NYC Upside Down Inc. is a movement whose sole purpose is to equip emerging leaders by means of encouragement, education and empowerment. Our team is made up of various pastors, teachers, and leaders who have modeled servant leadership and have a desire to affect the world by affecting its leaders. Our main reason for existence is to change the discrepancies between God’s plan and man’s failure. We want to live out Romans 12, with our lives placed at the altar so that God’s will might be accomplished in His church. Our drive comes from looking at the condition of our sin-laden world and the need for the church to take its rightful place. Thus, restoring God’s plan and flipping a Bizarro World right side up. Acts 17 gives us an account of the early church and its affect on society. Paul and Silas, as usual, were moving from city to city preaching the gospel. As Paul’s custom he would stop in certain cities and speak in synagogues, reasoning with the Jews, hoping that some would come to faith in Christ. On this day, in Thessalonica, jealous men began to cause a riot. As one man once said, “Wherever Paul went there was either riot or revival, or sometimes both.” They wanted to put these “troublemakers” in jail. They saw the affect that Christianity had on the world around them and did not want change in their culture or city. They could not find Paul or Silas but took Jason an innocent bystander, but still a believer. He was guilty by association. As they brought him and a few other believers before the city authorities the only accusation they could muster up was, “these people have come here to change our world”. Read again! <<< S.O.U.L | Pg81
The only accusation that could be brought against the believers was that “these people have turned their world upside down!” My desire is that the church today would be accused of the same thing. When we watch the news, read newspapers, articles, etc., we find many tragic stories about the state of our world. We are saddened by the effects of sin—children are fatherless, parents are killing their children and children their parents. Child trafficking and pornography has become one of the lucrative businesses in our world today. Our teenagers are suffering with STDs, depression, and suicide as their number one killer. How about the state of the church? In these past few years, I can recall countless postings of leaders who have stolen from the church, were involved in immoral situations, have lived double lives, and my heart has been broken again and again. I think of the churches that have been affected and the people who have suffered. Like Jesus said, I see “sheep without a shepherd.” What made the early church strong was their desire to be like their leader. The Apostles’ laid a strong foundation that was taught to them by Jesus Christ himself. Their foundation consisted of strong convictions, passion, integrity, honesty and allegiance. Their allegiance was to God first and foremost, and their purpose was to preach the gospel not
only by word but in deed. They were soul hungry. They knew of a God that could change the course of one’s life, and made it their goal to let the world know about Him. Now one may ask, what made their testimony so believable that thousands came to know Christ-sometimes in one day? I believe that it was the power of God in their testimony. How they chose to live spoke to the culture around them since it was contrary to popular opinion and what was socially acceptable. If the world said it was okay to have premarital sex, and seek revenge when necessary; the church would stand to attention and beg to differ. When the world condemned them, they blessed; loving their enemies, healing the sick, touching the untouchable, reaching the unreachable, caring for the poor and silently suffering. These were all examples of upside down acts to the world. They were not ashamed to state the facts even to the point of persecution and separation. Love was their motivation and it propelled them. NYC Upside Down Inc. seeks to bring the Acts church into this world. We believe that God is raising up a generation of leaders who desire to revolutionize their society and community through the local church. We also acknowledge that what made the Acts church successful was unity. They were unified in their efforts and felt the encouragement of their brothers and sisters in the faith. Many have said leadership is a lonely place, and in a city “that never sleeps” we can miss the opportunities to fellowship, grow and learn from one another.
The Bizarro World Student Ministries Conference is Upside Down Inc’s first attempt to bring churches across denominational lines, and leaders of every race for a time of encouragement, instruction, and empowerment. We believe that there is a generation of leaders who are passionate to make Christ attractive to this world. They are hungry to see transformation in their society and are willing to pay the price to make this “change” happen. Though Bizarro World is a two-day conference we believe that the impact of what will be shared by experienced leaders, will change the lives of its hearers. There will be an impact experienced here that will send ripple effects from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Our confidence is in the Living God whom we serve and has charged leaders of the church to live a life of example—to go out and make disciples. We do not want to wait for change, we need to make change happen!
