Real Talk

Peace and blessings,

Next up among the long list of Gospel Spitters, is Mark J. who's repping the ATL. The following tracks are from his album, "Soulutions." The premise behind the album is that the solutions to any problem we face is teh renewal of our souls through a relationship with JC. The first track is actually the last track on the album and its entitled "The New Slave Trade." It's basically comparing physical slavery to spiritual slavery, focusing on contemporary pop culture. Let the track play after the song ends, because he leaves you with some food for thought.




The next track is called "Intercession" and in my opinion is the dopest track on the album. It features my boys Japhia Life and Ahmad from 4th Avenue Jones (both have been previously featured on this site). The song centers around the fact that as Christians, we are called to pray for others. Let's get it going...




This track, entitled "God of Israel," is a shot-out to God for the many ways He provides. Isn't He good?



Last but not least, this song is one of the more thought-provoking with regards to the internal (spiritual) battles that we face on a regular. Three stories, one theme...



Ok for real, this is the last song. "Espananza" deals with an issue that everyone who has been or are currently in a serious, meaning relationship can relate to. I need to call my baby right now and tell her how much I love her, lol... Oh yeah, and regards to teh woman's question at the end of the song. Why do you ladies ask those type of questions?





Any thoughts on the tracks? Enough to make you cop the album? Share your thoughts and speekonit...

Labels: albums, ATL, Christian hip hop, God of Israel, JC, Mark J., New Slave Trade, slavery, spiritual

Peace and blessings,

In the first part of my recap of the awards show I only discussed the happenings in the lobby prior to me actually entering the awards show. Here is my recap of the rest of the evening.


Awards Show: Unlike other music awards shows, the artists did not receive awards based on how many records they sell, or their popularity. In fact, there was a t-shirt being advertised by one of the vendors that read "It's not about the money," and on the back it read "Ministry or Industry?" Instead, artists were honored for the type of ministry their music aims at, their ministry work in their local churches and communities, and so forth. In between the various awards, artists from around the country and the world took the stage for God-filled performances. Japhia Life, who also received an award, performed the hit "We Cry Blood" off of his album "Fountain of Life." During his reception of the award, he spit what I think is one of his illest verses acapella. For album info, peep the holy hip-hop resources. Other notable hip-hop performances include Sean Slaughter and Mona J., The Army of God, and Mr. Del and the crew (not sure if the crew members had a name). One of the tightest performances of the night came from "Real Talk," a hip-hop dance group from Norway.

The Lobby Reloaded: After I left the awards show, I went back into the lobby (the venue was set-up to where people could go in and out of the awards show). This is where the event got crackin' on a whole new level. There was a DJ and turn tables in the middle of the lobby, and they allowed for those in the lobby to engage in some hip-hop of their own. First they had an artist showcase, where up and coming artists had the opportunity to perform a song or two and pass out demo cds to those in the lobby. Most notably was the group who performed a song about women strip, encouraging them to get out of that lifestyle, and to start seeing themselves they way God sees them. After the artist showcase, the DJ opened it up for anyone who wanted to spit a verse or freestyle in the cypha. It was beautiful to see a variety of folks ranging from upcoming artists to female hip-hop pioneers (I forgot the woman's name, but they said she used to battle Roxanne Shante back in the day) to little kids dropping a line and repping for Christ.

Overall, the holy hip-hop awards gave me a glimpse of what can happen when God is lifted up through artistic expression. Another thing that I noticed at the event that I have not seen at other hip-hop events I've attended is the different age groups that were present. There were whole families who attended the awards show (parents and children). I've already decided that I will be in attendance next year (I think it's always held in Atlanta), and hopefully I can attend some of the holy hip-hop events earlier during the week (the awards show is only one event among the many holy hip-hop events held during the week). Until next time, speekonit...

Labels: artist, ATL, Christian hip hop, Fountain of Life, Holy Hip-Hop Awards, Japhia Life

Peace and blessings,

Last week, I was blessed to attend the Holy Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta, GA on Saturday, 1/13/07. To say it was "off the hook" and "the best musical event i've ever attended" would not do it justice, so let me break it down for you.

The Lobby: Like a child in a candy store, I just couldn't wait to give the attendant my ticket and get inside. I remember while standing in line, I said to myself "this is going to be off the hook!" and a lady in front of me looked back on some "he must not get out much" steez, lol. In within 30 minutes of entering the lobby, I had spent all of my money. Now, I hit up the ATM before I came to ensure that I wouldn't leave broke (well, it sounded like a good plan at the time). Given that it was a hip-hop event, I planned on spending money on cds. What I didn't plan on was spending about 80% of my money on clothes and comic paraphanelia. The clothes I purchased were from a Christian-based company called "Agape Wear," which is based on Isaiah 61:10 which states: "I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." (NIV).





