DESCRIPTION :
Christian hip hop (originally gospel rap , also known as Christian rap , gospel hip hop or holy hip hop ) is a subgenre of hip hop music characterized by a Christian worldview , with the general purposes of evangelization ( Christian mission work), edifying some members of the church and/or simply entertaining. It has also been characterized by a defensive posture to its inherited philosophy of cultural appropriation, rejecting the origins in resistance to oppression and exploitation, by denying any connection to the global Hip-Hop Culture movement. Christian hip hop music emerged from urban communities in the United States in the 1980s, when it existed almost exclusively in small underground scenes, with minimal formal industry promotion and little mainstream attention. It emphasizes the use of positive and uplifting messages to promote faith and belief.



Christian hip hop music, blending rhythmic music and faith-based lyrics, first emerged on record in 1982 with a track entitled "Jesus Christ (The Gospel Beat)" by Queens, New York artist McSweet. The first full-length, Christian hip hop album, Bible Break , by Oklahoma artist Stephen Wiley, was released in 1985 with the title track becoming a hit on Christian radio in 1986. Other early Christian hip recording artists from the mid-1980s included P.I.D. (Preachas in Disguise), who recorded to funky rock rhythms, as well as JC & the Boys and Michael Peace.
The most prominent Christian rappers have been tobyMac, who was the first rapper to have success in the mainstream Christian music scene, and Lecrae, who has emerged recently on the mainstream rap scene. Christian rap has almost exclusively come out of Protestant traditions in the United States, although there is a small Catholic rap scene that has recently emerged, and there are also small Christian rap scenes in the UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada and many other countries where Christians reside and where hip hop music is popular


HISTORY:



The first commercially released and distributed Gospel hip hop record was by Queens, New York MC Pete Harrison, under the recording name 'McSweet', The Gospel Beat: Jesus-Christ (1982), written and arranged by Harrison and produced by Mac Sulliver on Lection Records of
PolyGram .[1][2][3] The first notable full album released was Stephen Wiley 's Bible Break (1985), written by Wiley and produced by Mike Barnes on Brentwood Records. [4][5][6][7] In the same year by David Guzman founded JC & The Boyz . Some of America's premiere Christian rappers, such as: Michael Peace , SFC, Dynamic Twins , MC Peace , and T-Bone came out of this crew. A more commercially successful crew known as P.I.D. (Preachers in Disguise) released five recordings. Michael Peace is an American rapper and one of Christian rap's first solo artists.
In the late 1980s, other crews emerged, including dc Talk , E.T.W. (End Time Warriors) and S.F.C. (Soldiers for Christ). ETW was led by producer/artist Mike Hill who went on to pastor one of the largest inner city youth groups in the country out of Tulsa Oklahoma. 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. Christian emcee Danny "-Boy" Rodriguez was another well-known early Gospel rap artist, but was murdered in 1990 in
Texas .[8] Prior to his death, he helped launch the career of his sister, Genie Rodriguez-Lopez, known as MC GeGee - one of the first female Christian rap artists, by collaborating on her first album I'm for Real . She would go on to release a second album in 1991, titled And Now the Mission Continues.[9][10][11]



The 1990s saw the continuing trend of funky rap artists blending faith and rap, such as D.O.C. (Disciples of Christ) who emerged from
Oklahoma as well as the Gospel Gangstaz from
Compton and South Central Los Angeles. In 1991, JC Crew emerged featuring Maximillian (West Coast beat box champion) and T-Bone.
Other Christian rap artists include Dynamic Twins, Freedom of Soul, IDOL King, Apocalypse, 12th Tribe, and Holy Alliance. 12th Tribe and Holy Alliance were produced by Scott Blackwell of MYX Records . S.F.C.'s (Sup, QP, DJ Dove) 1992 album 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 . 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.
Gotee Records formed in 1994, co-founded by dc Talk member Toby McKeehan , better known as TobyMac, 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. Recently, a number of artists and labels such as
Reach Records , Grace and Peace Records, Godchaserz Ent., Lampmode Recordings, Collision Records, 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 marketed to people outside of churches [12]



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 .
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 (KARP) also was represented at the conference.
Most recently Christian rap artists like Lecrae and his label-mates from Reach Records have been setting records with sales and award-winning albums.[citation needed]



STYLE AND ARTISTE :



