Justin Bieber freestyles a quasi-Christian rap over Biggie's classic "Who Shot Ya?" beat

So... the Innuhnets are goin' nuts over this freestyle Justin Bieber dropped for Las Vegas' Hot 97.5 over the "Who Shot Ya?" instrumental the Notorious B.I.G. made famous.

"Beliebers" everywhere already know the kid likes to mess around with hip hop under the nom de rap "Shawty Mane" and are surely keen to the fact that he publicly proclaims to be a Christian.

But who knew he'd be dropping quasi-gospel rap verses with a stolen Lil Wayne flow over a bona fide hip hop classic? Much less while wearing what appears to be a Christmas apron with the words "Bieber Swag" on the front?!?

Sample lyrics include:

"Life is so short but we take it for granted / hand over my life and it was a life that I was handed"

And...

"I'm tryin' to figure out what my plan is / His hand is on my life and my sin just vanished / my filth washes off like her fake tan is"

Here's the clip. What's your take?

Another (less pom-pomy) Christian hip hop Tim Tebow song

While browsing sintax.the.terrific's excellent (and impressively consistent) current-events-turned-into-raps Press Junket blog I discovered yet another Christian hip hop song about Tim Tebow.

Here, sintax, aka Slangston Hughes, aka Samuel L. Rhythms, offers a less pom-pomy take on the Christian athlete phenomenon than Brinson's "Tebowin'" and provides some written commentary to go along with his music.

"I’m also a little queasy of Jesus cheerleading. Full disclosure, I wore a “Jesus is BOSS” (as in Hugo Boss) shirt in college. I have spent my entire life being roughly public with my faith. I guess in time I’ve been increasingly concerned about what those displays really say to others and about myself. Jesus himself asked us to do our praying in closets, not on corners. And, there is just something too rote about thanking God every single time you open your mouth. I wrestle with how to keep the name of God precious. The Divine is not something to hide. But, it’s also not something to parade, like a float."

Click here to read the full entry (which provides an even fuller nuance to the Christian/Tebow topic) and the Play button below to listen to "All Things."

Brinson drops "Tebowin'" tribute to Tim Tebow

It was only a matter of time until a Christian rapper crafted a tribute track to Tim Tebow. First to the finish line was Jacksonville, Florida resident Brinson with "Tebowin'."

Before going on sale today, the song appeared to have tons of momentum with "The Mile-High Messiah" having four straight 4th quarter comebacks and six straight wins. Unfortunately, "Touchdown Jesus" and the Denver Broncos fell short of glory yesterday with a 41-23 loss to the New England Patriots.

"Tebowin'" is available for purchase at all of the major digital suppliers (including iTunes) with a portion of the proceeds to be donated to the Tim Tebow Foundation. To hear a sample, click the Play button near Tebow's Bible-verse-laden eye black in the image below.

New Brinson "TEBOWIN" Tribute to Tim Tebow by Brinson Solar GodChaserz

And of course this begs the question: How does "Tebowin'" compare to this DJ Khaled/T-Pain remix?

VIDZ: Press conference for final Man Up Tour event in Houston

My friends at Factor Effects just released this video of the press conference* from a Reach Records Man Up event.

The Houston stop was the last one on their tour and somewhat of a homecoming for participating artists Lecrae, Tedashii, and Trip Lee.

During the presser, the guys discussed:

- Their thoughts about being back in Texas (peep Crayola's entertaining, H-town-influenced flow at the intro)
- Why the Man Up message is needed
- How the tour event has been received so far
- How the Man Up campaign came about
- The budget and logistics of producing the Man Up film (including the name of the Christian rapper who was supposed to take the role of "King" - it wasn't Lecrae)
- The story behind Lecrae's BET Awards Cypher opportunity
- And more

*Full disclosure: I organized and moderated the press event as a volunteer for Eyes On Me Ministries. Click here for a photo/video recap.