Andy C-Lite Mineo
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Andy C-Lite Mineo grew up in Syracuse New York. As a child he did a lot of moving around from the inner city to the suburbs and back to the inner city. C-Lite really felt like he did not fit in with his peers. He was a white kid who loved to listen to rap music. Not only did C-Lite have trouble fitting in, but he was kicked out of middle school do to behavior problems. C-Lite admits that he had anger issues. Looking at C-Lite I would have never guessed that he struggled with anger issues, but that just shows you that you never know the road that someone has traveled. C-Lite’s anger issues made me want to probe a little deeper into his background, so I asked him if both of his parents were in his life growing up. C-Lite grew up in a single parent home, living only with his mother. His mother was a Christian and went to church from time to time. C-Lite says she was a praying mother. But without his father being in the home C-Lite was forced to look for male figures elsewhere. He tried to find some sort of affirmation, and he found it in music and wrestling. In the summer going to the 8th grade, C-Lite attended a Tri-State Christian camp with his sister. During this camp the gospel was shared with C-Lite and it was shared clearly. It was explained in such a way that caused C-Lite to encounter an experience with the Lord. The presence of the Lord was all over him and C-Lite recalls the experience being intense. He felt a sudden shift in his heart. He suddenly had love for those people who he had once hated. Although C-Lite had this wonderful experience that many people long for, he struggled with his walk after leaving the camp. He had no home church, he had no community, he had no people that he could spiritually grow with. C-Lite says that it was extremely hard to find the gospel at churches in Syracuse NY, thus his lifestyle did not reflect the lifestyle of a Christian. He had no encouragement and he began to become influenced by the things around him.
“I wish people would read the bible be
After high school, C-Lite moves away and goes to college. In his freshman year he was convicted in a unshakeable way. He would have dreams that would just terrify him. He knew that he needed to make some serious lifestyle changes. His convictions brought him to surrender his job during college as a studio engineer, because he felt like he could no longer support music or artists that were putting out negative content. He had to cut certain things and certain people off. God was purging him. Later, C-Lite met a man named Alex Medina, who has produced tracks for CHH artists like Lecrae, Flame, Trip Lee, etc. Alex brought him around a group named Truce, which stands for To Reach Urban Communities Everywhere. This is a group that makes Christian Hip Hop music. Finally C-Lite was now in a place where he could receive some encouragement and grow.
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As C-Lite and I talked a little more we began to talk about music and how he got his start. All throughout high school C-Lite was rapping. He had his own studio where he would make music for himself and his friends. He was performing shows and opening up for popular artist like, Dead Prez, Common, Jadakiss, etc. He was good at rapping and he had achieved some success, but the Lord was still working on C-Lite. I recall C-Lite saying that the Lord became his treasure as he began to grow closer to Him. C-Lite chose to leave his rap group and his friends could no longer record in his studio. It was a hard decision for C-Lite to make, but his group members respected his decision. Most of them had a Christian background also, but they just didn’t live it. So I asked C-Lite when did he start doing Christian Hip Hop? He was already a pro when it came to creating music and performing. Thanks to Alex Medina, he was now connected with a CHH group (Truce), so it seemed like the right time to let them know he was nice too, right? Wrong, C-Lite says it was a rough transition to do Christian rap. He wanted everything to be spiritually in order before he started rapping. CLite says, “I wish people would read the bible before they start rapping.” I second that! C-Lite recalls a group rehearsal where the director asked him if he could rap? C-Lite says after he finished rapping everyone’s mouth dropped to the floor. He says that everyone was shocked that this white kid could flow LOL. Although it was obvious to everyone present that C-Lite had skills, the director told C-Lite that he needs to bear fruit before he could give C-Lite the microphone. He told C-Lite that the lifestyle is more important than the talent. C-Lite stayed encouraged being around other believers. I asked C-Lite what artists have had an influence on his style and music? He says that Canibus had a huge impact on his music. Also, he liked artist like Wu-Tang, Crooked I and Royce Da 5’9”. He is also highly influenced by classical music. If you know anything about C-Lite, you know that he’s not only a good rapper, but he’s a pretty good singer also. He says that he likes both rapping and singing equally. C-Lite says that he grew up goofing off singing, but he just had a natural ability to write hooks. As we spoke more about music the name of a secular producer was mentioned by C-Lite. I like to ask artist secular topics anyway just they start rapping.” to gain perspective and insight, so I asked C-Lite his thoughts about CHH artists using secular beats? C-Lite says that he doesn’t know what a secular beat is? His response was how far does it go? The beat maker only sets the platform for the artist to communicate. C-Lite says that he would never make a beat for a secular artist though. Absolutely not! After talking for almost an hour, I asked C-Lite what can we expect from him in the future? He is currently having conversations with new labels, so a project will be released once that decision is made. Also, you can expect an even bigger project to be released in 2012. For his final words, C-Lite wants people to realize that a lifestyle with Jesus is paramount. Music fades, magazines fade. Ask yourself, where does Jesus rank in your life? Take a spiritual snapshot of yourself.
To stay in touch with what C-Lite has going on visit www.siniswack.com