark J – “Espananza”
• Johnny Cash – “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”
• Tre9, Von Won, & BB Jay – “Rise to the Top”
• Sev & Dust – “Steamroller”
  
  

Agree? Disagree? Feel like I overlooked someone (your crew's cut obviously)? Lemme know in the Commments section.

"The Word became flesh..."

"The Word [God] became flesh and made his dwelling among us." - John 1:14

Ponder that and worship.

Merry Christmas from Sketch the Journalist

Promo: Crunk Christmas Carols and "The Perfect Christian Rap Album"

Just because December is almost over doesn't mean you can already get out of the Christmas spirit.

So, if you've grown tired of the traditonal holiday tunes, give k-Drama's "Crunk Christmas Carols" a spin.

A bit silly and outdated? In the words of Lil Jon - Yeeeaaahhhh!!!!!! But still, can't we all use a little laughter during the hustle and bustle (is that even a word?) of this time of year?

This four track EP reworks the classics with a thump and smile. Cin-City's k-drama provides both the beats and the vocals that remind us of family and faith.

Thankfully he also has a good sense of humor about himself and the project and seems to present it all with a wink and a smirk.

Listen in at: http://www.myspace.com/kdrama

Pick it up and play it for your Grandma. I'm guessing both of you will at least get a giggle.

Buy here: http://www.soundclick.com/kdrama

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And if you haven't seen this already, check out my most recent column at Rapzilla.com.

Click here to read: "The Perfect Christian Rap Album"

It's already stirring up some good conversation on message boards and comment threads.

Let me know your thoughts as well.

Recap: Bushwick Bill / Icece Listening Party & B-day Bash (12/14/07)

All I can say is “What a night!” I haven’t been to a holy hiphop event this unique in a while.



More than just a concert, Friday’s jam at The Brighter Side Café/Club also included celebrations of several birthdays and the surprise announcement that Much Luvv Records was losing one of its team members.

Oh yeah, we also got sneak previews of tracks off of two upcoming albums from Icece and the legendary Bushwick Bill (of the Geto Boys).

Happy Birthday to…

• Bushwick Bill
• Icece
• Mrs. Tre9 (aka Maria)
• Mrs. Bless’T (aka Linda)
  

The small $8 cover charge went to support The Brighter Side and included a full fajita dinner (con aroz & frijoles) - plus we all got to grub on the cakes.


Tre9 and Maria show off the goodies



As the crowd filtered in, DJ Chill manned the music booth and got all the kids dancing to the some old school hip hop classics and the latest gospel rap heatas.




DJ Chill and Tre9 behind the scenes

Shortly after that, Tre9 took the Master of Ceremonies mic and explained that evaluation forms were being handed out to the audience to rate and rank tracks from Icece’s upcoming album. Each song got a minute and half of play time and then the crowd was asked to give each title an:

• Industry Rating (A-D): A. Radio Single / B. I’d Buy It / C. Might Buy It / D. Wouldn’t Buy It
• Personal Rating (1-5): 1-Trash It / 2-Needs Lots of Work / 3- Good / 4- Feelin It / 5-Bangin
• Dislikes (optional): Ex: Beat, lyrics, delivery, sound quality (mixing), feature artists, etc.
  

Such market research is a common practice in the mainstream music industry, but it’s a rare occurrence in the holy hip hop world. And it’s such a win-win for the audience (previews of new tracks) and the labels (advance feedback before making any final decisions) that I don’t know why more people don’t take advantage of it.


X-Thug (of The Brighter Side) and Stephen Oran (fka Stikk)


Testimony with producer Bruce Bang and his wheelchair athlete brother Kevin

Before and after Icece’s listening session, several acts took the stage for a quick set. Those that blazed the mic included: AFC, Gifted (Bound 4 Glory Records), Chosen, Bless’T, and 007 (formerly of the 5th Ward Boyz).


Gifted on the mic


007 comin' fierce

Next, we got to hear and evaluate songs from Bushwick Bill’s “Testimony of Redemption” album. Man was there some fire here!

Seventeen cuts in all, from the anti-Chucky, rock screamer “No More Child’s Play” to the remake of the classic “Mind Playin’ Tricks On Me” called “My Renewed Mind.”


Charles, Pastor T, and Joe from A.O.G. Clothing

The album has several guest features from local HHH cats like Gifted, Bless’T, and Lil Raskull who were in attendance that night and later took the stage with him.

I gotta tell ya that Bushwick is serious about his change. At a side table during the listening session he chopped it up with Lil Raskull and said he wasn’t satisfied with just doing this one album. He said God had laid it on his heart to do a triple album tentatively titled “The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”


Gifted, Ras, and Bushwick engage in some real talk.

He said he didn’t want people to see him like KRS-ONE who dropped “Spiritually Minded” and then went back to his typical material (and was thought to have only done a gospel album to pimp sales from the church crowd. )

Instead, Bill said he has done and said so much evil in his old lyrics and that he needed to set things right with his new content. He said he wants to touch everyone with his music and even include tracks done entirely in Spanish or Jamaican slang.

A drop date for “Testimony of Redemption” has not yet been set, but look for it in 2008 on the G-Spot Productions label.

After the BB listening session, Colcutz and Tre9 took the stage followed by Von Won, S.O.M. and Icece.


Tre9 and Colcutz (in the Lupe Fiasco-like hoodie) get the crowd moving without any Souljah Boys


S.O.M. - They some real "Fiyah Startas"


Icece is 6'3" flowin....

