Saturday's Old School Hip Hop Tour Brings Several Acts with Christian Rap Connections

This Saturday’s Fresh Fest Old School Reunion Tour will bring several acts to Houston who are now, or who have recently been, involved with Christian hip hop.

Kurtis Blow

Kurtis Blow is a rapper with a lot of “firsts.” He is largely regarded as one of the first commercially successful rappers, the first to sign with a major record label, and “The Breaks” single from his 1980 debut album is the first certified gold record rap song.

Now, he’s better known as the founder of The Hip Hop Church in New York and for his recordings with gospel hip hop acts like The Trinity and Young Chozen.



Cheryl "Salt" James from Salt N Pepa

Salt N Pepa has sold over 15 million albums and singles worldwide. Known for songs like “Push It” and “Let’s Talk About Sex,” SnP is the best selling female rap act, and six of their singles have been certified either platinum or gold.

The group disbanded in 2002 and Salt moved on, finding God and providing a few guest appearances on several Christian hip-hop flavored songs like the remix to Kirk Franklin’s smash hit “Stomp.”



Other collaborations:
• Knine’s “Never Alone,” from Born Again
• Salt City Six's "Shine", from Holy South: World Wide, a compilation of Christian rap and Christian R&P (Rhythm & Praise) songs

Christopher “Play” Martin from Kid ‘n Play

As one-half of Kid ‘n Play, Martin recorded three successful albums and starred in four hip-hop based comedy films: House Party, House Party 2, Class Act, and House Party 3. After the duo split in 1995, Play became a born-again Christian and focused on gospel rap.

Today, Play is the founder and CEO of HP4 Digital, a pre and post production multimedia company for film, digital media, and theater. In 2006, he released a documentary film titled Holy Hip Hop with the Atlanta-based company of the same name.



Primary source: Wikipedia.com

BOLD: 2007 Year in Review (U-Zone Mag)

Here's a little piece that you'll be able to read in the print version of U-Zone Magazine that will be released at the Holy Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta this month.

I generally don't post stuff I've written for other publications until it has actually been released. But due to the timely nature of this article, I figured I could make an exception.

Enjoy it and pick up your copy of U-Zone Magazine. In that same issue I also have feature story interviews with: Lil J Xavier (cover story), Urban D, and Lil Raskull.

U-Zone Magazine: http://www.myspace.com/uzone_mag

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You know how these “year-in-review” articles go, right? I, your author and annual tour guide, take a look back at the past 365 days of holy hip hop, point out some highlights, give you the good and bad, write a short summary, and then try and tie them all together with a nice little thematic thread.

You’ll remember a few, be reminded of others, and argue with yourself (or the page) about the things I missed, overlooked, or over hyped.

All right, as long as we both know our roles, let’s get started.

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Did you think the introduction to this piece was a tad bit… BOLD? Well, it’s not half as brash as some of the moves made in Twenty-Oh-Seven. In no particular order:

Bold Professions from the Mainstream
Bushwick Bill goes gospel :: Pastor/Murda Ma$e Asks for Forgiveness

A former Geto Boy recording a full album of hard hitting gospel rap music?!?

Yep. Bushwick Bill, best known for his small stature, missing eye, and horrorcore lyrics, has rededicated his life to Christ and has been spitting Scripture over beats in several Houston studios. Mentored and aided by Tre9 and his manager, Double R, the Little Big Man has been putting together several songs for his upcoming “Testimonies of Redemption.” Side note: Bill’s first public performance of some of these tracks was at a U-Zone Magazine mixer in H-town.

And in January, after leaving his pulpit for greener pastures of 50 Cent’s G-Unit family, Pastor Mason Betha aka Murda Ma$e appeared at the Holy Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta, took the stage, and publicly apologized for past statements denouncing Christian rap ministry. He acknowledged it can be used as a tool to win the lost and asked the audience to pray for him.

In June, the Sugarhill Gang, Special Ed, and MTV’s Sway all appeared at the Texas Holy Hip Hop Achievement Awards in Houston. Sugarhill participated in a panel discussion about “Hip Hop AS Religion” and Ed and Sway presented the evening’s highest honors. From the stage, historian and journalist Sway stated that on that night he had seen what hip hop was missing (those that rep the cross) and that he wanted to do a feature on it for the landmark music and culture network.

