INTERVIEW: Cody Miles on bringing Beautiful Eulogy to Sam Houston State University

I recently caught up with rapper/full-time student Cody Miles via e-mail to discuss his role in bringing Christian hip hop to campus at Sam Houston State University (my alma mater), why he selected Beautiful Eulogy for this week’s show, and whether or not we need to dress like hipsters to enjoy the concert.

Sketch: What most impressed you about Beautiful Eulogy? Why bring them to Huntsville, Texas?

Cody: Honestly, when I get to put on these concerts at Sam Houston State the first question I ask myself is, “Who do I want to meet next?”  And then I convince my team and the Dean of Students that all their wildest dreams will come true if they listen to me.  So, there’s that.

But really, I’ve been following Braille and Odd Thomas separately since I started college in 2009. They are phenomenal rappers and they’ve impacted my life in so many ways as it is.  When they released the Beautiful Eulogy record, they also really filled a hole in a genre that was so needing of them.  It’s funny.  When I describe their music to people, especially church-kids, I tell them, “It’s kind of like combining abstract worship music and dope hip-hop with a little folk.”  It’s just good.

We’re bringing them to Huntsvegas primarily because my team’s focus is on Christian leadership and stimulating conversations about faith.  That involves doctrine.  I think Beautiful Eulogy is able to communicate the character of Christ as the motif for Christian behavior better than most artists in the genre.  Braille is also giving a message about Christ as a leader after they perform.  It’s just a great fit for what we want to do on our campus.

Sketch: What’s the biggest challenge of throwing a concert like this?

Cody: Haha, oh man.  College students.  College students are the freaking worst.  We’re in an environment so saturated with events and promotion that it really takes work to get noticed.  Besides that, we’re not playing the hottest club hits so students are confused as to what we’re even doing.  But, really, does anyone actually like “Gangnam Style”?

This year, we tripled our promotion budget, placed the event on campus and received sponsorship with Monster Energy Drink.  I’m opening for Beautiful Eulogy and it’s kind of embarrassing how many times my face is actually plastered in the hall ways and class rooms.  We have something like 2,000 flyers floating around and another 50 large posters around campus.  So, we’ll see what happens.

Sketch: You’re a public relations major at SHSU. So tell me, how did you put your education to use to promote this show?

Cody: I’ve come to learn that Public Relations can be a very equivocated term.  It’s not exactly rocket science.  Really, it’s just a game of educated guess and check.  In our case, we took some very informal surveys (we definitely didn’t get our research approved by the IRB), confirmed my already-cemented bias for Beautiful Eulogy, and tried to get the attention of college ministries.

In our luck, we’ve teamed up with a nationwide event called Engage24, which serves as a vehicle to encourage all campus ministries to evangelize to a part of the campus for 24 hours.  Our event will culminate all of that at the end of the day.  Then there is radio and newspapers and blogs. Oh my.

We’ll see how it turns out!

Sketch: You’re a recording artist too, so apart from getting to perform and open the show for these guys, what’s been your favorite part of organizing and promoting concerts like this for Tedashii, Sho Baraka, Freddie Bruno, Playdough, Heath McNease, RedCloud, and now Beautiful Eulogy?

Cody: It’s cool, man.  I really live for this stuff.  I’m writing the business plan to do it in Austin when I graduate in December.  I love seeing progress – having a vision for something and seeing it come to life.  I love that people support me in these sometimes retarded ideas.  I love that I get to show people how to put these things on so they can carry the vision when I leave.  I love that, in some ways, this is a legacy that I get to be part of.  Building the Kingdom of Heaven at Sam Houston State University.  That’s kind of an honor.

My favorite part is getting to meet the people you listen to on the daily.  I got to spend 14 hours in a car with manCHILD one time and while he probably hated every minute of it, I was euphoric.  I love hip-hop.  I love the culture, the people, the feeling you get when you write a dope line.  Meeting my heroes is kind of inspiring and also a little humbling.  I remember listening to “Resurrect Me” by Braille when I was going through one of the hardest times in my life.  Now, I get to meet the guy that helped me get through it- and I get thank him from the stage.

Sketch: I know the Beautiful Eulogy guys are from Portland, Oregon. Does that mean we all need to be facial-hair-and-plaid-wearing hipsters in order to enjoy the show? Will I be required to put a bird on Austin Hall or anything to attend?

