From left to right: Tedashii, Lecrae, Trip Lee, and Sho Baraka
On Saturday, top-selling Christian rapper Lecrae and artists from his Reach Records label will bring their Man Up tour event to Houston. The half day affair includes a film, panel discussion, and hip hop concert focused on teaching the principles of biblical manhood to urban residents.
Lecrae, Tedashii, and Trip Lee will all play a part and were either born or still have family in Houston. Hip hop missionary Bobby “Tre9” Herring organized the effort to bring the tour here and feels those biographical backgrounds can benefit his work.
“Houston’s hip hop community loves and supports their own, so we utilize guys with local ties any time we can because it helps form an immediate bond with our intended audience,” Herring pointed out.
He said that intended audience includes inner city kids, particularly young males, who often come from single-parent homes and are bombarded with skewed images and ideas about what it means to be a "real man" from the mainstream hip hop culture that surrounds them.
Although event tickets are being sold as a fundraiser for Herring’s 501c3 non-profit Eyes On Me Organization (which holds weekly Hip Hop Hope Tuesdays services in 5th Ward, provides meals and clothing to the homeless, and plants churches in group homes and prisons), he has received donations that will sponsor over 150 underprivileged youth to attend Man Up.
“Reach Records and their non-profit organization have done an excellent job at creating a multi-media campaign that shares this important and life-changing message in way that is relevant to the young men and women I work with every day,” Herring said.
“I’m glad we can partner with them and utilize their experience and God-given talents to bring Man Up to our city.”
Details: Man Up Tour event Featuring: Lecrae, Tedashii, Trip Lee, Sho Baraka, Propaganda, PRo, shai linne, Blair Linne, and KB Saturday, October 22, 2011 Doors open at 5:45 pm / Show starts at 6:30 pm New Faith Church – 4315 West Fuqua Street – Houston, TX 77045
Blue-eyed soul brother B. Reith unveiled a new song, "2 Steps Forward" from his upcoming How the Story Ends album, at last week's MISFIT Tour stop in Houston.
The singer/rapper, who is from Wisconsin and resides in Nashville, seems to have an affinity for the area, having filmed his "Comeback Kid" video in downtown Houston and in 5th Ward and unveiling the HTSE album name at a July "Boomin' by the Bay" concert in Kemah.
Word is that he'll be returning to H-town on November 5 for a "Rock the Night" concert for NGEN Radio.
What do you think of his more hip hop sound from the clip below?
Christian hip hop's top selling artist, Lecrae, boldly represented his faith among (and to) his mainstream rap peers in a cypher session during last night's BET Hip Hop Awards.
The not-so-extemporaneous-but-still-freestyle rhyme sessions are always a highlight of the event with fans registering their favorites and "winners" online immediately after they air.
Although the network got the artist's birthplace correct (Houston), they misspelled his name. As a result, the word "Lacrae" was a Twitter Trending Topic instead of "Lecrae."
(NOTE: Dismiss anyone telling you that was an intentional, Illuminati-type slight of someone of faith. On the night the show was taped there were reports that screens inside the venue even displayed errors such as "Little Wayne" instead of "Lil Wayne.")
The MC was highly energetic, weaved hip history and sports-reference punchlines into his verses, and even spoke directly to the evening's affairs with:
"But them awards can't follow you to the grave/you livin' for them whips and chains then you a slave!"
It was a historic night for Christian hip hop and Lecrae represented his King well.
Sidenote: Lecrae and his team will bring their Man Up Tour event to Houston in just a few weeks on October 22. For tickets and more information visit: www.dasouth.com/manuphouston
On Friday, October 7 the MISFIT Tour will roll into Houston. Alongside performances and messages from Christian rappers Ambassador, Da’ T.R.U.T.H., Sean Simmons, Mali Music, Rhema Soul and pastor/author Chris Durso, there will be a MISFIT Search contest that will allow local groups to compete for an opening slot with the rest of the acts.
Houston rap group Second is one of the MISFIT Search finalists so I recently caught with group member Carlos “Wretch” Rebollar to get some more details.
Sketch: Tell me a little bit about your group. How long have you guys been together, how did you meet, and what sort of projects are/have you worked on as a collective?
Wretch: Second has been together officially as a group for about eight months although we've been doing music together for about two and half years now.
Archie and HillaryJane have known each other for several years since they have been a part of the same youth ministry for a long time. Archie is currently one of the youth pastors there and HillaryJane is a graduate of their Generation School of Ministries Internship Program. I came to know them because I would visit their young adult services and started to get to know some people in their ministry as well as the pastor. I eventually became friends with this pastor who went on to plant Sojourn Community Church, which is the church I am currently at and have had the privilege to be a part of since its original core team phase.
When Archie started working on his first mixtape, a mutual friend told him he should contact me and get me on a track and here we are now.
Archie has put out two mixtapes, an album demo and a full length album--all on which HillaryJane and I were consistently featured on.
We are currently working on our first project as a group titled "First and Foremost -- The Mixtape Vol. 1" which will drop December 2.
Wretch: We thought it'd be a fun thing to do. Plus, we thought it may help us gain exposure since we are a fairly new hip hop group. We also love the fact that the MISFITs seek to create great art that glorifies God.
Sketch: What sort of connection do you have to the music of the MISFIT Tour's headliners - Ambassador and Da' T.R.U.T.H.?
Wretch: We can say their music has been an inspiration to us back from their Cross Movement days up until now with Xist Music. Everything from the standard of quality to the God-glorifying lyrics they seek to put out.
Sketch: Both of those guys had were seemingly at the top of their music ministry careers a few years ago when admitted acts of marital infidelity caused them to step away for a period of repentance and restoration. How did/have their stories impacted you personally and as fellow Christian hip hop artists?
Wretch: We can say that as fellow believers, we've been reminded of God's restoring work in the life of His children, and that's a beautiful thing.
As fellow Christian hip hop artists, we've know that talent does not equate to godliness. We've been reminded that even those who seem to be unshakable can be shaken and brought to the ground, and this has caused us to strive even more to be dependent upon God and ask Him to continue keeping us humble in everything we do.
As 1st Cor. 10:12 says: "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." We praise God for the restoring work He's done in Ambassador and Da' T.R.U.T.H.. God is gracious!
Sketch: Aside from a MISFIT Search win and exposure for your group, what are most looking forward to at Friday night's event?
Wretch: We're looking forward to a great show from every performer! Considering the fact that we are a group made up of two guys and a girl, we're very interested and excited to see Rhema Soul in concert for the very first time as well!
Details on the MISFIT Tour’s Houston stop can be seen in the video commercial below:
Sketch the Journalist is a freelance hiphop writer living in the thriving country metropolis of Cut-N-Shoot, Texas. Down with gospel rap since Stephen Wiley’s “Bible Break” in 1986, he has chewed, reviewed, and interviewed most of Christian hiphop’s major players. Sketch holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Sam Houston State University and was once an intern at the New York Times Houston Bureau. He can be reached at sketchwrek@dasouth.com.
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