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.
Seeking to fill a musical void, the creative forces at Houston’s Much Luvv Records have crafted Luvv to Dance – a 21 track “techno rap” dance album that features over 50 Christian hip hop and rock artists dropping street verses on top of club-friendly beats and hooks.
“We know we’re not the first to do it, but the pop/dance/rap subgenre is still not very established within our market,” Much Luvv Records CEO Bobby “Tre9” Herring said.
“Our aim with this project is to penetrate the hearts of kids and young adults who really vibe to that type of music. If you turn on the radio or MTV you’ll see that this is the style that dominates. Go to any church in the suburb and, unfortunately, you’ll see it’s not much different. So why not use that to our advantage to spread the gospel?”
Much Luvv Vice President & Executive Producer Jimmie A. McDowell managed the Luvv to Dance project, seeking track submissions from Christian hip hop’s top producers and then matching those beats to artists with established relationships with the label.
The result includes unique pairings like Gospel Gangstaz & 007 (formerly of the 5th Ward Boyz) with singer Martay on a bouncer called “Testify,” Dre' Murray and rock singer Spradley (formerly of Type Nine) going electro pop on "Move Me," and Sean Slaughter, The WARRIORS ATX, and Justin Michaels of The Access offering the upbeat “Your Chance to Dance.”
“I think people are going to be both surprised and impressed with the collaborations we’re able to offer on this album,” McDowell said. “I know we were.”
McDowell noted that several track submissions took a different turn than originally expected. For example, big AL chose to sing, instead of rap, his lyrics on “Party (Let’s Dance),” and many of the rock vocalists ended up sounding like natural born techno artists.
“I’m also excited about Whuteva and Ren Patrick’s ‘1-2-Many’ song about the negative effects of overindulging alcohol, Christafari and Von Won’s reggae track, and the fact that hip hop legend Kurtis Blow will be featured on this album,” McDowell said.
Part of the promotional efforts for the project’s release included a Create-A-Dance-Craze contest (think Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em's "Crank Dat Superman" or the GS Boyz "Stanky Leg") for the song “Keep On” from the album. Youth groups submitted their original routine to the label and the winner will be featured in the song’s music video and at the official CD release concert being held this weekend.
"Our Christian youth rarely have the opportunity to create their own dances, mainly due to Christian hip hop artists ignoring the need,” Herring said. “God created His children with talent and originality and now we will bring that out in them through this competition."
Undoubtedly, the simple fact that this project is being pushed as a “dance record” may raise a few eyebrows with conservative Christians who fear a worldly club influence on their kids. However, Tre9 offers assurances that Luvv to Dance will only do the opposite of encouraging sin.
“None of the content here will lead you to do anything foul,” Herring said. “In fact, it would be really hard to nasty dance in the midst of all our Jesus lyrics and not feel convicted.”
McDowell also points out that many Christian houses of worship have already transformed their youth areas into club-like atmospheres that offer a positive alternative space to those found outside the church.
“And even Scripture tells us there’s ‘a time to weep and a time to laugh / a time to mourn and a time to dance’” McDowell said quoting Ecclesiastes 3:4.
The official Luvv to Dance CD release concert takes place this Saturday, August 21 from 5pm to 9pm at Champions Community Center (1311 Bammel N Houston Rd). Admission is free.
On Friday, June 26 hip hop pioneer Kurtis Blow, his group the Trinity (including my man Ricky B) and others met with Congresswoman Diane Watson near Capitol Hill.
As part of the Congressional Entertainment Industries Caucus, their purpose was to educate Ms. Watson and others about the genre of Christian hip hop and ask for the government’s assistance and support of this life-changing cultural force.
Here’s a clip of the trip:
While I applaud anyone willing to help publicize this music (and the one for whom it stands) I have to wonder if getting the federal government involved is the best plan of action.
Obviously there will be “separation of church and state” arguments from the opposition. Then again, the government does seem to financially support other artistic expressions for all matter of viewpoints and faith.
What’s your take on the matter? Do you think Congress should actively and financially support Christian hip hop?
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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