VIDEO: KB responds to reports of possible group album with Trip Lee & Andy Mineo

Rapzilla.com (a site with a good reputation for reporting information about Reach Records) recently published a report about a possible group album by the “retiring” Trip Lee, KB, and Andy Mineo. The story is based in part on this recent Tweet from Andy Mineo.

An emotional night watching @triplee116 perform 4 the last time on tour w us. That is, unless me, him & @kb_hga do a group album…
— Andy Mineo (@AndyMineo) November 19, 2012

Since KB was in town for the “No Boundaries” concert with Tedashii and Suzy Rock, I had to ask him about the “rumor.”

Here is his response.



Fans may recall that the trio got together for the “One Sixteen” song/video which has been a crowd favorite throughout the year.


Questions:
What are you thoughts? Is this confirmation of the collab? Is this something you’re excited about?

Lecrae responds to the “Christian rapper” vs. “Rapper who is a Christian” debate (kind of)

The “I’m-a-proud-Christian-rapper” versus the “I’d-prefer-you-just-say-I’m-a-rapper-who-is-a-Christian” debate is not a new one. However, it has been revived recently after two of the movement’s top selling artists have apparently switched strategies (at least when posed the question by secular hip hop media outlets.)

To recap:

• Trip Lee, whose album The Good Life debuted at #2 on the overall iTunes sales charts on April 10, recently told XXL magazine that “I’m a Christian within hip-hop culture, and I think you’re going to be able to see that in my music.”

In a separate interview with HipHopDx.com he seemed to connote a similar preference for the “rapper who is a Christian” label:

“I think, you know, some people think of Christian Hip Hop as its own genre. Some people don’t. You know, I think it could go either way. If you want to think of it as a genre, that’s fine. Or if you want to think of it as there’s some people within Hip Hop who are Christians, who are intentionally communicating from a Christian worldview, that’s how I would probably describe myself.”

• On April 27, without directly criticizing or downplaying the choices Trip, Lecrae, and many others have made regarding this issue, DJ Wade-O took to his podcast and e-mail newsletter to explain five reason why he prefers to call himself a “Christian DJ.” [Full disclosure: I write and record a weekly Holy Hip Hop News Blast segment for the show.]

• On May 14, gospel hip hop heavyweight Da’ T.R.U.T.H. used his Facebook page to explain his reasons for also keeping the “Christian artist” title.

• Then, days after Lecrae dropped his free Church Clothes mixtape on May 10 (which, at the time of this post, has been downloaded over 180,000 times) used similar wording when asked about his preferred title when he spoke to HardKnock.tv.

 

This afternoon, May 21, Lecrae posted a blog on the Reach Records (the label he co-owns and records for) to clear the air (somewhat.)  

There were always Christians doing hip hop but the music was usually inaccessible or unpopular. I would listen to the radio and wonder where was the Christians perspective being heard in Hip Hop culture? Not the radio. "Contemporary Christian music" had developed, "Gospel" had its lane but where was hip-hop that articulated faith in Jesus? Hard to find.  

Interestingly enough those genres are the only one's categorized based off the content and not the style of music. Though it gives people identifying marks for their music it can also in many ways limit their reach. Many people take these titles to mean this is for an exclusively Christian audience. If indeed the true Gospel is what transforms people outside the faith why should the term Gospel seem exclusively for those in the faith? Of course that's not the intention, it's just a reality that any missionary should consider.  

As far as hip hop done well by Christians, there were always a few groups & artists each year that helped ease my woes but I was not at all content. The general market was flooded with Hip Hop artists but I rarely heard anything that embodied a worldview that God would endorse.  

Trying to be a part of the solution, I took to the studio and recorded an Album. It captured my southern roots, love for lyricism, and I tried to make it as current in production as I could. (I produced most of it.) The result was a tool for my fellas at the half way house and other areas with similar struggles.  

That project opened doors for me to travel a bit, mostly prisons, churches, and inner city outreaches, and perform my songs. I found that I had a gift for catalyzing people toward truth and creating anthems for Christians to live sacrificially and unashamedly for their faith.  

