Notes from the Sketch Pad: Recap: CaJo in Huntsville, TX

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Recap: CaJo in Huntsville, TX

Photo by Sketch the Journalist

Last week I had the pleasure of hitting two top-notch Christian hip hop shows in two nights. Both reschedules due to Hurricane Ike, I was able to catch Canton Jones on a Thursday and KJ-52 on a Friday. Such is the advantage of living near a major city.

To start, I have to say the Canton show surprised me. For one, I wasn’t that familiar with his music. My main exposure has been via the stuff Wade-O has played and the “Kingdom Business” album I received as a Christmas gift. And of course, I also had my mind cluttered with mess I’d read about CaJo on Christian rap message boards.

And I have to admit that I misjudged the dude. Honestly, I expected a big ego and lots of lots of money talk. Instead, I saw a genuinely funny guy that knows how to put on a performance, lead worship, and spend time with his fans.

Photo by Sketch the Journalist

My man spent a good hour knocking out his hits, mixing in some familiar beats, and then really helping the audience engage in vertical communion with their Creator.

Photo by Sketch the Journalist

At one point, he took a bunch of mainstream beats and flipped them into worship tracks. Normally this would strike me as a corny crutch. But CaJo cut the secular sounds off quickly and totally redirected the songs. The blend from T.I.’s “Whatcha Know About That” to “Awesome God” was particularly well done.

And at the end, he spoke his heart and shared the Gospel. Three young people ventured forth to say they made a decision to follow Christ and Jones closed the show by joining the crowd in a grimy circle hop to “Give U What U Want” and did fan meet and greets afterward.

Photo by Sketch the Journalist

Would I co-sign with everything he did and said from stage? Maybe not – but how often do I do that with anybody?

In the end I was thoroughly impressed and very glad I was able to check him out in person and not rely on second hand opinions that clouded my judgment.