User:Tim Mckee/Christian hip hop

This article needs a lot of work, so this is just me slowly trying to improve it.

Christian hip hop (originally Gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, Gospel hip hop, holy hip hop, or Christ hop) is a form of hip hop music that includes Christian themes in its lyrics, that became established during the 1990s. While the audience is typically Christian, the music is also used in Christian mission work for the purpose of evangelization.

History
Since hip-hop started in the 1970s, various hip-hop artists have expressed their spiritual beliefs, including Christianity in their lyrics.

The first commercially released and distributed Gospel rap album was Stephen Wiley's 1985 album Bible Break, distributed by Benson Music Group. Reverend DeWayne GoLightly (aka Rev. Rap') was one of the first Christian hip-hop artist without a commercially released Gospel rap cassette. In the same year by David Guzman founded JC & The Boyz. Some of America's premiere Christian rappers, such as: SFC, Dynamic Twins, MC Peace, and T-Bone came out of this crew. They were the first group to appear on TBN and The 700 Club. More commercially successful was the crew known as P.I.D. (Preachas In Disguise) who released five popular, funky Gospel rap recordings ("Here We Are", "Back to Back","The Chosen One's", "Born with the Gift" and "Violent Playgrounds"). Michael Peace is an American rapper and one of Christian rap's first solo artists is considered the grandfather of Christian hip-hop.

In the late 1980s, other crews emerged, including dc Talk and S.F.C. (Soldiers for Christ). S.F.C. was led by Chris Cooper who originally rapped as Super C (short for Super Chris / Super Christian) and later became Sup the Chemist and then finally Soup the Chemist. Chris Cooper, JC & The Boyz, and S.F.C. were instrumental in bringing up and exposing newer Gospel groups such as LPG, Tunnel Rats, Future Shock, and T-Bone.. Christian emcee Danny "D-Boy" Rodriguez was another well known early Gospel rap artist but was murdered in 1990 in Texas.

The 1990s saw the continuing trend of funky rap artists blending faith and rap, such as D.O.C. (Disciples of Christ) who emerged out of Oklahoma as well as the Gospel Gangstaz from Compton and South Central Los Angeles, California. In 1991, JC Crew emerged spawning the careers of Maximillian (West Coast beat box champion) and T-Bone. Additional artists made a considerable impact on the Christian hip-hop scene. Such artists that contributed were Dynamic Twins, Freedom of Soul, IDOL King, Apocalypse and both 12th Tribe and Holy Alliance who were produced by Scott Blackwell of MYX Records. S.F.C.'s (Sup, QP, DJ Dove) 1992 album Phase III is considered to be a turning point in Christian rap. Phase III was DJed and produced by DJ Dove, whose credits also include the Gang Affiliated, Gospel Gangstas' 1993 debut album.

Around the same time as Phase III, Dynamic Twins (Robbie and Noel) came out with their 1993 album No Room To Breathe. This album had a more hardcore "street" feel to it than other albums at the time. Freedom Of Soul (MC Peace, DJ Cartoon) followed with their second album, The Second Coming, (Caught in a Land of Time was their first) also their last album as a group. Freedom of Soul had a jazzier feel; MC Peace (later known as Peace 586) was known for his smooth flow and delivery. P.I.D. around this time re-invented themselves as the group Preachas, although their only album under that name was Violent Playgrounds.

One of the major influences in the genre came with the formation of Gotee Records in 1994, co-founded by dc Talk member Toby McKeehan, making it the first record label marketed explicitly for Christian Hip-hop and R&B that was backed by a major label. The label was among the first to market the Contemporary Christian music market through distribution at Christian bookstores and playing on Christian radio. This trend continued with other labels such as Tooth & Nail's Uprok Records and others that gave an outlet to hip-hop artists who identified themselves as Christian and wanted a broader market. However, much of the sales of these Christian record labels was purchased by people brought up in the church and 70-80% of them being white. Recently, a number of artists and labels such as End Of Earth Records, Rezurrected Muzic, Cross Movement Records, Grapetree Records, Syntax Records, Deepspace5 Records, Universal Funk Records, Illect Recordings, and The New Unstoppable Records have purposely tried to market more to people who did not grow up in church as well as more to urban markets.

In addition, many major Gospel stars were getting in on the hip-hop & rap genre. Kirk Franklin joined with the 1 Nation Crew in the album Kirk Franklin presents 1NC. Gospel legend Pastor Shirley Caesar recorded a duet "I Know The Truth" with Tonex in which she raps.

Another element of the hip-hop culture is the disc jockey, aka, deejay or DJ. In January 2008, the American-based, One Accord DJ Alliance (OADA) created a network of Christian Disc Jockeys and Radio Announcers from around the US, Canada, and the UK. In September 2009, the Higherground Record Pool (HGRP) and One Accord DJ Alliance (OADA) held their first Gospel DJ Conference at the Crowne Plaza, Queens, NY. The first known Gospel DJs were honored at the event. Kingdom Affiliates Record Pool (HGRP) also was represented at the conference. The next conference is planned for September 2011 in Atlanta, GA.

Artists and style
Sometimes faith may be evident in part of a song or other times an entire song or album may focus on Christian beliefs. Examples include M.C. Hammer's No. 2 single "Pray"; Richie Rich and his first single "Don't Do It"; many of Tupac's lyrics and his first posthumous record, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, the image of Tupac nailed to a cross pinned him as a Hip-Hop martyr; and even recent hip hop/rap artists like Jay-Z with Kingdom Come, DMX with "Walk With Me Now and You'll Fly With Me Later", and Kanye West with "Jesus Walks". However, these artists, although they may profess to be Christians, are not generally considered to be part of the Christian hip-hop movement.

