For the second year in a row Eddy “Rawsrvnt” Puyol will bring his unique Hip-Hop Worship style to THE STORY Tour.
Presented by World Vision, the event is billed as a Christmas celebration with carols and a musical journey from Genesis to
Revelation. It features a full choir and orchestra led by musical director Bernie Herms and songs from Casting Crowns’ Mark Hall, Jeremy Camp, Natalie Grant, Matthew West, Nichole Nordeman, and Selah.
Renowned author and pastor Randy Frazee co-wrote THE STORY project’s book component with Max Lucado and will be on the tour each night to bring its message to life.
“My world collided with Eddy’s (Rawsrvnt) world at THE STORY Tour
2011. He introduced me to the wonderful space of hip-hop as each evening
he brought the house down with his performance,” Frazee said. “But,
what blew me away the most is the man I got to know off stage. Eddy
Puyol is the real deal with a heart of heavenly gold.”
11/23 Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY
11/24 Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
11/25 Gwinnett Center, Duluth, GA
11/26 USF Sun Dome, Tampa, FL
11/27 Colonial Center, Columbia, SC
11/29 Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI
11/30 University of Illinois Assembly Hall, Champaign, IL
12/1 Independence Event Center, Independence, MO
12/2 Xcel Center, St. Paul, MN
12/3 Sioux Falls Arena, Sioux Falls, SD
12/4 Sears Centre Arena, Hoffman Estates, IL
12/6 Berry Center, Cypress, TX
12/7 American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
12/8 Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, TX
“Bass Ain’t Dead.” At least that’s the message you get when you talk to Thrill Da Playa. As a member of the multi-platinum secular group 69 Boyz, Thrill helped pen and release Florida bass records like “Tootsee Roll,”“Come On Ride It (The Train),” and even the Grammy-nominated “Space Jam” movie theme.
Now, as a rededicated Christian who is making music for the mainstream market, he’s hoping to revitalize the fun, party-atmosphere his style of hip hop always hoped to foster – just now with a clean, positive edge.
That comes in the form of his recently released Bass Ain’t Dead mixtape and the new single “El Shaddai.”
The track features hip hop worship artist Rawsrvnt using both his pop and regional sensibilities to create one of the most interesting Christian rap songs you’re bound to ever hear.
“I believe ‘El Shaddai’ is gonna have some people worshiping God in a real Florida way,” Eddy “Rawsrvnt” Puyol said.
The two initially connected after Thrill invited Rawsrvnt to come out to his User Friendly album release party and support the positive direction he was moving toward with his new music.
“He came down and we just bonded and clicked automatically,” Thrill said. “He’s been able to help me navigate some things without even preaching or saying it. I just watch his walk and lifestyle and that’s helped me a lot.”
While “El Shaddai” is intended for listeners who are already believers to use in vertical worship of God the Father, Thrill’s other music, like the songs heard on Bass Ain’t Dead, are designed to simply offer a positive form of expression for a mainstream audience.
Thrill said that after his rededication to follow Jesus he was tempted to only create and release for the Christian market.
“I’m thankful for some things I went through because it became very clear to me, almost like His voice was in the room with me, that God was saying ‘If you go over there then who is going to be here [in the secular market]?’”
He said that listening to mainstream radio revealed to him how little programming is dedicated to offering a positive message. By his count it’s less than 30 minutes in a 24 hour day – a number he desperately wants to change and with a method that has the full support of Rawsrvnt.
“I love what Thrill’s doing,” Rawsrvnt said.
Rawsrvnt said that Thrill is uniquely sharing the love of God to the mainstream world the only way he knows how to – by simply being real and staying true to his background and talent base in the world of fun, dance style hip hop.
“I’m not only a fan, but also a friend, and I tell him all the time how important his role is in the Kingdom,” Rawsrvnt said.
“That’s what we’re both in this for – to love God and love people. And our song ‘El Shaddai’ is a way of thanking our Lord for the ways He’s worked in both of our lives.”
“El Shaddai” is available on iTunes as a joint release from both Rawsrvnt’s Soul Deep Records and Thrill Da Playa’s Responsible Recordings.