Personally I couldn’t simply talk about change I had to be apart of it so I spent my life living in the inner city, doing foreign missions, and serving in the local church. All was ammunition for my Rebel album. My life bled out in that project and the result was God showing tremendous fruit and people's lives being transformed by His power.  

One problem I faced was that in my hood, only the kids in after school programs and the Christians were feeling it. Sure some were rejecting the Gospel but others didn't give it a spin at all due to the labels placed on it.

My take? 

Be led by the Holy Spirit and use your words and labels strategically. Also know that regardless of your preference, some people will label you and your music however they best see fit.

VIDZ: Press conference for final Man Up Tour event in Houston

My friends at Factor Effects just released this video of the press conference* from a Reach Records Man Up event.

The Houston stop was the last one on their tour and somewhat of a homecoming for participating artists Lecrae, Tedashii, and Trip Lee.

During the presser, the guys discussed:

- Their thoughts about being back in Texas (peep Crayola's entertaining, H-town-influenced flow at the intro)
- Why the Man Up message is needed
- How the tour event has been received so far
- How the Man Up campaign came about
- The budget and logistics of producing the Man Up film (including the name of the Christian rapper who was supposed to take the role of "King" - it wasn't Lecrae)
- The story behind Lecrae's BET Awards Cypher opportunity
- And more

*Full disclosure: I organized and moderated the press event as a volunteer for Eyes On Me Ministries. Click here for a photo/video recap.

Lecrae and Reach Records bring tour to Houston to teach hip hop audience biblical manhood

From left to right: Tedashii, Lecrae, Trip Lee, and Sho Baraka

On Saturday, top-selling Christian rapper Lecrae and artists from his Reach Records label will bring their Man Up tour event to Houston. The half day affair includes a film, panel discussion, and hip hop concert focused on teaching the principles of biblical manhood to urban residents.

Lecrae, Tedashii, and Trip Lee will all play a part and were either born or still have family in Houston. Hip hop missionary Bobby “Tre9” Herring organized the effort to bring the tour here and feels those biographical backgrounds can benefit his work.

“Houston’s hip hop community loves and supports their own, so we utilize guys with local ties any time we can because it helps form an immediate bond with our intended audience,” Herring pointed out.

He said that intended audience includes inner city kids, particularly young males, who often come from single-parent homes and are bombarded with skewed images and ideas about what it means to be a "real man" from the mainstream hip hop culture that surrounds them.

Although event tickets are being sold as a fundraiser for Herring’s 501c3 non-profit Eyes On Me Organization (which holds weekly Hip Hop Hope Tuesdays services in 5th Ward, provides meals and clothing to the homeless, and plants churches in group homes and prisons), he has received donations that will sponsor over 150 underprivileged youth to attend Man Up.

“Reach Records and their non-profit organization have done an excellent job at creating a multi-media campaign that shares this important and life-changing message in way that is relevant to the young men and women I work with every day,” Herring said.

“I’m glad we can partner with them and utilize their experience and God-given talents to bring Man Up to our city.”

Details:
Man Up Tour event
Featuring: Lecrae, Tedashii, Trip Lee, Sho Baraka, Propaganda, PRo, shai linne, Blair Linne, and KB
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Doors open at 5:45 pm / Show starts at 6:30 pm
New Faith Church – 4315 West Fuqua Street – Houston, TX 77045

For more information and ticket purchases visit www.dasouth.com/manuphouston

Below, Christian rapper KB explains what the Man Up campaign is all about:

2011 Stellar Awards / The Ambassador & Da' T.R.U.T.H. sign to new record label

This past weekend the 2011 Stellar Awards were held in Nashville, Tennessee.

Nominees in the Rap Hip Hop Gospel category included DJ Official’s Entermission, Trip Lee’s Between Two Worlds, Sho Baraka’s Lions and Liars, and Everyday Process’ Outtadisworld with the young buck Trip Lee taking top honors. Congrats to him and all of the nominees.