Bold Activism
k-Drama yells “Cease Fire” :: Mr. J tells Constance’s story

In May, g-rap MC/producer and all-around hustler k-Drama joined “Cease Fire Cincinnati”, a comprehensive campaign to stop shootings and homicides in the city’s targeted neighborhoods. In addition to his active involvement in the movement’s rallies and marketing, Regis dropped a four-song “Cease Fire Cincinnati” EP that carried the theme throughout the album and returned its profits to the organization.

And throughout 2007, more and more people were alerted the horrors of the sex slave trade through Mr. J Medeiros’ song “Constance.” From his excellent of gods and girls album, the track (and accompanying video produced by XXX Church) told the story of the young girl named in the title. A perfect piece of Christian art, the song offered its listeners both chills and hope.

Bold Profiles
Da’ T.R.U.T.H. charts :: KJ-52 plays “Cold Case”

HHH had landed on two spots in particular that are sure to help it appear both professional and economically viable.

This summer, Da’ T.R.U.T.H. toured with Kirk Franklin, dropped a banging crossover single with Tye Tribbett, and saw his Open Book album debut at #2 on the Billboard Gospel chart.

And this fall, KJ-52’s song “You’re Gonna Make It” was licensed for the CBS crime-drama “Cold Case.” The track closed out the show, played in almost its entirety, and appeared to have a central role in the episode’s story.

Watch the clip below.

kj52 "your gonna make it" on cbs cold case

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Bold DIY Attitudes
The Rise of Podcast Radio and the HHH Music Video

Tired of waiting, HHH took advantage of technological advances and adopted a “Do-It-Yourself” attitude when it came to promotion.

Want to hear the latest gospel rap singles, DJs, and remixes but can’t bear the thought of staying up until 1am to hear the half hour teen scream show on your local Christian AM station? Now you don’t have to. Plug into any of the high quality weekly or bi-monthly shows on Holy Culture Radio (HCR.fm) and the mixes will be downloaded right to your computer or iPod.

HCR offers DJ D-Lite’s “3rd Coast Fiyah,” the East Coast leaning “Corelink Radio,” DJ Wade-O’s mixshow, DJ Primo’s chopped, screwed, and remixed “StreetLife Radio,” and KJ’s “52 Radio” of talk and music. Sphere of Hip Hop also offers a show on XM Radio.

The emergence of YouTube also allowed more holy hip hop fans the chance to finally see their favorite artists’ live performances and professional music videos. The on-demand, instant access is enough to make any of us old school fans uber-jealous. Everyone from the Lecrae to Soul P, to KJ-52 to Lil Raskull to your little cousin BooBoo now has a clip on the net. Just peep the aforementioned YouTube, MySpace, or HHH collective sites like Sphereofhiphoptv.com for all your faves.

See my Top 10 HHH Videos of 2007 here.

Bold Goodbyes
CM drops final album :: John Reuben and Listener leave Christian rap alone

All good things must come to an end right? Apparently a few key figures within the HHH game think so.

In March, flagship artists the Cross Movement announced that HIStory would be their final album as a group and would also be their final tour. The demands of running a label, having families, and pursuing other ministry opportunities lead to the decision. Thankfully, we have their legacy, reputation, and understudies to hold us over.

The year also marked distinct musical changes for both John Reuben and Listener (of Labklik and deepspace5.) While still writing and performing from a Christian worldview, each artist decided to tip their toes in other waters. Johnny Reu is now on a Beck/Cake funk rock tip and Listener has transitioned into the Listener Project band that performs something he calls “talk music.” Part spoken word, part hip hop, part performance art - the noise is definitely unique.

Bold Falls
Tonex presents tells the Naked Truth :: Juanita Buynum battered :: Popular televangelists under investigation

It was also a sad year for several high-profile ministers who faced spiritual and natural attacks from their enemies.

Nureau Inkster Tonex vented his frustrations about gossip questions regarding his sexuality with an expletive-filled single called “The Naked Truth.” The song quickly spread across MySpace and the rest of the Net and caused many to worry about Tonex’s mental and spiritual health. The artist was also going through a divorce at the time. Thankfully, concerned Christians like Mark J and DJ Wade-O reached out and let Tonex share the back story. He later apologized and announced his restoration through his local church and ministry team.

