Still Trill Christians finally release "No Sex" video

Still Trill Christians, a Houston-based Christian rap group who was honored with President Obama‘s “Call to Service” award and medal last year for their continued support of the country’s youth and for their “No Sex” song/campaign in particular, have finally released a video for that track.

The record itself has been around and performed by STC for years but, thankfully, it still holds up.

One thing I most admire about this track is how it boldly presents a sexual abstinence message with a "bed-rock" type sound that is so prevalent on mainstream urban and pop radio.

In essence, it's a Trojan horse about not needing a Trojan. Brilliant!

Rice University linebacker making waves with free Christian rap album & Marvin Sapp remake

Just a few years ago Ronnie Lillard was turning heads in Reliant Stadium for his linebacker play with the Rice Owls versus the University of Texas Longhorns.

Now, after an injury sidelined his collegiate football career, he's making waves as a burgeoning Christian hip hop artist named Reconcile with the Full Ride Music Group recently formed by St. Louis rapper Thi'sl.

Thi'sl told me that Reconcile was the "epitome" of the type of artist he would want on his record label and added him to the company after seeing Lillard's work ethic from afar and hearing positive reports from Houston about his character.

He said he was impressed by Reconcile's self-shot and edited videos frequently posted on DaSouth.com. He continued to follow the young rapper's moves and got to really connect with him when Thi'sl was a headline performer at the "Hope for the Tre" concert in Third Ward.

"The thing I love about him most is that when I went to his church they spoke so highly of him," Thi'sl said. "They talked about how he was studying at a top-rated college, actively serving his community, and discipling new believers."

"And on top of all that, he's dope musically!"

I caught up with Reconcile at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin a few weeks ago where he told me more about his connection to FRMG, his post-college plans, and the importance of hip hop to urban ministry.



Full Ride Music's first official drop is Abandoned Hope - a free album released online last Friday, March 23. It contains a remix of the "U Rydin" song (now featuring PRo) that lit up SXSW 2011 and a hip hop interpretation of the Marvin Sapp gospel hit "Never Would Have Made It" (seen below).



Sample or download Abandoned Hope for free via the widget below.

SXSW 2012 recap

MC skills competition opening round
All photos by Sketch the Journalist unless otherwise noted

Many are saying that 2012 was the year hip hop took over the South by Southwest festival. Although predominantly geared toward independent acts, this year’s SXSW event was notable for appearances and concerts by the likes of Jay-Z, NaS, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Eminem, and Rick Ross.

It was also a monumental time for Christian hip hop with the DaSouth.com putting together an official stage for the fourth year in a row and the additions of a Reach Records showcase at La Zona Rosa and a side set organized by rhythm and praise site GroovSpot.com.

It would be next to impossible to try and catalog everything that went down, but here are a few of my personal highlights with some photo and video help from others who were kind enough to help us cover it from various angles.

Friday Night Kickoff Concert

The weekend kicked off with the DaSouth.com/CityTakers SXSW party at the Horizon Worship Center. This mega concert contained performances by theBREAX, k-Drama, bigAL, Peculiar Image, Frontline Movement, Kingz Camp and others.

theBREAX rock the set

Frontline Movement's table offered an advance copy of Reconcile's upcoming "Abandoned Hope" album from Full Ride Music Group

k-Drama performed some new music

The homie Spoken came down from Toronto to attend the event

Exodus' Lapo performed and also played camera man
throughout the weekend

It was also a good time for fellowship between fans and other artists.

D.C.'s Too Phliy and former Baltimore boy Beleaf Melanin from theBREAX
sparked a convo backstage

Cross Movement Records' Director of New Media Brandon Stubbs
and Jerrell Johnson share a word backstage

And like many a Christian rap event, it ended up at IHOP.

Saturday Morning - Carver Cultural Center

Scott Free help cats understand the missional mindset

CityTakers’ Scott Free kicked off the morning with a workshop geared toward helping rappers understand the right way to approach their ministry and music careers by being missional. DJ Wade-O even mentioned it as one of his favorite events of the entire weekend.

Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, and Von Won fielded questions
at the panel discussion
Photo by Rosalinda Chapa

Afterwards, a panel discussion was held with artists and insiders about the practicalities of full-time music ministry. I, Sketch the Journalist, moderated the conversation and the participants included Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, Von Won, k-Drama, Thi’sl, Ruslan, KB, PRo, and even a surprise appearance by Reach Records’ co-owner Ben Washer.