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Soul Deep is asking fans to show support for the record by reposting the following information on their social networks:
Listen to @Rawsrvnt & @THRILLDAPLAYA of the 69 Boyz bass worship record "El Shaddai" on YouTube & leave your feedback! http://youtube.com/watch?v=4uczdolAH_c
Motor Racing Outreach president Billy Mauldin, NASCAR driver Michael McDowell, and Eddy "Rawsrvnt" Puyol Photo courtesy of Rawsrvnt
When considering the soundtrack for a NASCAR race event, few people would mention Christian rap as the first music genre that comes to mind. But given the passionate, faithful, and youthful fanbases of each, the two growing movements were bound to eventually cross paths. And just recently - they did.
On the weekend of November 20, hip-hop worship artist Eddy “Rawsrvnt” Puyol was invited to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the final race of the Sprint Cup Series where he performed and led chapel, met NASCAR driver Michael McDowell, and even got to sit in the driver’s seat of McDowell’s #66 Toyota Camry (a rare honor that was apparently the talk of the track.)
Rawsrvnt enters Michael McDowell's #66 Toyota Camry Photo courtesy of Rawsrvnt
It all started earlier this year, when Rawsrvnt was waiting on a flight to Jamaica to film a music video and killing time by reading his Twitter feed on his iPhone. A fan sent him an “at reply retweet” that mentioned McDowell had selected Raw’s song “On Fire” as his theme music for an upcoming race.
“I was both shocked and honored,” Puyol said. “I have to admit I hadn’t followed NASCAR that closely before, but to know that their massive audience would hear my lyrics about being ‘on fire’ for Jesus before Michael hit his gas pedal was very encouraging.”
Puyol and McDowell began to exchange notes of mutual appreciation via Twitter which eventually led to more offline conversations about faith and the fast lane. McDowell said he was an outspoken Christian who had been hipped to the “On Fire” song through Billy Mauldin, the president and CEO, of Motor Racing Outreach (MRO.)
“One evening I was home just looking around in iTunes for something new. I like cutting-edge music, stuff you usually will not hear on Christian radio. I also know when a song or a musician stirs my spirit. As soon as I heard ‘On Fire’ I was hooked,” Mauldin recalled.
“I am a 47 year-old father and still very young at heart so not only does this music appeal to me, but then I can introduce it to my children. I am always finding new stuff for them. I am also quick to share music I like with others. This is where the NASCAR connection comes in.”
Michael McDowell and Rawsrvnt before the Homestead-Miami race Photo courtesy of Rawsrvnt
About two weeks before that race, McDowell and Mauldin were flying back from Montreal with the Joe Gibbs Racing teams. Mauldin asked McDowell if he had picked his song for Bristol. He replied that he had not, but needed to.
“I told him I had a song he needed to check out,” Mauldin said. “So I handed him my headphones and started ‘On Fire.’ Immediately a great big grin came across his face and he said ‘That’s it!’ The rest is history.”
Rawsrvnt singing during the Motor Racing Outreach chapel service before the Homestead-Miami race Photo courtesy of Rawsrvnt
At the Miami event, Rawsrvnt participated in the MRO’s pre-race chapel service where he performed and shared his personal story of redemption through Christ. He sung his popular Black Eyed Peas/Hillsong United“I Gotta Feeling/Take It All” mashup and a remixed version of “On Fire” that included a new reference to the NASCAR community.
Afterwards, he handed out over 1,000 copies of his Grammy-nominated No Ordinary Love album and followed Michael McDowell to the track for the pre-race prayer.
“Michael leaned over to me and said this is one of the few sports where you’ll see and hear them so specifically and boldly mention Jesus’ name,” Puyol said. “I told him I thought it was cool that NASCAR is all about representing the faith, family, and pride in our country.”
Rawsrvnt pointing out Michael McDowell's car Photo courtesy of Rawsrvnt
Looking back, Rawsrvnt said he feels like this story perfectly illustrates how God’s Kingdom operates.
“It’s really all about being faithful over the small things and allowing Him to orchestrate the meetings, events, and elevations that He wants – not us!
“Who would have imagined that one man’s random search on iTunes would lead to me being able to talk about Jesus through my music to a crowd of over 150,000 race car fans?”
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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