The other big news coming out of the weekend was the surprise report from Rapzilla.com that both Ambassador and Da’ T.R.U.T.H. signed new record deals with the relatively unknown Xist Music, a division of the Xist Worldwide inspirational entertainment company founded by Terverius Black and Sean Simmonds.

Xist is also the company behind the upcoming STAND movie featuring Sean Simmonds, JR, and P-Dub. That flick’s trailer is now available online.

Trip Lee leaves a Legacy in Houston

The popular Legacy Conference launched its inaugural "Institute" stop in Houston, Texas on Saturday, May 22, 2010. The day included four hours of teaching by Trip Lee on the topic of "Christlikeness" and a follow-up concert with Decipha.

I was there and compiled these two video reports.

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NOTE: All photos by xphaqtor (xphaqtor.com) and provided courtesy of Alexander Curtis (aka Apokalum).

Learn more about the Legacy Conference at legacy-conference.org

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Legacy Institute (Houston) - Trip Lee - "Christlikeness"

This video contains snippets from Trip's teaching
and interviews with a few attendees.

Trip Lee interview about the Legacy Institute (Houston) and Between Two Worlds

Prayer time

Trip Lee brings the Word

Decipha welcomes the crowd

Recap: DWYL Tour - Houston

Reach Records' Don't Waste Your Life Tour hit Houston this Friday and since all the world is aTwitter with this mico-blogging stuff, I figured it would be fun (and admittedly easy) to recap the event with my own blue bird blow-by-blow analysis. Bonus and better pics are also included. Enjoy.

NOTE: All photos by Sketch the Journalist

**********************************

To start, I almost didn't get to attend.

For some reason, I had the date marked on my calendar for Saturday. Then, when I called the church to confirm (since the Reach website said it would be close to capacity) I was asked if I had pre-registered. I hadn't, which meant I wouldn't be making the event.

After Tweeting my frustrations that this hadn't been more publicized or made clear on the web, I got a call from DJ Ovadose. He said he had pre-registered but thought he should better spend his time studying for an upcoming insurance license exam. He wanted me to take his ticket. (More on that later.)

Thankfully the schedule was clear for Friday night as well and I was able to make the drive. Other local CHH figures like dogfight!, Apokalum, Da' Legend, and YungLion (who I heard drove from Lake Charles, LA) weren't as lucky.

On with the Twits:



Headed 2 the H-town Don't Waste Your Life Tour stop. Hope the heat doesn't slay us waiting outside b4 they start. Mobile pic Tweets 2 come. 3:52 PM Jul 10th

Just handed off @Tedashii a copy of Tha Message Mag w/ my cvr story on him. Brought extras for his moms & family. Mothers like 2 scrapbook. 5:16 PM Jul 10th

Backstage Sho asked FLAME if he would be his brother for the night. DWYL Tour is in TX now so the rest of the guys all have fam close. 5:18 PM Jul 10th

Special props 2 @betochas (DJ Ovadose) for getting me in 2 the DWYL Tour. Dude sacrificed his spot for mine. Sound like anyone we know? 5:36 PM Jul 10th

All of the Much Luvv fam is MIA cuz 1 of the SOM twins is getting married tonight. Good 2 c they already know wifey comes 1st. 5:50 PM Jul 10th

Reach Records rep announced 13 Letters ciric available to disciple the youth of "Dallas." Loud & long chorus of boos follows. :). 6:10 PM Jul 10th



Ummm. I think starting off with "Jesus Muzik" in H-town was a wise choice. 6:25 PM Jul 10th

Sho is slaying w/ lyrics a Capella now. Told me wasn't sure if he'd do Kobe Bryant On Em later. Will be interesting to see Rocket fans react 6:29 PM Jul 10th

Sho's Kobe song in effect to mixed reaction. You can't front on @kdrama513's beat though. 6:37 PM Jul 10th





I'm stepping to the back cuz FLAME is about to "Go Buck!" and crowd is packed. 6:48 PM Jul 10th



RT @TripLee116: Had 2 turn away 400+ @ the door tonight. Encouraged by turnout, saddened more couldn't make it inside. May Christ b exalted! 6:54 PM Jul 10th