The full panel

Topics included the benefits of being signed to a label, whether or not to respond to online critics, and how to, after shows, identify people who are just fans and want to talk music and those who are actually seeking authentic ministry.

Aslan takes center stage at the DJ skills competition

Next, we had the first ever DJ skills competition organized and hosted by DJ Promote. The participants were DJ Vow, DJ Stibs, and DJ Aslan who competed for $300 and a DaSouth.com/CityTakers SXSW trophy.

(L to R) Tre9, DJ Wade-O, DJ Primo, DJ D-Lite, DJ Aslan,
DJ Promote, Scott Free, DJ Vow, and DJ Stibs

DJ Wade-O, DJ Primo, and DJ D-Lite judged an opening set from each entrant and decided who would go the final round. Stibs got bounced in the first round but earned props from the panel for spinning actual vinyl instead of just utilizing a computer-program based set. In the end, DJ Aslan took home the cash and bragging rights.

After that, we kicked off the bracket-style MC skills competition. You can get full details of how it was run and what the prizes were here, but basically, eight MCs from various geographic regions competed head to head for the best freestyle based on five topics presented to them just seconds before they spit their verse. Special props go to bigAL and Trevor Lee who honorably stepped in for two competitors who were unable to make the event at the last minute.

Atlanta’s Enlitement faced a tough challenge from New Orleans’ Gifted da Flamethrowa in the first round but ended up getting the crowd fully behind him with the following set.

(L to R) Chris Chicago, R-Swift, Jerrell Johnson, Tre9, and Scott Free

The finals included Enlitement and Tampa’s Jerrell Johnson. The two MCs’ sets left judges R-Swift, Tre9, and Chris Chicago feeling torn so they asked both guys to go one last round with a single topic. In the clip below, you’ll see the homie Jerrell Johnson take the title with a freestyle rap about “spare tires” that he had to use in at least three different ways. Just wait until you hear his asparagus line.



Watch the complete final round and tie-breaker sets here.

Saturday Night – La Zona Rosa

Later that night it was time for the Reach Records official SXSW showcase at La Zona Rosa. This night club held hip hop showcases all week which included ones with performances by B.O.B., T.I., Statik Selektah, Talib Kweli, and Pharaohe Monch.

But on this Saturday, immediately following a set by the lovely Norah Jones, the entire Reach Records and Reach Booking rosters took to the stage.

DJ Wade-O manned the tables for Thi'sl's set

Highlights included Thi’sl introducing Houston’s Reconcile as the newest member of his Full Ride Music Group crew, High Society jamming their collective works, Andy Mineo controlling the crowd, and Lecrae debuting some new material from his upcoming mixtape.



Just before Lecrae hit the stage for his set, I caught up with him for a quick interview about his SXSW experience, how the BET Awards Cypher created opportunities for him in Austin, and what to look for with his new direction.



I’m told that the Reach Records showcase drew roughly the same crowd to La Zona Rosa as other hip hop concerts there that week and that, on that same night, they were invited back to perform there next year. This is definitely a good look for Christian hip hop as a whole so be praying about that opportunity for 2013.

And as the Reach concert was winding down, I headed downtown with Tre9, Scott Free, Jerrell Johnson, Enlitement, Gifted da Flamethrowa, Trevor Lee and others to talk to SXSW festival attendees, hear their stories, and pray for their lives. It was about 2:30 in the morning, but the clubs were still in full swing and, on the spur of the moment, our MC freestyle competitors decided to start a cypher.

As a crowd started to build, a few video cameras joined the circle as did a few mainstream rappers who tended to step in and spit writtens. My video clip below is a bit shaky and not the best quality audio, but at least it will give you a feel for what went down.



Like I said, it was an amazing weekend for the Christian hip hop movement. Prayerfully we’ll get to impact Austin and the music industry again there next year.