Elsewhere, in August, Juanita Buynum split with her husband Bishop Thomas Weeks after claiming he had assaulted her in the parking lot of an airport hotel. Other notable falls from grace included Randy and Paula White and a United States Senate investigation into the financial statements and practices of church leaders like Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, and Benny Hinn.

Obviously such matters should be of grave concern and serious prayer to believers everywhere.

Bold Endeavor
Urban D releases “Un.Orthodox” book, DVD, and album

Which holy hip hopper is crazy enough to drop an album, documentary film, and narrative/resource book about urban church ministry all at the same time?

That would be Urban D, aka Tommy Kyllonen, of the world-renowned Crossover Community Church in Tampa, Florida. A constant servant-leader, Urban D took his “Un.Orthodox” methods and message across the multimedia gambit and gifted the movement with some of the best blueprints on how to reach the hip hop culture for Christ.

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So here we are at the end. The year is over as so is this article. Let’s say we wrap it up with a cliché statement about how we could have never anticipated what transpired over the last twelve months how we’re looking forward to 2008.

Works for me. See you in the Cero Ocho.

Unpublished: Willie Will review

Here's an older review that got sacked before it could see the light of day. Enjoy.

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The kid’s got heart. He’s got concepts. There’s a well-known and talented producer behind the boards. There’s depth to his lyrics.

But listening to Willie Will’s major label debut, Reflection, there still seems to be some sort of disconnect.

I mean, I liked Will’s cameo on Soul P’s “Do My Thang” and we’ve heard him sound nice on the Best of the Submissions mixtapes…. but I’m simply not “wowed!”

That’s not to say there isn’t any quality work here though. “Say So”, in particular, caught me in the second round with its clever, two-fisted hook:

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so / “So!”
If you’ve been redeemed by the Lord say so / “So!”
Let it show / put your fist in the air and say /“So!”

Which later turns into:

Man, I used to see you in the club… / “So?!?”
Man, I used to see you smokin’ bud… / “So?!?”
Man, I used to see you with them thugs… / “So?!?”
Man, you was with them chicks gettin’ love… / Man…“So?!?”

In truth, that’s actually one of the dopest turns of phrase I’ve heard in a while.

And “Blame Game” does a cool perspective shift in each verse where Will narrates the story of finger-pointing Christians named Johnny, Donny, and Ronnie. Again, you may not catch it on the first listen, but as you give it a second or third spin the pieces of the puzzle come together to create a cool little portrait.

I was also impressed at the honesty and storytelling of “Help Me” where Willie Will admits his fight against Flesh to lend tangible aid to those in his immediate vicinity who are suffering. In this song you get several snapshots with poignant details that paint a clear picture of the scene and situation.

So that’s at least three check marks in the “Plus” column right?

Maybe it was the over polished production. Todd Collins has been known to make some nice beats and guide a project to success with equal amounts of commercial and street acumen. (See Soul P’s “The Premiere.”)

But most of the backbeats here just fall flat. The only real heat is found in “Move Somethin’” and “Say So.”

And if those are the head nodders, the head scratcher may be the indiscernible chorus of “All For You.”

This track is very similar to Knine’s “For You” in that it tells the Easter story from the perspective of the Crucified Savior. Unfortunately, in this version you can’t tell what the words are in the hook.

Is he saying “It’s God baby?”, “It’s all baby?”, or “It’s on baby?”

It’s the most powerful story in the world and yet the muddy loop leaves the listener in the dark. Quite puzzling indeed.

Perhaps my ambivalence toward this record is that whenever there’s a featured performance (Soul P on “We Don’t Back Down” and k-Drama on “Shine”) I’m more drawn to the guest’s verse than Will’s.

It could also be that on a song like “No” Willie Will sounds like a right-wing Republican hitting all the key platform issues of gay marriage, school prayer, and keeping the word “God” on our currency and in our national pledge.

It’s not that I think these items aren’t worthy of discussion or exploration. It’s just that they seem

1) out of place on this album,
2) like talking points from the “No Spin Zone”, and
3) like it’s a calculated attempt to reach a target demographic.