In terms of comic paraphanelia, I came across a Christian-based comic book called "Animus," which is about a young superhero who controls the five elements. Animus is guided by a spiritial mentor who helps him control his powers and use them for the right purposes. If you've read my piece "More than meets the eye?" (February '06), then you'll know why I hopped on that with two feet and a pogo stick (props to Spirit for the phrase, lol). Gotta run, but the re-cap of the actual "hip-hop" aspect of the awards show is coming soon. Take care and speekonit...

Labels: Agape Wear, Animus, ATL, Christian hip hop, clothing, comic book, Holy Hip-Hop Awards, Superheroes

Peace and blessings,





While attending a graduate student seminar at Atlanta '05 (an African American Christian student leadership conference put on by InterVasity Christian Fellowship), one of the speakers said the following with regards to the perceived distinction between Academics and faith,

"To the Christian, there is no such thing as sacred and secular...everything is sacred."

That phrase stuck with me throughout the whole conference and continues to resonate with me today, especially seeing that I am currently and will be in academia for a while. I took that phrase to mean that as Christians, our entire lives are dedicated to glorifying God. Therefore, regardless of what we "specialize" in (e.g. medicine, science, education, law, etc...), our approach to and usage of those skills must first and foremost be a reflection of our relationship with God. During this and other graduate student seminars, we discussed how many (if not all) of the subjects we study in school (i.e. physics, chemistry, psychology, philosophy, biology, etc...) are simply attempts to further identify, analyze, and explain God's creations. One of my favorite disciplines besides education is psychology, and the more I learn about social and developmental psych (my particular interests within psych), the more I realize that the principles discussed and researched are the same as those emphasized in the bible (i.e. leadership, decision-making, inter-personal relationships, persuasion and influence, etc...). Although I think there are tons of examples in the bible, i'm not going to discuss them here, as that is not the focus of this piece.


I mentioned that quote from Atlanta '05, and the context in which it was discussed because I think it is relevant to the current debate that exists between those who are for Christian hip-hop, and those who are against it. I'm not going to get into the whole debate, but just a brief summary. For those on the "con" side, one of the criticisms of Christian hip-hop is that some artists' use the beats of "worldly" artists, and many of these beats are associated with negative behaviors. Further, it has been noted that before satan was cast down from heaven, he specialized in music, therefore the negative messages and images that are often associated with hip-hip culture(and in other genres as well) are indicative of Satan's influence(via manipulation of one's emotions and attitudes through music). The "Pro" side on the other hand, argues that hip-hop as a culture and artform in itself is not of satan, but it (as with anything) can be used to acheive destructive or constructive ends. Further, people contend that artistic expression is a gift from God, and thus another tool for ministry and spreading the Gospel. For more information on both sides of the debate, you can check out exministries.com (con) and theambassadoronline.com (pro).

What got me thinking about this debate was a song I heard on Lecrae's Album, "After the Music Stops (2006)." His album is one of the best Christain rap albums i've ever heard, and I advise you to cop it (album info will be on the site soon). The name of the song is called "Jesus Muzik" and it sounded to me like the hook sampled the voice of a secular rap artist. I called "the music expert(my sister, lol)" and she told me that when songs are "chopped and screwed," they slow the voice down so that anyone's voice can be transformed into that slow, "draggy" sound. Despite this information, I still wondered if people would view the song and its impact differently if the song did contain a sample of a secular artist? My answer is no, or atleast they shouldn't for a couple of reasons. For one, I can atleast say for me that I listen to the music I listen to not just because of the quality of the music itself, but also because of my perceived quality of the artist as well. I believe that the artists that I listen to ( both "secular" and "sacred") are generally "good" people in a sense that I believe they make music for the betterment as opposed to the detriment of their listeners. Therefore, because I own both of Lecrae's albums and I'm aware of his sincerity and fervor in spreading the Gospel, I know that whether or not the sampled voice on the track is from a secular artist is an irrelevant issue. Further, being preoccupied with whose voice was sampled will cause me to miss the purpose of the song and the album, which is to show Christ to the lost and to strengthen us as believers to do the same.