More pics:

Lecrae preps before taking the stage at the Reach Records showcase

Scott Free gets animated during his workshop

Handout from the missional mindset workshop

(L to R) R-Swift, Too Phliy, Thi'sl, and Chris Chicago

bigAL nervously awaits to hear if his freestyle skills would advance him
to the next round (it did)

Lecrae joined Trip Lee on stage for "I'm Good"

Austin's SaulPaul showed his freestyle skills in the MC competition

Backstage at the Reach Records showcase, several artists joined in a group shot for an upcoming video (L to R: Ruslan, Beleaf Melanin, KB, Andy Mineo, CheeseBeats, Swoope)
Photo by Rosalinda Chapa

La Zona Rosa - site of the official SXSW Reach Records showcase

ATL's Double freestyling on 6th Street

INTERVIEW: Lecrae at SXSW 2012

Whew! Another SXSW is in the books. Soon I'll be doing a full recap of the Christian hip hop events that took place in Austin this past weekend, but one of the highlights was definitely the Reach Records showcase that took place at La Zona Rosa on Saturday night.

The Reach team was kind enough to get me backstage just before Lecrae's set and I got to ask him about his SXSW experience this time around (a lot has changed for him since he last performed at the festival for our official SXSW Christian hip hop stage in 2009), how his BET Awards Cypher session created opportunities that came to fruition at SXSW, and what to look for with his new direction.

Brackets announced for Christian MC/DJ Skills Challenges at SXSW Music Festival

How’s your bracket looking? It’s a phrase you’ll often hear during this “March Madness” season of the NCAA basketball tournament.

But here, we’re talking about the brackets for the MC skills competition during the DaSouth.com Hip Hop Hope Unity Conference and CityTakers at SXSW this weekend. This is an official part of the massive music festival and an opportunity for Christians to display their God-given rhyme skills and talents.

The matchups are listed above. Here’s how it'll all go down.

When/where:

• Saturday, March 17 / 3:30 – 4:30pm
• The Carver Cultural Center – 1165 Angelina Street, Austin, TX 78702
• Cost: Free and open to the public, limited seating so first come, first served

The competitors:

Need an introduction? Click the links on their names to visit their official SXSW profiles where you can get bios, audio samples, and photos.

Group A
• Jerrell Johnson – representing Tampa, FL (@jerrelljohnson)
• Too Phliy – representing Washington, D.C. (@toophliy)

Group B
• Omega Sparx – representing Charlotte, NC (@OmegaSparx)
• J Kwest – representing Chicago, IL (@MrKwest)

Group C
• Gifted da Flamethrowa – representing New Orleans, LA (@DaFlamethrowa)
• Enlitement – representing Atlanta, GA (@IamEnlitement)

Group D
• SaulPaul – representing Austin, TX (@SaulPaul)
• Ruslan from theBREAX – representing San Diego, CA (@theBREAX)

The setup:

This is not a battle! Our MCs will not direct any negative lines toward any other MC. However, it is a head-to-head competition.

The two rappers will spit their freestyle and their matchup opponent will do the same. Our panel of judges (taking into consideration the crowd reaction) will determine who advances to the next round.

We’ll start off with a non-elimination, free verse warm-up round. All 8 competitors get to spit a hot 16 bars (written or off the top of the dome) to get the creative juices flowing.

Then, similar to the RedBull EmSee events, we’ll kick off the first round where all eight rappers will be given five words (only given to them seconds before the clock starts) to incorporate into their rhyme segment.

Round 2 will take the four MCs who advanced from the first round and give them a similar challenge – except that this time the topics will be provided with images instead of text.

And then, the two last MCs standing will match up against one another in a round that uses both text and images - but they’ll only be on the screen for a few seconds. This will mean our MCs will have to rely on both their memory and creativity to try and incorporate all five clues into their verse.

The judges:

• bigAL
• R-Swift
• A surprise guest

The spinster:

• DJ Promote

The prizes:

• SXSW Weekend Skills Competition trophy (see above)
• $300 cash
• $300 advertising credit with DaSouth.com
• $300 advertising credit with HolyCulture.net
• $300 advertising credit with WestCoastFiya.com
• $200 advertising credit with Z180radio.com

Also, don’t forget to join us before this contest (at 2pm) to see Kingdom-minded DJs display their skills. That set will take place between DJ Aslan, DJ Vow, and DJ Stibs and be judged by DJ Wade-O. The winner there also gets a trophy and $300 cash prize.

So, who do you think will take home the title, trophy, and cash? Post your picks below.