So, what’s the final grade? I have to conclude that it’s an unbalanced sum of highs and lows that make it an average contribution to the Beatmart catalog.

Willie Will has both talent and potential. It’s just not reflected in great portion here.

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Video for "Shine"

Recap: D@South.com Benefit (07/29/07)

Man how I wish all the folks that bemoan the lack of unity within holy hip hop (HHH) could've been at this event. They would have been blown away. How? Let me count the ways:

a) The true sense of community, familiarity, and joy between hip hop artists
b) The number of selfless artists involved
c) The "bigger-than-me" goal of the night
d) The quality of performances
e) The length of the show (3 hours)
f) The price of the show (Free admission)
g) The blessed end result (Over $1,500 raised / 12 souls saved)

But first, a little background…

Da South Site

7 years ago in 2000 my man s/ave had an idea to turn his successful HHH magazine web presence ( http://www.om95.com/) into a local community-driven hip hop ministry site, re-built to serve and expose gospel rap cats residing predominantly on the Third Coast.

DaSouth.com was intended to be a unified destination where artists and labels waived their claim to an individual, specific web address URL (example: http://www.christianrapnetwork.com/) for an umbrella domain (http://www.dasouth.com/) that would drive increased traffic and allow for multiple artists to market and promote a single site.

The vision was that Rapper X pushes his website as DaSouth.com wherever he goes, while Rapper Y and Rapper Z both do the same. Then, when Li'll Johnny Newfan logs on to check it out he'll find out about Rapper X, Y and Rapper Z and everybody wins.

Although MySpace and other sites eventually cannibalized this vision, the site (mainly through its vibrant message board) continued to foster community between local HHH rap heads and went on to gain a rep as THE location for Jesus Christ's Southern urban music movement.

Da Mission

A few months ago s/ave stepped away from the game to be led in a new, unchartered direction in his life. Desiring his rap network to be cared for, he willfully transferred ownership of DaSouth.com to one of HHH's most faithful and steadfast leader stewards: Tre9.

As anyone who knows or has worked with Tre can attest, he always puts others before himself. Not content to use such a valuable and marketable domain name for his own gain, Tre9 continued to carry the torch and will use the URL to serve all music ministers who share his geographical location.

Understanding that the site could use a facelift, but not wanting (or needing) to bear the full financial burden of such an endeavor, Tre9 organized a benefit concert to raise the money needed to revamp D@South.



Da Big Show

On a night unlike any night in late July 007, Holy Hip Hop in Houston Texas experienced a cornerstone event. Although this benefit concert would be free to fans, artists wanting to perform were asked to contribute a $50 stage fee and help with general promotion.

Just about everyone who was asked came up with the cash (or more) and got up on the bill. Champions Covenant Church in northwest Houston -home to one of the Texas Holy Hip Hop Achievement Awards Show- was gracious to host it, and that thing got kicked off right, sometime around 6:30 pm til late with AFC and J-Chill as emcees.

NOTES:

I summarized the show at the jump and this blog is already longer than I expected, so from here on out I'll just drop in some flix and comments and let the pictures save me a thousand words.

The show went pretty much in the order I have described below.



Lil Lite (J-Chill’s daughter) kicked things off.



Ace and his boy Duece were next. Bruh was brave sporting the Michael Vick jersey. (To be fair, this was before The Running Man’s boys rolled on him and Ookie copped a plea.)



Von Won, Sypreme (of ABF), and Bless’t were in the house.



This photo doesn’t show it but J Harrison is a dancin’ fool. Dude even put on a dance contest for a fan to win CY’s (not his) last album.



DJ D-Lite (my man's got more job titles than that West Indian family from In Living Color) came in from Austin to man the wheels of steel.



Madd Apostle spit some super-fast and heady rhymes.



Still Trill Christians were in the building.



Narrowmind did s/ave’s favorite Slow Lane Chronicles cut: “Thou Art God” and a new one called “Who Loves You?” that reminded us that Christ even has a heart for “the 9/11 terrorists, the rich, and the snitch.”