Although generally described to be Christian rappers, artists such as Lecrae , Andy Mineo , KB ,
Trip Lee, Tedashii , Social Club Misfits, NF , John Givez , Derek Minor and Propaganda describe themselves hip hop artists who are expressing themselves, and are openly Christian.[13] Just like in Christian rock and other Christian music genres, some artists welcome being called Christian artists while others do not want to be labeled as "Christian music", as to not limit their music to the Christian music market.
The record label Ministers of the Underground was one of the few labels to showcase underground hip hop with the group, Secta 7. Members included Apacalypse, Optixs, Blackseed, Lord Metatron, Righteous Knight, Kaoticgal (who later was known as Keturah Ariel), O.N.E., The Final Chapter, A.T.O.M. the Immortal and Stress. Ministers of the Underground had a small-time show on Christian television, but was taken off the networks when Christian television opted for more orthodox style programming. The Ministers of Underground hosted events at a series of venues under the name CRU VENTION, or the convention of Underground Hip Hop for Christ, until around the year 2001.
A few Christian rappers have emerged from Atlanta, including Remnant Militia and D.I.R.T.
While many notable studios and artists share influence in holy hip hop, not one style dominates. Christian hip hop features all conventional hip hop styles, such as Midwest ( Hostyle Gospel), West Coast ( T-Bone ) and East Coast (BB Jay), and Dirty South (Pettidee ) and King Wes. Some, such as DC Talk , include a mixture of hip hop, rock, and gospel music in their songs.
Christian hip hop is also embraced and performed in the United Kingdom, by Gospel rappers including, Jahaziel, Dwayne Tryumf, Guvna B, Triple O, Sammy G, Simply Andy, MpFree [14] and Just C.
In the UK, Christian hip-hop is often merged with a music style known as grime, which gives the music a different sound from American hip hop. Many would agree that grime music originated in London's black community and is predominately described as a secular genre. Although British, grime music has a strong Jamaican influence as many of the artists are of British-Caribbean heritage. [15] The GL Live music event 2010, held in the United Kingdom, saw a fusion of Christian rappers both American and British celebrate their faith together whilst demonstrating their own unique styles. The event was attended by Trip Lee and Tedashii , who performed several songs during the event including "Jesus Muzik" and "No Worries".




REACTION AND ACCEPTANCE


Industry :

Christian music awards shows such as the GMA Dove Awards and Stellar Awards have added rap and hip hop categories. [16][17] With the notable exceptions of tobyMac and his label Gotee Records , and Lecrae, no Christian rapper or hip-hop group has garnered the attention of the mainstream Christian music industry. The nominal sales of Christian rap labels have been almost exclusively to white church-going Christians. [18] Christian rap exists almost exclusively underground.[19]

Market


There is no identifiable Christian hip hop market, as the majority of Christian hip hop has been underground, or marketed towards the mainstream Christian music scene.
In Australia, a multi-denominational group of Christian hip hop artists, led by Mistery from
Brethren , have started a hip hop church, Krosswerdz. [20] The church has been modeled on Crossover Church in Tampa, Florida.
A small Christian hip hop scene has also emerged in the UK

Festivals:

Rap Fest is an all-day, outdoor, evangelistic outreach concert which takes place every summer. 2011 marked the 18th year for this event held annually in NY South Bronx area.
Flavor Fest Urban Leadership Conference is held yearly at Crossover Church in Tampa, Florida, founded by Pastor Tommy Kyllonen, lead pastor of Crossover Church of Tampa.
Fire Fest International Ministries was founded by Charles Onley a.k.a. King C in conjunction with Terence A. Townsend, "Apostle T", founder of Save Our City Crusades and Conferences (SoCity) to reach the international community of holy hip hop with a message of encouragement, enrichment, education and unity. Fire Fest conducts artist retreats, artists/industry conferences and 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.






Crossover:



Holy hip hop has enjoyed some crossover acceptance as well. One of the early accepted artists were Disciples of Christ (D.O.C.).
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 to 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". [21] This also led to the single being disparaged by VH1 as No. 26 on their "Top 40 Worst Moments in Hip Hop", [22] an issue the artist addressed in "Washed Up". 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 .[23] It was also featured as the theme song for the second season of MTV's hit show The Buried Life. [24]
Christian symbols and themes have also been invoked by rap artists who do not consider themselves "Christian Rappers", and do not claim to represent any particular set of religious beliefs. Examples include MC 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 ", Nas with God's Son 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. [25] Some Christians believe that hip hop culture in any form conflicts with biblical teachings, while others consider hip hop to be a way of reaching the youth and mainstream culture. [26]

Mainstream Success:

On September 9, 2014, Lecrae released his album Anomaly , through Reach Records. The album achieved mainstream success as it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of over 88,000 copies in the United States [27] On October 6, 2017 Christian Hip-hop artist NF released his third studio album, Perception, through Capitol CMG alongside NF's newly launched label NF Real Music LLC. Perception debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 55,000 album-equivalent units, including 38,000 pure album sales. [28]




Acceptance :


Various prominent mainstream hip hop artists who profess through some of their music to be Christians, including Kanye West, Nas, DMX , and others, have incorporated Christian symbols and messages into their music and videos through images, lyrical content, and overarching themes. The 2002 Nas hit recording and video "One Mic " featured obvious references to his Christianity in the song, including the chorus "Yo all I need is... One God to show me how to do things his Son did..." [29] Kanye West's 2004 hit recording and music video " Jesus Walks " has received a notable amount of attention for its Christian content. [30] DMX incorporated prayers in many of his Number 1 international hit albums, and his 2006 hit recording and video Lord Give Me A Sign was highlighted by not only strong Christian lyrical content but actual scriptural quotes ("no weapon formed against me shall prosper and every tongue that risies up against me in judgement, Thou shall condemn" from the Holy Bible. Prominent Christian Rapper Lecrae, whose 2014 album " Anomaly" reached number 1 on the
Billboard 200 and received numerous other accolades, expresses an explicitly Christian message in the majority of his music. However, while generally categorized as a Gospel or Christian rapper, he distances himself from the genre of Gospel Rap saying, "Christian is my faith not my genre." Other mainstream artists, such as Kanye West, while using religious themes and symbols, hold that neither they or their music is "religious", out of a desire to distance themselves from negative stigma associated with mainstream religion.[31]
The use of religious themes in music that is otherwise regarded as illicit has sparked controversy over the validity of the religious messages expressed through the music. Some Christian listeners hold that "rap music, because of what it inherently communicates, is incompatible with the Christian Gospel", and attack the use of Christian themes and symbols in mainstream music as being disingenuous.[32] On the other hand, "since the mid-1990s Michael Eric Dyson and others have pointed to some cultural sensibilities shared by Christian churches and hip hop music; namely male privilege , middle-class biases, sexism, and homophobia." [33] Some analysts believe that the suffering expressed through rap music manifests itself in a certain spirituality that can be compatible with mainstream religious messages, although it approaches religious ideas in a much less direct way than most forms of religious expression. "Just as the MC slides into notes and dances around beats, "spirit" is not attacked straight on; it is courageously approached from below, from the margins, from youth, from uncertainty, through the structures of capitalism and mainstream media." [34] Some think that the use of mainstream religious symbols in predominately African-American music has increased the extent to which that music has disseminated through predominately white American culture. [35]
The 2007 Holy Hip Hop Music Awards 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. [36] However, EX Ministries and other churches contested the incorporation of secular hip hop culture into the Christian rap genre, holding that "Holy Hip-Hop" is still associated with the mainstream hip hop culture that they view as incompatible with Christianity's teachings. [37][38][39] Whereas many Christians hold that holy hip hop can be used to evangelize, [40] others disagree, arguing that the use of this style distorts the gospel message. [41]
From December 2013 well into 2014, Scott Aniol and Christian hip hop artist Shai Linne had a lengthy exchange about Christian rap (rap being the core element of hip hop), with Dr. Aniol arguing that the style is sinful and inadequate for Christian messages, and Shai Linne responding that the musical messaging of hip hop is relative, being interpreted different backgrounds




Source and Credit :Wikipedia




My Take :

Christian Rap movement seems to be sweeping across churches in America and with the ones (artistes) i have listened to i can say it cool because most of them actually reach out to people through there songs



Guys what your take?

Lecrae has been doing pretty good...even as good as mainstream rappers. He has released 9 albums to date, and his Anomaly (2014) album debuted at number 1 on Billboard album chats, and went on to be certified Gold. That's huge success for a Christian rapper.

They do if for the Lord, Glory!

Hmm.

It's not a new trend. Christian rap and hip hop have been around for years.

NF’s music resonates with me a lot. His album perception is super dope, I think he’s putting out a new cd soon.

Pls line up behind me if you did not read, because of the length of the story

Its great [color=#990000][/color]

If a music genre is over thirty years old it is not a new trend.
Nowadays a song is classified a throwback (old school) at the age of ten years.
If this genre existed in the 1980s then it is at most 39 years old (1980) and at least 30 (1989).
Those are long enough times for it to face three iterations in style.