Artists such as FLAME, The Ambassador, Purified, Willie Will, Lecrae, Trip Lee, Sho Baraka, KJ-52, Blaze, modern messiahs, and Tedashii see themselves as preachers or ministers who proselytize to non-Christians or try to preach a Christian message using hip-hop as a medium. Others, such as Tunnel Rats, LPG, Brethren, Manafest, and Skribbal, choose to be simply hip-hop artists who are expressing themselves since they are Christian. Their music contains expression of their faith. This also relates to the argument similar in Christian rock and other Christian music genres where some artists welcome being called Christian artists while others would not want it to be labeled as "Christian music" so to not tie them down to the Christian music market. Others see themselves somewhere in the middle, who may constantly acknowledge their faith in songs but are not typically considered Christian hip hop artists and see themselves as both preachers and entertainers and welcome acceptance in both the Christian music market as well as crossing over into secular markets.

While many notable studios and artists share influence in holy hip-hop, no one style dominates. Christian hip hop features all conventional hip hop styles, such as Midwest, Westcoast (T-Bone) and Eastcoast (Christiano), and Dirty South (Pettidee) or even mixed with other styles of music such as trip hop or rap rock.

Christian hip hop is also embraced and performed by UK artists such as Jahaziel Elliot, Guvna B, Sammy G and Simply Andy & Just C. Some of these artists also incorporate elements of UK Garage, giving their music a more British sound. The GL Live music event 2010, held in the UK saw a fusion of Christian rappers both American and British celebrate their faith together whilst demonstrating their own unique styles. This event was hosted by Simply Andy and included performances by American rappers Trip Lee and Tedashii.

Industry
As with many inchoate and newly formed musical genres and subgenres of Christian music, Christian hip-hop initially had difficulty finding an audience. Despite early rejection, Christian hip-hop has managed to follow other forms of Christian music, such as Christian metal, in becoming a dominant force within contemporary Christian music. Christian music awards shows such as the GMA Dove Awards and Stellar Awards have added rap and hip hop categories.

Performances
Live events such as RapFest (held annually in August in New York City) as well as conferences such as Flavor Fest (held annually in November at Crossover Church in Tampa, Florida), the Holy Hip Hop Music Awards & Artist Showcase (held annually in January in Atlanta, Georgia),the Texas Holy Hip Hop Achievement Awards (held annually in Houston, Texas) and the Life Line Christian Rap Music Conference (held annually in April in Little Rock, AR) founded by CEO of Divine 7 Entertainment, R.J. Jenkins aka Ron Daniel (stage name), have helped to foster the genre among evangelical youth and young adults. SoCity Fest conducts nationwide Gospel Hip Hop Artist Retreats, Artists/Industry Conferences, New Artists Showcases and is a Traveling Music Festival organized to encourage and enrich Holy Hip Hop artists in their ministries, while giving them insight on navigating the music industry. Other notable events include The Yuinon and H.P., based in Detroit, Michigan.

Markets
There are differing views whether any form of hip hop can be considered Christian, but a consensus is that if the lyrics themselves have Christian teachings, then the song and music can be called Christian. There are some church congregations that have adopted hip hop-themed musical worship.

In Australia, a multi-denominational group of Christian hip hop artists, led by Mistery from Brethren, have started a hip hop church Krosswerdz. The church has been modeled on Crossover Church in Tampa, Florida.

There is a Holy Hip Hop Music Awards, and the 2007 awards received appearances by Kurtis Blow, GrandMaster Caz, Cheryl "Salt" Wray and Mase walked in unannounced and went to Pastor Eddie Velez on stage in front of a packed audience to apologize for saying that Christian rap was not of God five years earlier. 2007 Holy Hip Hop Music Awards also received a written endorsement letter from the mayor of Atlanta acknowledging the event's support by the City of Atlanta and recognizing its 7th year. However, EX Ministries and other churches explain the distinction that Hip Hop culture and Rap music are not the same. The lyrics and music is not wrong but incorporating hip hop culture in the music is the problem. They conclude that "Holy Hip-Hop" is still associated with the mainstream Hip hop culture that they view as incompatible with Christianity's teachings.

Crossover
Holy hip-hop has enjoyed some crossover acceptance as well. One of the early accepted artists were Disciples of Christ (D.O.C.), while the gritty Gospel Gangstaz were ex-Bloods and ex-Crips who began ministering to gang-affiliated persons.

One of the most notable mainstream reactions to Gospel rap was to KJ-52 (pronounced "five-two") and his single "Dear Slim", which was written to Eminem in an attempt reach him with the message of Christ. The song became famous and controversial among Eminem fans when it was featured on the hit show Total Request Live. KJ-52 began to receive hate mail (including death threats) from Eminem's fans, though KJ-52 claimed that the song was not a "diss". This also led to the single being disparaged by VH1 as No. 26 on their "Top 40 Worst Moments in Hip Hop", an issue the artist addressed in a follow-up song titled "Dear Slim Pt. 2". In contrast, the GRITS song "Ooh Ahh" received positive exposure on various TV Shows and movies, such as The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Big Momma's House 2. It was also featured as the theme song for the second season of MTV’s hit show The Buried Life

The hip-hop gospel scene also exists in the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, France, New Zealand, Nigeria and South Africa.