At the end of Icece’s set, Tre9 asked that everyone from his label join him up front for a major announcement. He reviewed the history of his Much Luvv Records label and how Icece was an old high school friend who reconnected with him over the past few years. Icece was intended to be Much Luvv’s first mainstream artist (still positive and clean, just not so Scripture heavy) but that a bigger opportunity had been presented to him that he had to take.

Never one to hold his artists back, Tre9 gave his blessings for Icece to sign with J7 Records out of Baton Rouge, LA. J7 has a relationship with Universal and can possibly put Icece in front of millions and millions of listeners.


The Icece presentation and prayer

Both sides embraced and prayed as T-Trax (J7’s main man) thanked Much Luvv for their above-the-board business ethics and for grooming Icece’s career up to this point. A cool feature of this move is that Tre9 will actually continue that relationship as a manager/advisor for his former artist.




Tre9, Icece, and T-Trax

Finally, the Little Big Man took the stage to perform some of his new material. He said he was nervous about the performance and still getting into "show mode" with some of his new lyrics. Nonetheless, he did it all with a smile and his trademark giggle and humor.


Bushwick blasts off


"What's up Party People?"

The “All Eyes On Me” TV show camera crew was in the crowd in addition to some guys filming for an upcoming documentary on Bill’s life.



Tre9 assisted on the hook for “Takin’ It Back” (Bushwick Bill / takin’ it back / to the days when people actually learned something from rap) and AFC and Gifted joined in to perform their parts on “Work It Out.”




Gifted, AFC, and Bushwick break it down

Bushwick closed out the night with a prayer for the families of Houston’s fallen recently deceased rappers (Fat Pat, Hawk, Big Mo, and Pimp C) and took the audience through a recitation of the Sinner’s Prayer confession of faith. He also asked people to lift him in prayer as he continues to try and follow and imitate Jesus the Christ in his daily life.


The always animated Boyce



As I said, it was quite a night. Look for more details on both Icece and Bushwick Bill’s albums in the near future and check out The Brighter Side on any upcoming weekend for a chill, Christian social environment.


Mr. Morris of The Brighter Side


Bushwick with his G-Spot Records partner


Hear Bushwick's new music at: http://www.myspace.com/therealbushwickbill
Hear Icece's tracks at: http://www.myspace.com/icece

Recap: Hydrate Hope launch party (11/29/07)

Market Street advance promo poster

A week ago tonight I was doing a little bit of sweating. It was for a great cause though.

It was the launch party for a global clean water project called Hydrate Hope. HH is the first push from a non-profit organization started by two friends of mine (Shep & Coley) from Montgomery County.


Shep takes the stage.


Coley on the mic.

i am change exists to challenge people to “step outside of themselves” and do something to help solve some of the world’s greatest needs. First up: Clean water in Africa.

From the Hydrate Hope website:

Hydrate Hope is a movement that began out of asking the question, “with so many needs in the world, where can we begin to make a difference”. Our answer…start with the biggest. With water being the #1 killer in the world, our passion is to engage this preventable global atrocity head on.

Over 1.1 Billion people in our world have no access to clean water. That's basically 1 out of every 6 people on our planet. More than 2 million people, mostly children, die each year from preventable waterborne illnesses.

2.6 Billion people are without basic sanitation. Many women and children walk over than 2 hours each way to often fetch more than 40lbs of dirty water for their families. This creates an absence of time and energy necessary for education or small business.

The heartbreaker...4 children die every minute...that means that every 15 seconds another child dies....we want this to change. This has to change!”



Clean water getting to people who need it most makes Kim and me smile.

So what happened last Thursday? Basically, we raised awareness and money. i am change took over the Central Park area of the Market Street shopping center in The Woodlands. While people were buying XBoxes and iPods we were trying to engage them in a conversation about one of the world’s biggest issues.


Market Street lit up.

I know it sounds all dark and heavy, but it was actually a lot of fun. My man DJ Millhouse spun some Christmas tunes and we had Nashville band Love and Theft (recently signed with Lyric Street Records, home to such artists as Rascal Flatts and SheDaisy) take the stage for several sets of their talented folk-rock.


Love and Theft brought the crowd in.


DJ Millhouse (aka Noe) with his wife Vanessa and daughter Mia Mor.


L&T close out the night.

We had hot chocolate, hot coffee, brownies, and other assorted pastries. We sold raffle tickets, Christmas tree ornaments, T-shirts, and bottles of water.


Water bottles were sold for $20 each. Outrageous right? Not when you know that the cost of that bottle can/will provide clean water for an African for the next 15 years.


Whitney and Jess handle the merch booth for those sweet T-shirts.

In all, I think it raised about $9,000 for clean water projects in Sierra Leone. Probably 400 – 500 people passed through the park during the two-hour event and i am change successfully launched its first project and event.


Joyous dancing around a fountain of water. Make the connection?

To learn more about i am change and Hydrate Hope hit these links.

i am change: http://iamchange.org/
Hydrate Hope: http://www.hydratehope.org/

And to see more, much, much better photos of this fantastic night check out my man Chip’s blog from studio563. Look for my bald head interviewing some of the attendees.

Chip’s pics: http://www.studio563.com/houston/chip/?p=690

Grace and peace this Advent season.

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As I was helping the i am change team clean up I ran across this store not three doors down from the Hydrate Hope awareness event. Crazy irony, no?