Dude is also running a Christian musicians fellowship every 2nd Sunday of the month at his crib for the purposes of prayer, discipleship, networking, and breaking bread. If y’all are close hit him up.



R Lopez (a big fan/supporter you might recognize from the message board) was in attendance with his wifey and other fam.



LOCs (he also performed) was in the crowd with S.O.M.’s Goldenchild (who also moderates DaSouth’s message board.)



Icece got the crowd to put their H’s up.



Tre made some announcements about some events that will continue to raise the profile of HHH in our area.

1. The first ever Holy Hip Hop Cruise will commence the week after the 2008 Texas Holy Hip Hop Achievement Awards. Book your room now.
2. The Gospel Announcers Guild will have their awards this Thanksgiving in Austin, TX and have a rap division for the first time this year.





Bless’t & Gangsta Loc represented Eternal Hu$tle and reminded us to pump “That Jesus.”



DJ D-Lite and CY. Wait, ain’t Mr. Smiles supposed to be behind the boards? !? Who's manning the turntables?





Chase Austin and them T.I.C. boys “bet us a $100,000 that our heads wouldn’t stop bobbin.” I think we lost.



Suge White (aka The Farmer aka The White White Man aka Bobby Ray aka Tre9) and Narrowmind take a breather.



Truvine and his podna Lil Flea were there to shine their light.





Austin’s B.L.U.E absolutely killed it with some acapellas and my man is probably the best in the biz when it comes to facial expressions that emphasize his words and hooks. It definitely adds to the show.



Anotha big announcement: Lil Bleezie is now part of Lil Raskull’s Javo Records family. Be looking for a re-release of his award winning “Times Change” disc and new version of “The Good News Bad Boys” with the Color Man and Ras.



These boys tag teamed a nice set and really set it off. Ras told us to “Man Up!” and reminded us that if he says that Christ is the King we can “Bank On That.”









Y’all shoulda seen Ras’ kids go wild for Daddy. They’ve got some fly dance moves and were fully supporting their pops. That’s E-Man throwing up the rockstar horns with a lift from his big sis.



D-Rock and Yunek were in the place to be.







“Y’all Didn’t Know” that S.O.M.’s got “Faith” and are some “Fiyah Starters”?



What about when Denzil added a reggae remix of “This Is Why I’m Hot” to “You Don’t Know Me Like Dat”? It was heat!



Ace/Deuce in the area.



Young Disciple banged it like it was “King Kong.” His song “One Faith” was very appropriate for the night with its “If I make it, you make” theme for HHH unity.



S.O.M.’s Boyce and Twin kick it with Sypreme



CY once again brought the “Circus World Event” and rocked it. Still with the top hat, but no red tails. This was a black and white affair.

Man, this CD is gonna be nice and deep. Lots of metaphors and stories to uncode and apply to your life. It’s not a typical Dirty South sound, but we got love for real art.

During the set Ras leaned over and told me “That’s my heart right there,” referring to CY’s more East Coast underground delivery. “I’m a b-boy from the old school,” he said.



J Harrison and his youngest fan.



Anotha big announcement: Von Won is now with Much Luvv Records! “What’s Up H-Town?” Did you know He can “clean you up and use you?”



The blessing bucket was passed around by promoter/booking agent Jimmy McDowel. (You may also recognize him as the cop from S.O.M.’s video.) God loves a cheerful giver.



Finally, Tre9 hit the stage and took us to the farm.





Then thangs got real cool as Tre invited all of the artists onto the stage for a final family jam of “I Be Comin’ Thru.”



He also led us in a prayer for all of the HHH guys in the city and region and country. We prayed that God would bless them with the resources and staff that will make them more effective ministers. We asked for forgiveness for our selfishness. We thanked Him for the host church for the night. We prayed for the website and how it will be used. It was pretty dope.



Pastor Victor Pena also held an alter call. About 12 people made decisions that night to become followers of Jesus the Christ.



The Still Trill Christians were one of several groups offering to pray with people for their various needs.

So overall, it was a stellar, very memorable night. It reminded me of a classic Houston HHH concert from the late 90’s where everyone was chillin’, supporting, having fun, and winning souls.

There were different styles and crews represented but it was all under one purpose and one banner.



I really hope we keep this going.