Pic: FLAME reminds 'em to "Hold On!" 7;05 PM Jul 10th



Pic: @Tedashii telling his hometown that "26 inches is a very low throne!" Love that song - esp for this city. 7:11 PM Jul 10th



DJ Official appears to be Tweeting from the stage. Anyone got his Twitter name so I can bug him? 7:21 PM Jul 10th

First notes of @tedashii's "I'm a Believer" excites the crowd. Somebody tell Jigga that Autotune still lives w/ the yunguns in Htown. 7:24 PM Jul 10th



Pic: Love how they're incorporating those DWYL Tour commercials into the concert. 7:27 PM Jul 10th



RT @djofficialdj: Trip just did a new song called "9 to 5" off my new album coming out October called "Entermission" on Reach Records. 7:43 PM Jul 10th

Show stopped to announce parents looking for a kid named Devarious He was lost. Later found. I pray others are too tonight. 7:48 PM Jul 10th



Pic: @lecrae asks Houston what happens "After the Music Stops" 7:55 PM Jul 10th

CHH Trend Watch: Scarves seem to be on the way out. Fully faded Mohawks still going hard. 8:11 PM Jul 10th



Whole crew is out for "Houston, We Have a Problem." I hope the speakers can hold up. 8:21 PM Jul 10th



Reach & FLAME "Make War." Sho standing on speakers. 8:31 PM Jul 10th





Crowd worships to "Joyful Noize" 8:36 PM Jul 10th

DWYL Concert over. Reach cats now getting it in with people who wanna b serious about Jesus. I'm riding home 2 Identity Crisis bought 2nite 8:58 PM Jul 10th

Afterthoughts:

While this stop was similar to their previous one (even at the same venue), you can tell the dudes continue to step up their performance and presentation. The songs and acts interchange smoothly and keep the energy flowing.

The overall theme and message is very evident and I'm glad to hear how they're also teaching and reaching local ministries to maintain the momentum once the bus rolls out to the next spot on the schedule.

Given the crowd and turnout, Reach is definitely going to need bigger venues in the future. Or at least a well communicated ticket/pre-registration system so that another 400 plus "don't waste their time" traveling and standing in the heat for an event they can't witness.

(Full disclosure: I got that line from dogfight! He texted it to me as he was driving away with a car full of disappointed kids.)

Be sure to catch the DWYL Tour if it comes anywhere close to your city. Just be sure to call ahead and make sure you can get in.


Although I've interviewed and written about him in the past, this was my first time meeting FLAME.

Reach Records is having a good week

Reach Records is having a good week.

First, Tedashii's second album, Identity Crisis, finally dropped on Tuesday, May 26.

Amazon.com had it up a week early (on the original release date) and it got a good buzz. I checked iTunes' charts on Saturday and noticed it was ranked #8 on their overall Hip Hop list. (See the screen shot here.) You might remember that Lecrae took the #3 spot there the first day that (rebel) dropped.

This is particularly impressive considering the technical glitch they had with full album downloads in the iTunes store at first.

Props to Reach for producing quality music and prepping the market to pull off a successful drop.

Then came the news that Trip Lee's video for "Real Vision" would be played on BET's 106 & Park (the real one, not the gospel knock off).

Trip Lee Feat. Tedashii "Real Vision" from Rive Video Promotion on Vimeo.

Finally, the Don't Waste Your Life Tour kicked off in their homebase of Memphis, TN. You can follow a lot of artists' exploits, thoughts, and photos on Twitter.

Today, Sunday May 31, was obviously a hightlight for them as they got to worship, perform, minister and fellowship with one of their heroes in the faith: Mr. John Piper.

Catch a flick of 'em all right chere.

Please keep the crew in your prayers and look for the DWYL Tour to hit your area soon.

Update (06/05/09): Identity Crisis hit #2 on Billboard's Gospel chart & #10 on their Christian album chart. View here.

News: Random Round-Up

A few HHH news items of late that have caught my eye:

• The dope cover art for Trip Lee's next album titled "20/20." It has a cool, Lupe Fiasco vibe to it.