VIDEO: Lecrae, Canon, and DJ Official join MercyMe for cover of Justin Bieber's "Baby, Baby"

MercyMe's "2012 Rock & Worship Roadshow" stadium tour just wrapped and supporting acts Lecrae, Canon, and DJ Official joined the crew for fun cover of the Biebs' "Baby, Baby."

(Apparently this is an end-of-tour tradition for the band. Last year's tune, which also included silly mustaches, was The Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.")



As some have already pointed out, one of the video's highlights is Canon smashing his bread slice all up in Bart Millard's grill.

Enjoy a .gif of said act from the Interwebs:

SXSW schedule: DaSouth.com/CityTaker/Reach Records and other Christian hip hop events

South by Southwest (SXSW), the premier Austin-based company dedicated to building and delivering conference and festival events for entertainment and related media industry professionals, has, for the fourth year in a row, invited several Houstonians to organize its Christian hip hop showcase.

Taking place March 16-17, DaSouth.com Hip Hop Hope Unity Conference and CityTakers Weekend will showcase performances from some of gospel hip hop’s most polished performers and offer an expanded schedule of informative and interactive artist development workshops and networking opportunities.

The events include:

Friday, March 16

• What: SXSW Kickoff Concert
• Time: 6:30pm – 11pm
• Cost: $5 donation
• Location: Horizon Worship Center – 1006 E. Yager Ln. Suite 115-A, Austin, TX 78753
• Participants include: bigAL, Viktory, Gifted da Flamethrowa, k-Drama, Von Won, theBREAX, Frontline, Omega Sparx, K-Praize, Tre Nation, Chris Lee Cobbins, Peculiar Image, and more

Saturday, March 17

• What: The official SXSW - DaSouth.com Hip Hop Hope Unity Conference and CityTakers Weekend
• Time: 10:30am – 5pm
• Cost: FREE and open to the public on a first come, first serve basis, seating is limited
• Location: The Carver Cultural Center - 1165 Angelina Street, Austin, TX 78702

Schedule breakdown

Hip Hop Hope Unity Workshop
Time: 10:30am – 11:00am (0.5 hour)
Participants: Bobby “Tre9” Herring (DaSouth.com co-owner)

The Heart of Hip Hop Missions Workshop
Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm (1 hour)
Participants: Scott Free (CityTakers)

Panel discussion: “The Realities of Music Ministry”
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm (1 hour)
Participants: Sketch the Journalist (host/moderator), Viktory, k-Drama, Von Won, Thi’sl, Pastor AD3, Ruslan (theBREAX)



Lunch break / Fellowship
Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm (1 hour)
Details: Food and snacks will be available for purchase at the location

DJ Skills Competition
Time: 2:00pm – 3:30pm (1.5 hours)
Participants: DJ Promote (host), DJ Wade-O (judge), DJ Aslan (competitor), DJ Vow (competitor), and DJ Stibs (competitor)

MC Skills Competition
Time: 3:30am – 4:30pm (1 hour)
Participants: Scott Free (host), bigAL (judge), Victorious (judge), R-Swift (judge), Ruslan (competitor), Jerrell Johnson (competitor), Gifted da Flamethrowa (competitor), Enlitement (competitor), Omega Sparx (competitor), Too Phliy (competitor), J Kwest (competitor), and SaulPaul (competitor)

Other Christian hip hop related concerts event during SXSW weekend include:

Friday, March 16

• What: GroovSpot.com presents The TruLife Music Tour
• Time: 7pm – 10pm
• Cost: Free and open to the public
• Location: Promiseland Church located at 1504 East 51st Street
• Participants: The W.A.R.R.I.O.R.S. ATX, Price Hill, The Kenny Wayne Band, Kara-Nichole, Chris Lee Cobbins, Zack Gaddis, and Sean C. Johnson
• Details: GroovSpot

Saturday, March 17

• What: Reach Records official SXSW showcase
• Time: 9pm – 1am
• Cost: Free, tickets available at door only, SXSW badge holders get priority
• Location: La Zona Rosa – 612 West 4th Street, Austin, TX 78702
• Participants: Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, PRo, KB
• Details: Reach Records

INTERVIEW: Heath McNease talks "Thrift Store Jesus," explaining art to Christians, and working with "outsiders" RedCloud and Pigeon John

I recently caught up with rapper/singer Heath McNease via e-mail to discuss his new album, having to explain his art for Christians, and working with “outsiders” like RedCloud and Pigeon John.