Cody: I love you, Sketch.  Citing “Portlandia” made my night.  I don’t know what to expect, man.  I honestly don’t.  Beautiful Eulogy is not your typical hip-hop crew.  So, better pull out the plaid and throw away your razor just in case.

INTERVIEW: Cody Miles talks Apocrypha, bringing Christian hip hop to college, and writing rap songs about Old Testament love stories

I recently caught up with rapper/full-time student Cody Miles via e-mail to discuss his new album, bringing Christian hip hop to campus at Sam Houston State University, and writing rap songs about Old Testament love stories.

Sketch: Your new album is called Apocrypha and you’re in a group called Kenosis. What’s with the odd terminology? It all sounds like Greek to me.

Cody: Haha, I'm not sure, man. When it all comes down to it I just want people to think I'm smarter than I am. Apocrypha is just a Greek word that means, "what is hidden." My new album is a revealing of what is hidden, and it attacks that at different angles.

Kenosis is Greek for "an emptying." Paul uses it in Philippians when he says that Christ became nothing by being made in human likeness.

I just really enjoy the intensity behind those words. But, Saiza Inc. has told me that they won't release another album with me unless I talk in English from now on. Haters.

Sketch: You started to release the album in “drip-fashion” on April 5 with the first 100 downloads of each song-of-the-week being free. How and why did you get the idea to put the project out this way?

Cody: We're kind of pulling a Macklemore. We've spent countless all-nighters making every track extremely special. And, I mean, there really isn't a song on the album that I would consider filler.

Mista Min, Skeli, and I just believe that the music we make can impact and change lives and we want our audience to digest this project slowly. We tackle a myriad of different topics- from the current state of hip-hop, to the health, wealth and prosperity gospel, and even excommunication. I think that things that are important to understand take time, and we're just communicating that.



Sketch: The album was produced exclusively by Mista Min from Munich, Germany. How’d you connect with him and why did you decide to eschew the common hip hop method of using a variety of producers for your project?

Cody: Well, not exclusively. The last track, "Simple Man" featuring Manchild, was produced by Skeli. But, Mista Min and I have been friends for a whole minute. We did a song together on the first Kenosis album called "Lyrical Kings" and he has consistently produced beats on all of my projects.

Last November, he called me and asked if I wanted to do an album with him. So, we're here. The dude is just phenomenal. I've never seen a producer who is able to consistently pull out so many different styles. He's not too shabby as a rapper either. He's featured twice on the album. I'm just so thankful for that guy's vision, his heart and his passion for music.




Sketch: You told me that one of the upcoming songs is a modern day retelling of Biblical story of Hosea and Gomer. What inspired this obvious club-banger?

Cody: Bro, this is one of the most important tracks I've ever done. It's called "Gomer's Song" and it can be downloaded on my Bandcamp site. It was actually the first song I wrote for the album.

I had been really digging into eschatology and, in that, I saw this incredible picture of God coming after his people, Israel, even after they continuously went after foreign gods. This song is a picture of God's heart for his people. I think if we are able to understand that illustration, we can really begin to grasp the Old Testament.

It's definitely not something one would hear on the top 40 charts. But, it does involve sex, irrational choices and night-life. So there's that.

Sketch: You’ve organized several faith-based hip hop events and concerts on the campus of Sam Houston State University - including this Wednesday night’s “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” freestyle show with Playdough, Heath McNease, and RedCloud.

Given that SHSU is not a Christian college, how has the response been for these type of events and how do you see them being conduits to proclaiming the Gospel?

Cody: Man, that's what is so special about being in a smaller school like Sam Houston. I've really gotten to build a relationship with the Dean of Students and in that been able to put on some pretty crazy things (some of them have gotten me in trouble).

Events like the "Whose Rhyme" show is an opportunity for all of us to communicate the Gospel in a unique way that most students probably haven't heard before. I think we're better able to meet people where they're at because of it.

In the past, it's really been powerful. Last year, we had like 500 people at one point hearing our message. That's something. I'm super blessed to be able to be part of it.

To hear more of Cody Miles' Apocrypha visit http://codymiles.bandcamp.com. The next track will be released on Saturday, the 21st at 12pm.