• HCR (Holy Culture Radio) has a new record pool for gospel rap DJs. Find out more and sign up here.


• Pigeon John has a fan call-in voice mail service. Hit him up at 818.237.4767 if you want drop a message. Prepare for wackiness.


• Finally, I learned about a new Christian urban clothing company called Sacred Apparel. Check their banner below.

Dog fight Trips Lee

This was a holy hip hop (HHH) heavy weekend in Houston.

Friday night had Trip Lee (of the 116 Clique) doing a free show at a youth lock-in, Cy/dogfight!/and S.O.C.O.M. doing sets at The Embassy night club in Porter, and Saturday night had the Bound for Glory CD release party.

I was able to hit 2 outta 3 (sorry B4G, had to help the wifey pack up her 2nd grade classroom) so here’s the rundown.

Trip Lee

I got conflicting info on the start time so I opted to go with the 6:30 pm slot and be safe. Unfortunately, the music didn’t actually get started until about three hours later. :(

I understand the church had planned to have the show outside but Houston’s recent rains forced them to have to break down the stage, lights, and sound system and bring it inside the gym.

While I was waiting around I got to chat with NuLife (whose home church was hosting the event) and met a new cat named Rayne and another named Ron who are just getting into HHH. Ron and I started talking when his boy stepped over and asked if I was Official, the DJ for the Cross Movement.

I mean, I was probably the only white dude in the building, and I did have on a backpack, but I don’t think we look that similar….

This is an old school photo (circa 1999) with me, s/ave, and Badluck (from ONEMIND Magazine) with Ambassador, Tonic, and Official of the Cross Movement. I’m the white boy in the Texans gear on the left and Official is dead center. Resemblance? Maybe….

It’s all good though. What’s funny is that I made a similar mistake just 15 minutes before when I asked some light-skinned high school guy if he was Trip. Guess we should all do a little homework. :)

Also during the wait I was able to stop by the merch table and pick up the new 116 Clique 13 Letters disc. It was obviously a hot item as the staff had to frequently restock the offerings.

This is a different project in that each track goes through one of the 13 Pauline Epistles (a fancy way of saying a letter Paul wrote in the New Testament part of the Bible) in much detail. I haven’t had a chance to digest it all, but I’m very interested.

There’s also supposed to be a full study package available on their site. You can order your copy at http://www.3hmp3.com/ (digital download) or http://www.merchline.com/reach/productdisplay.5009.p.htm (hard copy.)

After a few opening acts, Trip finally took to the stage and ripped through a few numbers.

But the gym swallowed the sound and the highs in the speaker were very hot. To top it off, I left my ear plugs at home so I couldn’t really make out any lyrics or words from the front or side of the stage or even when I was at the back of the building.

Knowing there was another show with another out-of-town cat (S.O.C.O.M.) on my way home, I decided to bounce around 10 pm.

dogfight! / Cy / S.O.C.O.M.

I hit this triple bill around 10:45 pm and was told I just missed S.O.C.O.M.’s set. He drove three hours to be a part of this so I was a little disappointed. I was also sad to hear Cy had to leave early to be with his expectant wife. Please keep them in prayer as they await their newborn.

But anyway, it was cool to hang out with dogfight! and S.O.C.O.M. I got the idea S.O.C.O.M. wrecked his set and impressed the rock bands that went on after or before him. One group wants to book him for a gig in June and another got his contact info for a future collab - so look out for some possible krunk rock coming from this soldier later this year.

dogfight! goes bug-eyed, S.O.C.O.M. hugs, and I chunk the duece

Toward the end of the night dogfight! took the stage and pumped the crowd up with his brand of alt-hip hop with an island flare.

As you can see, he’s a happy dude (possibly smiling more than DJ D-Lite or me… naw!) and a back packer - which automatically makes him an oddity to those who only know hip hop from MTV and BET.

The night ended around midnight and we all dispersed to our home lands (S.O.C.O.M. to San Antonio, dogfight! to Missouri City, and me to Cut-N-Shoot.)

It’s cool that we can all get together under a unified banner of Christ and hip hop though ain’t it?