Sketch: Are you crazy? By my count, this is your 4th music project release within the last 365 days. Why the massive work ethic? Are you at all concerned about over saturation?

Heath: Hahaha. I feel like I might be crazy for choosing music as my vocation in the first place but that's about it. The work ethic is simple. Music is my job. Touring, writing, recording, that's my job - no part time hustle. So if I'm not either touring, writing, or recording then I'm essentially committing "time theft" against myself.

I love the process. I'm driven by it. It's exhausting how much it weighs on my mind sometimes, but that love was put there for a great reason.

And over saturation is a concept that doesn't exist in my world. Lil Wayne, Lady Gaga, Chris Brown...huge stars like that are the ones who potentially have to worry about stuff like that, because everyone knows them. So it could lead to audience fatigue, but I'm gaining new fans and listeners every day. I have to keep providing a new product to keep retooling my live show so that I have something new to share the next time I visit. I want new listeners to hear the newest, best version of me and then visit my back catalog. I want my ride-or-die listeners who have been invested for four years to hear my evolution as it's happening.

I think you can only over saturate when you've seeped into all areas of pop culture. I've probably got 50,000 people who've heard of me, probably 10,000 fans who are aware of me, 5,000 who follow most of what I do, and probably 2,500 who follow everything I do. So my job is to expand that.

Sketch: For this album you actually recorded and posted a video explanation of each song. Why did you feel the need to go to that extra effort?

Heath: Because I've learned that I literally can't leave ANYTHING unexplained for a lot of church people. Some people in the church are just waiting for a reason to have an issue with anything an artist says. They feel like they not only need, but intrinsically deserve, to know the nuts, bolts, and inner workings of your every thought as it pertains to your art. And since there's a lot of serious stuff covered on this album I didn't want to even leave a window open for someone in the church to attempt to twist my words or misinterpret my intentions.

95% of people in and out of the church are cool, but the 5% that aren't cool...they really try to make life miserable for everyone else. I'm just a humble dude who was called to share his heart through a few songs. I'm harmless. My heart is to help, but I don't make music for 6-year-olds.

And for a lot of church people, they feel that a Christian must make music that is acceptable for them, their grandparents, and their kids. Go listen to The Wiggles. I don't do that and I don't have a problem with anyone who does, but some people have a problem with artists not doing things their way which is antithetical to art’s purpose in the first place.

And the whole..."But aren't you called to be a Christian before an artist?" debate is weird because I'm called to serve God and God called me to serve Him by following His word and my instinct as an artist. Pastors can speak about Song of Solomon to adults, but they can't do that with 6-year-olds. This is for teenagers, college students, and adults. It's not for children's service and that's fine.



Sketch: To me, Thrift Store Jesus sounds like a pretty even mix of your acoustic and hip hop musical identities. Was that intentional?

Heath: Hah, it would've been all rap or all acoustic if that was where I was being lead. I said that I didn't want it to be a concept album, but I did want it to conceptually sound like an album an artist could've made on one really cold, lonely day. There are only three straight-up acoustic songs, but they are so similar in their content they don't stick out. They weren't done to change the vibe though. They just fit perfectly with what I was trying to talk about and that conceptual balance I think is what makes it such a strong album.

Sketch: The song "It's a Wonderful Life" features Pigeon John and RedCloud - two guys who have been somewhat ostracized from the Christian hip hop community lately. Why did you decide to include them on this project?

Heath: Because they are my friends and I love them. Because they are phenomenal artists. Because they added something to the album and that's what an artist looks for.

RedCloud was the first dude who ever reached out to me - just some punk high school kid who liked rap. RedCloud took me on the road with him and showed me everything. He showed me how to rock shows. He showed me how to be gracious at host homes.

He did real ministry. I’m not talking about showing up at rich churches and rocking for 150 white kids and leaving with a check. I mean...we were in Native American reservations in South Dakota and Montana...places that this country have either forgotten or ignored and he loved on those people in a way I’ve rarely seen. He was there to serve.

I wouldn't care if every church, Christian, pastor, deacon, and supporter of mine told me they'd never bring me in again if I supported him. I’d still do it because that's what friends do. That’s what Christians do.