Rev. Adam Durso Executive Pastor at Christ Tabernacle Founder of Youth Explosion Ministries www.twitter.com/AdamDurso
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The Christian Hip-Hop movement continues to grow every day. Many of you checking out this magazine are just discovering it. If you’ve been around this genre for a minute, you know it’s come a long way! The artistry and production quality continues to expand. The passion to rep the message of Christ is more evident than ever! There is a lot of incredible talent out there – established and emerging. Space doesn’t allow us to review all that we would like to, but we picked some Hot projects for this issue that are definitely worthy of recognition… we suggest you check em’ out and enjoy!
Shachah
“Let The Light In” crossmovementrecords.com
- Cross Movement Records
If you are looking for an album that’s hot and out the box, you need to go cop the new Shachah Let the Light In! Its got a Rock Hip-Hip-R&B-Reggae- Worship feel to it but with all live instruments. This Album is full of the word with conviction, encouragement, hope, and peace. The album opens with #1Turn as it challenges people to turn and follow Christ and Christ alone. Track #5 Lord Speak is Shachah crying out to God to speak and you can tell He did as you listen this project. Track #15 Let The Light In, which is the theme of the album calls for us to let Christ shine in us and challenges us to let Christ shine through us. Shachah also came with hot features like: The Tonic, T.R.U.-L.I.F.E., Phanatik, Jahaziel and a few others. Look, if you don’t have this album it’s a must have! Go cop that Shachah cause its Hot! - Broken
Cheno Lyfe “Home”
- Cheno Lyfe Music
chenolyfe.com
The First Time, I heard this brother from the Magic City (Miami) camp, was here at Crossover, and I was impressed with him as he ministered in song and testimony. Now just out, his new album (Home) is definitely a must have for fans of Hip-Hop, R&B, Rock, Etc. Features on this project include, K-drama, D-Maub, and fellow homies G-Notes and Joe Justiz. Some tracks, that spoke to me were #3- Gotta Be Me. Cheno spits about not conforming to the ways of culture, but being who God created you to be! Also track (#11) Won’t Stop, he expresses, him reppin Christ the King, until he’s on top! I highly recommend you pick this CD up in our Hip-Hop Shop, or in your local outlets. It’s definitely got that fire! - Brovah Greg
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KJ-52
“Five-Two Television” kj52.com
- Bec Recordings / Emd
From growing up in TPA - Ybor city 7th Ave, to being featured in one of Urban D’s early music video’s, (We Go Together Like), to selling several chart topping albums. KJ continues to grow as an artist. Best known for his song “Dear Slim” as he tries to reach out to well known secular rapper Eminem. His ministry through the years has continued to speak to the culture in a real and relevant way. His latest 24-track album- Five-Two Television continues with that growth. One of my favorites is #5 –Headline News at 5- Ft. Theory Hazit as he and KJ spit about the state of the culture, and their need for the headline - Jesus our Savior. Also Track #22 - Broken people, spoke to me, because I was one of them, affected by the tragedies of this life, concerning relationships, divorce, etc. As KJ says in the lyrics, we are not alone, because of an all-knowing God. This album is on repeat play. So all you Tweezy Fans out there… Check the Headline and cop it soon! - Brovah Greg
DJ Official
“Enetermission” reachrecords.com
- Reach Records
24 artists…18 tracks - wow! This album is made up from a compilation of various artists from different parts of the globe. There are so many different styles on this album to even try to pick a favorite one would be difficult. This is def one of those albums to where no skipping to the next track is necessary. The long awaited album was def worth the wait! DJ Official put his foot in this one ya’ll and brought in the heavy hitters: This’l, Lecrae, Json, Flame, K-Drama, Trip Lee, JR, Tedashii, Sho Baraka Jahaziel, and so much more! Enuff of my yappin’…go cop this and see for yourself! Get on The Mission (Matt 28:19 & Luke 10:27). - dj dash
Humble Tip
“About Business” myspace.com/humbletip
- Strictly 4 Jesus Ent.
