Christian rappers speak out on gun control laws and violence

In the wake of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary and other areas of the United States, the debate over gun control is perhaps more heated than ever.

Some blame assault weapons or violent content in video games for the violence in our culture.

But others, like Thi’sl, argue more gun restrictions are not the answer. Here’s what he said about the issue in a recent appearance on the Christian Broadcasting Network.

Other Christian rappers have also responded to this issue. Shortly after the Sandy Hook shooting, Houston’s Bizzle pushed his song “Better Way – Part 2″ online.

Lines include:

“They like ‘Where is your God?’ / I’m like ‘I don’t know
When you kicked Him out of your schools / where’d you tell Him to go?’”

and in reference to the Sandy Hook shooter:

“Maybe he misunderstood / maybe he thought what he was doing was all good
Maybe what he heard was ‘School – and kill ‘em in the room’ / When you really said ‘It’s cool to kill ‘em in the womb”

And Cincinnati rapper D-MAUB released “Calm Down” as a reminder that outside pressures should never lead to a violent response.

Masters winner Bubba Watson to host fundraising concert with Christian rappers

Bubba Watson and Christian rapper Thi'sl on a recent golf outing

These days, when a high-profile sports figure is known as much for his athletic talent as his faith it’s really no surprise that he has connections to the world of Christian rap. Hip hop is simply that mainstream.

Now it’s professional golfer Gerry “Bubba” Watson who has both rallied and raised new fans in the arena of urban music ministry. And next month he’s holding a megaconcert that includes performances by a Christian rapper from Houston.

The “Bubba’s Bash” lineup (to be held in Columbus, Ohio on May 29) includes top Christian music draws like Toby Mac and Jeremy Camp as well as artists like Trip Lee, Andy Mineo, Thi’sl, and Ronnie “Reconcile” Lillard – a gospel rapper who played football for Rice University. It’s designed to be a fund raiser for the Bubba Watston Medical Clinic in Livayo, Kenya.

Bubba Watson, Lecrae, and Jordin Sparks

The event has an even higher profile now that Watson wears the green jacket as the winner of the Masters Tournament – the biggest contest in all of professional golf. And as one might expect, since it occurred on Resurrection Sunday, it launched plenty of enthusiastic support on Twitter from Christian rappers who like to flip phrases like “Bubba won the Masters on the day the Master won.”

Bubba, who has fun with his image as a member of the “Golf Boys”, has also appeared in Christian rap songs like “Michael Jackson” from Andy Mineo’s recent Formerly Known free album from Reach Records. Listen for his shoutout around the 3:50 mark in the clip below.



Other athletes with recent Christian rap connections:

Tebowin' and other Tim Tebow Christian rap songs
Linsanity's Christian rap connections

Rice University linebacker making waves with free Christian rap album & Marvin Sapp remake

Just a few years ago Ronnie Lillard was turning heads in Reliant Stadium for his linebacker play with the Rice Owls versus the University of Texas Longhorns.

Now, after an injury sidelined his collegiate football career, he's making waves as a burgeoning Christian hip hop artist named Reconcile with the Full Ride Music Group recently formed by St. Louis rapper Thi'sl.

Thi'sl told me that Reconcile was the "epitome" of the type of artist he would want on his record label and added him to the company after seeing Lillard's work ethic from afar and hearing positive reports from Houston about his character.

He said he was impressed by Reconcile's self-shot and edited videos frequently posted on DaSouth.com. He continued to follow the young rapper's moves and got to really connect with him when Thi'sl was a headline performer at the "Hope for the Tre" concert in Third Ward.

"The thing I love about him most is that when I went to his church they spoke so highly of him," Thi'sl said. "They talked about how he was studying at a top-rated college, actively serving his community, and discipling new believers."

"And on top of all that, he's dope musically!"

I caught up with Reconcile at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin a few weeks ago where he told me more about his connection to FRMG, his post-college plans, and the importance of hip hop to urban ministry.



Full Ride Music's first official drop is Abandoned Hope - a free album released online last Friday, March 23. It contains a remix of the "U Rydin" song (now featuring PRo) that lit up SXSW 2011 and a hip hop interpretation of the Marvin Sapp gospel hit "Never Would Have Made It" (seen below).



Sample or download Abandoned Hope for free via the widget below.

2011 Thanksgiving and Christmas revisited: My interview on Yadah Da King Radio & Thi'sl brings gifts and hope to his hood

From the Better-Late-Than-Never Department: A few items related to our recent holidays have just hit the web.

The first includes my interview with Yadah Da King Radio from Thanksgiving.

I always feel odd when I'm asked to be on the other end of interview questions, but I appreciate the good folks at YDK Radio and decided to play ball. The piece aired live in November and is now posted for your on-demand listening pleasure.

During the course of our convo we discussed how I became a follower of Jesus, how I got involved in writing about Christian hip hop, and about where I think the movement is headed.

Click here to stream or download the show.

The second is this nice video of Thi'sl spreading joy, hope, and Christmas gifts to members of his St. Louis community.

Houston pastor believes Friday’s rap concert will bring “Hope” to the Third Ward

Houston's Von Won performs at last year's "Hope for the Tre" event - photo courtesy of Von Won

Patrick Ngwolo has a bold vision that a hip hop concert this Friday night can bring hope to the Third Ward neighborhood where he is the pastor of youth and young adult ministries at Houston’s Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church.

The event, called “Hope for the Tre 2” (playing off a slang term for the area), will start at 7pm and feature nationally known rappers Thi’sl and PRo (whose Dying to Live album hit as high as number three on iTunes’ overall sales chart when it was released on Tuesday.)

“Through the efforts of this concert we will reach into the community-at-large with the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Ngwolo said. “We believe that what we are doing is not just a concert, but a Christ-cert.”

“We can be literally new creations in Christ Jesus, living lives that reflect Him in strong families, love for our brothers (no violence) and love for our sisters (no sex without marriage, no STDs, etc). If enough people in this community hear this gospel and believe this gospel, this community will be changed. He is the hope for the Tre.”

Ngwolo said he selected the event’s rap roster (which also includes artists from Houston) based on their authenticity and passion for ministry.

“Thi'sl has a genuine, gritty sound that appeals to the streets and to who we are ultimately trying to reach. His music has a rawness that most artists do not allow to come out in their songs,” Ngwolo said. “But that alone would not have been enough. Being real without connecting people to Jesus is a fail, and we think that both PRo and Thi'sl successfully do this. They build bridges for people to cross from the messiness of the culture to the perfection of Christ.”

For more details and ticket information visit Good Hope’s website.

My favorite song about crack cocaine

The homie Thi'sl finally released a video to go with his excellent song about the impact of crack.



You might remember I had Thiz's Chronicles of an X-Hustler ranked among my Top 5 releases of 2009. This track was one of many reasons why.