INTERVIEW: Will The Ambassador be more preachy or less preachy on his next album?

  When the MOVE Tour hit Houston a few months ago I got to sit down with The Ambassador and talk about his approach to music.

Now that Xist Records has announced the date of the still-untitled release (March 26, 2013) it’s a good time to share this part of our conversation where he discusses whether or not he plans to be more preachy or less preachy on that upcoming project.

INTERVIEW: Ambassador speaks on the Meek Mill / “Amen” / Pastor Jomo situation

During a tour stop in Houston this past weekend, I sat down with one of Christian hip hop’s elite (The Ambassador’s Christology is often cited at the G.O.A.T. album within the genre) to discuss the recent dustup over “Amen.”

For those who may need a refresher, Meek Mill’s “Amen” song and video uses a traditional black church organ riff and lots of religious language praising the pleasures of women and liquor. Pastor Jomo K. Johnson led a public campaign against the track and the two had a conversation joint phone call about the topic on Philly’s Hot 107.9.

Meek later offered an apology on BET’s “106 & Park” and Jomo dropped his boycott. But since Mill, Jomo, and The Ambassador all hail from the “City of Brotherly Love” I figured this might contribute to the ongoing discussion about what type of content defines sacred, secular, or blasphemous hip hop music.

You may have also seen my interview with Da’ T.R.U.T.H. about the same topic. It’s interesting how similar their responses are given that these conversations were recorded at separate times without the other one in the room. They weren’t given any sort of heads up on what questions I would be asking either.

Saturday’s MOVE Tour brings nationally-known gospel rap, pop, and R&B acts to Houston

Saturday’s MOVE Tour will bring nationally-known gospel rap, pop, and R&B acts to Houston. Names on the bill include Jessica Reedy (BET’s “Sunday Best”), The Ambassador, Da’ T.R.U.T.H., Sean Simmonds, B.Reith, and emcee/producer/recording artist DJ MaL-Ski.

Like last year’s Misfit Tour, the event was organized by Xist Music and UpLift! Group. Compassion International ministry and Houston’s G.O.A.T. Radio are also listed as sponsors who helped bring the concert to our city.

In a recent interview with DJ Wade-O, The Ambassador discussed the “MOVE” theme and said “Because God is always moving, we should be too. Some people need to ‘move’ out the way, some need to ‘move’ forward because they’re standing still, and others need to ‘move’ back because they’re off track.”

On July 17, the event released its official theme song. “MOVE (Chasing You)” features all tour members in a hip hop-style “cypha” and will be performed each night of the tour.

The MOVE Tour will take place at Christian Life Church, 6650 Rankin Rd. Houston, TX 77393 from 6:30pm to 10:30pm. Tickets can be purchased online at http://tickets.movetour.com/houston-tx.