This indie artist has been on his grind the past few years consistently spittin’ the truth and building an audience that’s listening. I’ve been watching him. Just look him up on youtube and you’ll see all the videos he’s done. His new album “About Business” already has a couple videos done including “Body of Death” talking about fighting the flesh and a very humorous video “SPF” featuring my favorite two funny guys; K-Drama and D-Maub. Right from the title track of the album you can tell from the gate that Humble Tip is definitely about business with hot production and clever word play. If you haven’t heard of this cat from VA I highly suggest you give him a listen, as he’s next. - Cisco
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N
ot all blockbuster movies deliver on their promises. Some films tease you well with posters and trailers that lure you into theatres then let you down. I found myself in these situations watching two such big-budgeted, special effects laden, popcorn cinema. Case in point: Transformers 2 and 2012. In my opinion, they’re so bad I don’t even want to review them in a way that would make you want to rent the DVDs. Yet, I don’t want to trash talk them either, because for the most part, the filmmakers accomplished much more than you and I have done thus far in our lives – mainly, made movies and made millions. What I do want is to elaborate on their promises and deliver them as I believe they should’ve. Perhaps not with a remake or re-imagining, so to speak, but with the underlying themes on which the stories where founded on. To start with, both Transformers 1 & 2 were, in my opinion, a smack on the face of my childhood. That’s all I’ll say about that. Anyone who missed the 80’s won’t know what I mean, but if you were a child of that decade, I know you feel me. I must admit, though, the way they transformed on screen was pretty exciting – both rapidly with the iconic “transforming” sound effect, as well as their slow, meticulous, detailed transformation. And that’s all the praise Michael Bay will get from me. The reason I love the Transformers, though – the mythology, not the movies – is because of what they really represent underneath the fantasy they portray. If you really think about it, all the Autobots and Decepticons represent are angels and demons. Of course, it’s not a harmonious parallel, but it is the foundation of who and what they are. Bumblebee, in the first installment, even says it to Sam and Mikaela after their rumble with Barricade and Frenzy. They came from the heavens, and, just as apparent, their battlefield is our planet. What’s not apparent is their existence. (This is debatable, of course, being that there are numerous errors to the film that I won’t go into.) But in essence, they are “robots in disguise.” We’re not supposed to know that some GM owned cars out on the road are “more than meets the eye.” The author of the book of Hebrews even mentions to “not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” Although, in contrast to celestial beings, there is no higher calling to Transformers <<< S.O.U.L | Pg75
other than the Decepticons seeking Energon for their survival and the Autobots being universal peacekeepers – protecting life. To elaborate on that would go well beyond an article. Angels, on the other hand, are ministering spirits from God for our benefit and to His glory; while demons are angels, too, that just chose to rebel against their purpose. And apart from the Transformers’ transformation, another thing I do like about Transformers 2 is the concept of the Decepticons wanting what was in Sam Witwicky’s mind, because that is very similar with what our enemy wants from us. Beyond earth, the battlefield is in the mind. Joyce Meyers wrote a book aptly titled, “The Battlefield of the Mind,” that I highly recommend. In fact, most inspirational books, if not all of them, directly or indirectly, speak of that mental battle one way or another. Our actions are reactions to our thoughts, and whoever controls our mind, controls us. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians that “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” The devil, of all things, wants us to set our minds on carnal, fleshly matters, while the Lord desires us to have our mind on the Spirit. The Autobots and Decepticons fought for the mind of Sam, and in like manner, the angels and demons fight for our minds, as well. That’s why we not only read God’s word, but – like King David – we study and meditate on it day and night. We hide it in our hearts that we might not sin against God. When tempted, our minds should trigger us back to the Word of God. Look no further than Christ in his forty-day fast and His temptation from Satan. He combated the attempted negative thoughts with the Word of God. If the movies kept this foundation and built upon it more, I might have praised it more than I have, but it didn’t and most likely won’t in its future installments. Just know we have an invisible army ministering to us, watching over us, and taking orders from the Highest Authority to see us through. They can be disguised and they can be more than meets the eye, but they can’t be motor vehicles or planes. That would be cool, but our war is not of the flesh. •••
H
orror movies I can take. Some gory movies I can stomach, too. I went to film school, so I know how special affects and make-up work. When I watch movies like that, my mind automatically takes me out of the experience because I know the work put into it and the intended usage of music, scene edits and dark lighting. But one subject that always gives me the heebie-jeebies is ghost stories, because it all goes back to the battle for my mind. Do I believe in ghosts? No. Do I believe in fallen angels and evil spirits? Most definitely. Fortunately, “The Fourth Kind” turned out to be something different, but as the popular saying goes: it’s the same difference. The title comes from the level of encounter with extra-terrestrials, with the first kind being a sighted UFO, the second having collected evidence of said object, the third is when contact is made, and the fourth: abduction. This, as its namesake states, is the fourth kind. The interesting thing about the movie is its mix of profession reenactment and the actual archival footage the acting is based of. Or so it has been marketed. The whole premise is misleading and false. The entire “archive” is proven to be fabricated, but such is the nature of marketing these days. It does give it more of a realistic feel, which is great for drawing people in, but bad because it draws people in. It’s good for marketing – bad for messing us up. Aliens, to me, if done and told in realistic ways is just as bad as ghost stories. More so, you can technically see them (if we’re taking the position of their existence). The thing with aliens is that, unlike spirits, they’re plausible enough because they’re physical beings, and with the vastness of the universe you can argue their existence, and you can’t entirely discount them. But once you establish your belief in other beings outside our galaxy, you must then connect it with the Bible’s account of creation, for in Genesis, Earth is the center stage and man is the lead character. The Bible accounts for mankind, animals, birds, sea creatures, dinosaurs, angels and demons; but no intelligent owl-looking humanoids from other planets.