The second point I wanted to make before I sign off (Honestly, I never intend on being this long-winded when I write, lol), is that I think there is a need to distinguish between the culture and art-form of hip-hop itself, and how artists within that culture and art-form choose to use their gifts. With regards to the debate mentioned earlier, I am for using hip-hop as a tool to reach the lost because when it's all said and done, what matters is what words are spoke, not whose voice was sampled or what beats were knockin'. The bible talks about how the power of life and death is in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). Christian hip-hop artists are first and foremost Christians, therefore we as listeners should be more concerned with the Gospel they are spreading, and not which samples or beats they use, how they are dressed, etc... After all, as long as the music is inspired by Jesus, we need to forever rep and support that Jesus Muzik...

Here is another scripture that I thought was relevant to this issue, as well as Lecrae's music video for "Jesus Muzik." Peace, blessings, and I want to know your thoughts on this issue, so definately speekonit...



"21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."

1 Corinthians 9:21-23 (New International Version)




Link to the "Jesus Muzik" video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaTXRaSvq-M

Labels: academic, ATL, Bible, Christian, faith, God, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Lecrae, social psychology

Peace and blessings,

As you can see, I have recently been making many updates to the site. Although I have updated many of the site's components, I have recently been focusing more on the "Holy Hip-Hop Resources" section. This focus is the result of two factors. One is that I am a serious hip-hop head and would not turn down a freestyle or cypha if my ife depended on it, lol. Quiet as kept, I was actually one of two MCs in a live hip-hop band for a semester while in undergrad. The other reason why I have been adding more media, artist info, and other Christian hip-hop related stuff is because I know that God has created this subculture within the broader hip-hop culture for a reason. In my early teens, I got real heavy into the whole hip-hop/rap culture. My first hip-hop cd that I consistently rocked was Snoop's first album, "Doggysyle." From then on, I got my hands on any and every rap cd there was, from Ice Cube to DMX to Jay-Z to Bone Thugs and Harmony. You name it, I either had it on cd or used cassetts to record their songs off of the radio (real talk, that was the thing to do in the mid to late nineties, lol). In high school (in particular Junior and Senior year), I became more engulfed in the music and culture, to the point where if my boys and I did not freestyle either during lunch, after school, or driving home from school, then a brotha didn't feel right. In college my love for hip-hop grew stronger, but little did I know that God was working out something within me.

My first year of college, hip-hop played an important role in getting me through. By this I mean that in college everyone needs a healthy outlet to relieve stress and relax from the academic demands, and for me my outlets were hooping and freestyling, although freestyling occured much more often. When we couldnt find anything to do on the weekends or just wanted to "take a mental break," my friends and I would have freestyle sessions that would last hours. My sophomore year, my love for hip-hop remained the same, but what I loved about it started to change. Upon attending "Atlanta '02," a black student christian conference put on every three years in Atlanta by Black Campus Ministries (a branch of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship), I was most looking forward to attending the seminar on Hip-Hop. At the same time, however, I was alittle reluctant because I just knew that going to a Christain conference and discussing hip-hop (especially as it is represented in the mainstream), would mean that I would have to throw away all of my "secular" hip-hop cds (which at the time was all of them because I was not yet exposed to Christian hip-hop). To my surprise however, I did not leave the seminar feeling convicted to throw away all of my secular hip-hop cds. What I did learn from the seminar and thus took from it was that 1) "the church" (both in an institutional sense and in the sense of we as a collective of believers) should pay more attention to hip-hop culture because we cannot deny the influence it has on the lives of youth and young adults. 2) We also discussed how there are some "secular" artists (i.e. DMX, Pac, and Nas) who at times offer their perspective on who God is and what the power of God can do for people who are disenfranchised. It is important to note that the seminar's speaker did not condone the lyrics, behaviors, and messages of these artists, nor do I. He was just using them to illustrate the point that as Christians, we need to be aware of the cultural messages permeating the minds of our youth, and hip-hop is no exception. 3) Lastly, and probably most importantly, we learned that there is a spiritual battle going on within the the culture of hip-hop, and thus because of the culture's many facets and what it's often associated with in the mainstream, it is not for everyone. For example, although I did not feel that I had to throw away all of my secular cds, I did throw away most of them, not necessarily because I felt a strong conviction to do so, but because as God was widening my perspective in terms of the influence of hip-hop and how He intended it to be used, I no longer had the desire to listen to most of the stuff I used to let infiltrate my spirit. Now there are still a few secular artists I listen to from time to time (some pac, some jay-z, some nas, some AZ), but I have become alot more cautious of the type of music I listen to. In order to avoid making this post super long, the rest of this messsage will be included in part 2. Speekonit...

Labels: access, ATL, Black Campus Ministries, Christian hip hop, degrading lyrics, God, hip-hop, influence, lyrics, mainstream, visibility, youth