Very simple.
There ain't no such thing as CHRISTIAN hip hop. Just as Christian adultery or Christian fornication doesn't exist

Proponents of the so called Christian hip hop aren't wise. They only appeal to emotions they have nothing to offer. They only give us emotional twists
Errant nonsense. Misplaced priorities

Whatever will not bring glory to His kingdom should not be allowed.
While some gospel hip hop songs are quite edifying, majority are too secular to be divine. The expressions to these songs(dances and bodily displays) leave much to be desired.

The problem we have in our days is that Many sing for God while only sing for God.

donsmall94:
Pls line up behind me if you did not read, because of the length of the story

I no read shingbaka

[color=#000099][/color]
I dey

Be deceiving yourself
Christian hip pop kor
Babalawo christianity ni

They are all evil and say rubbish. Listen to the raps. No diff frm hip pop and them. Hahahahaha
Fools

It's been around for a while, maybe it's just gaining momentum now.

Here's one from South Africa.


[url]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3gs5Gi3G1E/url]

summarize biko.

onlyinJESUS:
Very simple.
There ain't no such thing as CHRISTIAN hip hop. Just as Christian adultery or Christian fornication doesn't exist

Proponents of the so called Christian hip hop aren't wise. The only appeal to emotions they have nothing to offer. They only give us emotional twists
Errant nonsense. Misplaced priorities

You nail it bro. Gospel music is different gospel hip hop is another thing. If you want to serve God, you are welcome if you want to sing worldly song, so be it. It's same dance steps for hip hop that they take for the so call Christian hip hop o abi. Don't let's be deceived we can't serve God and mammon.

Here's one


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-41_ZBKcms

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Buffalo2:
You nail it bro. Gospel music is different gospel hip hop is another thing. If you want to serve God, you are welcome if you want to sing worldly song, so be it. It's same dance steps for hip hop that they take for the so call Christian hip hop o abi. Don't let's be deceived we can't serve God and mammon.

True! Besides even the so called Christian rappers really would love to feature secular rappers on their song.

Imagine a so-called Christian artist like Tasha Cobbs featured Nicki minaj on a *Christian* song...

Isn't that misplaced priority of the highest rank?..

You may Google and see the song.....

Then ask if Nicki minaj herself even believes in Jesus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDyHhHSDjCA

Enouwem:
Here's one


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-41_ZBKcms

Exactly. This is one song by men plagued with a reprobate mind

kay29000:
Lecrae has been doing pretty good...even as good as mainstream rappers. He has released 9 albums to date, and his Anomaly (2014) album debuted at number 1 on Billboard album chats, and went on to be certified Gold. That's huge success for a Christian rapper.

He and T-bone are my favorites

onlyinJESUS:


True! Besides even the so called Christian rappers really would love to feature secular rappers on their song.

Imagine a so-called Christian artist like Tasha Cobbs featured Nicki minaj on a *Christian* song...

Isn't that misplaced priority of the highest rank?..

You may Google and see the song.....

Then ask if Nicki minaj herself even believes in Jesus

What is this one even saying? Have you ever tried to listen to the songs? Tasha ft nicki was a good move, do you know how many of nicki’s followers was converted because nicki was on that song and they got to hear about Tasha and looked up her music ? All this Christians doing ITK, and yet yo are not as holy as you would want us to believe, it’s people like you that give Christians a bad name

grosebiz:
Whatever will not bring glory to His kingdom should not be allowed.
While some gospel hip hop songs are quite edifying, majority are too secular to be divine. The expressions to these songs(dances and bodily displays) leave much to be desired.

The problem we have in our days is that Many sing for God while only sing for God.

Good Christian music exists in all genres. Don't assume all is bad. You just have to find the edifying ones.

Gospel hip hop is the best thing that`s happened to gospel music.. It`s power and reach is unquantifiable.. Big time shout out to all gospel hip hop artists out there.. Keep winning guys

Christian hip hop doesn’t give me the feelings or vibe i usually expect from traditional hip hop. Kinda confusing to me smtmes bt i do Agree sm people like it bt I haven’t been able to. I prefer my Christian soul and gospel music.

This is for You

my favourites christians comtemporary artiste are ;
NF (more of the aggresive type)
KB
TRIP LEE
DEREK MINOR
ANDY MINEO
BIZZLES
FLAME ( he uses the scriptures a lot )
CANON
TOBYMAC
SOCIAL CLUB MISFIT
The 116 Clique

Infact i love the whole of Reach Records

Hoodbilonia:
Be deceiving yourself
Christian hip pop kor
Babalawo christianity ni

They are all evil and say rubbish. Listen to the raps. No diff frm hip pop and them. Hahahahaha
Fools

What exactly is wrong with Christian hip hop? U should like it. After all it praises and recognises God. Doesn't it?