I’ve seen the heart of a lot of Christian culture by how they treated that dude. I’ve seen churches love on him in a way that literally broke me down. I’ve also seen some people stand in judgment towards him in a way that is nothing short of grotesque - especially when they have NO basis other than rumor. If they don't want to support his music, that's fine, but people have been harsh.

And I’m in NO way condoning some of the things he's said or done and he knows that, but if I had Mos Def or Talib Kweli on my album people would be stoked. But a Christian dude who is doing his best to figure things out? “No...you can't work with him.”

Throwback video with Pigeon John from Heath's first album

And Pigeon John is the best live performer hip hop has ever seen - all of hip hop. I mean that. We’re not best friends or anything. I don't think I’ve spoken to him in three years because of how busy his schedule got, but i wrote an $18 check for [Pigeon John’s first solo album] ... Is Clueless with money I made working a summer job and I’ve been his biggest fan ever since.

And he's been dragged through the mud as well. I honestly don't know or care to know about the inner workings of his personal life. Unless I hear something straight from him I consider it gossip...which in and of itself is not biblical. So I love him as a person and I pray for him to find peace and happiness. And I love him as an artist so I wanted to work with him again.

I put sintax.the.terrific on the song too. He knew those guys were on the song and he never once said, "Oh man...I'm not sure." He said he'd love to because he wanted to be a part of a good song. And that song says something amazing and it took all four of us to do that.



Sketch: There's some really raw language on this album. I'm not necessarily speaking of curse words (although there appear to be a few that you've muted), but also just in the honest, sometimes less-than-flattering, thoughts and feelings of a man seeking truth.

How scared were you to release some of this publicly? Has its response surprised you in any way?

Heath: The first thing I’d say is there is NO cursing on the album. No muting or anything. My goal was to make harsh edits so there would be a perception of edited cursing at times even when there wasn't. But it was only done when a story was being told through the eyes of someone who would say something less than savory. I recorded this album in a church's studio, so I wouldn't have wanted to do that anyway.

But I knew the language was going to be more honest. I knew it was going to expose a lot of stuff that I was truly feeling. I knew it was going to run the gamut of emotions: doubt, fear, anger, bitterness, despondence, desperation, love, lust, greed, selfishness, AND redemption.

I was more frightened to release this than I could even explain because...when you pray hard about something and you say, "God...I don't want to get in the way. If there's something I shouldn't say...please convict me. If there's something I shouldn't do...please be the business man that I don't know how to be" a lot of people don't realize that this kind of honesty is the WORST move you could make if you're a business man who looks at the church as a way to fund your endeavors. But I’ve never looked at it like that.

There’s a possibility it could put some people off who are believers, but if my motivation was the money and not sharing what was on my heart I’d be squandering this gift. But i was definitely frightened in a way I haven't really expressed.

The response has been so overwhelming. I’ve heard exactly what I was hoping I’d hear from believers, from non believers, from casual listeners and hardcore fans. "Man...I relate to this so much." "Heath, thank you for being brave enough to really be honest. I’m going through the exact same thing as you mentioned in this song or that song." "I can tell this wasn't an easy album for you to make, but thank you for following your heart."

Stuff like that shows me that it's exactly what needed to happen. I’ve heard a ton of people say it's their favorite album of mine. They say it's my best and most mature. I knew from the beginning that it would unfortunately have no place in the world of accessibility, but I knew that I owed it to myself and to the people who are going through tough times to make this album.



Thrift Store Jesus can be streamed and downloaded on a pay-what-you-want-basis (including FREE) at the artist’s Bandamp site.

Listeners can also choose from a variety of financial support options that offer rewards of signed CDs, personalized thank-you videos, and house concerts.

Behind the Scenes: Walk of Christianity's "Get Up Again" video shoot

On Monday, Houston's Walk of Christianity rap/rock hybrid band dropped the video for "Get Up Again" - the lead single from their upcoming EP.

In November I was invited to attend the shoot and have some behind-the-scenes photos and footage to share with you here.

Crane camera shots before the crowd arrives

Drummer Josh gets his close-up

Handheld stage shots of the crowd

Close-up rail shots of the audience

And in January, the band held an intimate video release party where they auctioned off props and signed photos from the "Get Up Again" video shoot.

At the release party, the band held a panel discussion where they announced a "Beat the Heat" summer tour with Christian rapper Educator.

And signed a few autographs after the video and performance

For more information on the group visit: www.walkofchristianity.com