In my belief, what we consider an alien I consider to be a deceiving spirit. In the film, the unseen presence is recorded to be speaking in a dead ancient language called Sumerian (the earliest inhabitants of modernday Iraq, before the Babylonians), and claims to be God. That’s where I know its deceiving us. Yahweh alone is God. And any being that speaks and makes that claim already walks into the category of “demonic.” People may have encounters, they may have a story to tell, but to me I believe that is great strategy by the devil to get us to question God, which is step one, and step two: disbelieve or rebel against the Almighty. It’s a diabolic plan to get our minds off the Prince of Peace and unto the fear of the unknown. 1 John 4:1-6 says it best: “test the spirits.” I’m not an expert in this, but I know what God says about it. “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” •••
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” - 2Timothy 1:7
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FLAVOR FEST Re-Directed Volume 1: Focus
Neue. by Relevant “On your mark, get set, now go! I must leave you, but I will
If you are looking for a tool to help build connections with urban
not abandon you. I AM sending a comforter to walk the rest
flavor then FLAVOR FEST Re-directed is for you. Volume 1:
of this journey with you.” I remember this verse each time
Focus is a collection of some of the highlights of the last Flavor
our pastors take the good news to all the nations. When
Fest from great performances to general sessions to some
they’re gone, they also leave footprints for us to follow that
footage from Africa with Urban D. This DVD features a very
lead to Christ. Sometimes God also uses guest speakers, and
strong message from Hip-Hop artist Lecrae Moore. He’s not
sometimes “whispers in the wind” via satellite, web cam, or
just a dope MC, but he’s a great communicator that can break
personal videos. They do great work in keeping me focused,
down the scripture. The DVD also includes live performances
motivated, and dedicated. How do they do this? I think I found
from shai linne, Sho Baraka, Jahaziel and KB from Crossover
one of their polishing tools: a book called Neue (that is put
Church. Not only does the music promote Christ in a positive
together like a magazine). This publication is a jam-packed
way, but also the message shows that being a Christian urban
fountain of wealthy advice that clearly denotes abundant
artist is about Christ first and then the gift God has given you.
examples of expertise. Not only can you polish your armor with
It’s about FOCUS with this DVD and it can help you in your
it, our leaders take it to the max by fortifying their application
ministry, as it’s a great tool to use at services or even share the
of the armor. It’s no easy task charting the raging seas of
message portion in a small group. And it should tie you over
evangelism, while recording all the adventures, to help guide
until the next FLAVOR FEST - which is 10-10-10!
newbies looking for those footprints on the clouds. “When is He coming back?” Now this is the question: What does it mean to
- DJ Tank
be RICH? It means Readily Investing Community Help. Like a tree planted by the river that never fails to produce fruit. Yeah, the Neue book is a river of knowledge that helps my leaders dip their cups into the ocean of the bible like Peter; we go deeper so we can share more, catch our second wind, and pick up the pace. The Neue book even helps our leaders pass the baton to future Joshuas. It’s packed with great articles that tackle topics from theology to culture to mission to the environment. If you’re a leader looking for some insight to keep you informed check out this resource from the makers of Relevant Magazine. - Spyvey
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Open – Lifechurch.tv
The 13 Letters Curriculum Reach Records
Lifechurch has been recognized over the past few years as the most innovative church in America. They’re especially
The 13 Letters Curriculum is one of the hottest and most
known for using video to reach the masses. The church
creative curriculums out right now. Reach Life Ministries has
now has over 13 campuses across the U.S. and has over
put together an excellent survey of the 13 Pauline Epistles
25,000 people that physically attend their services on top
geared towards reaching the urban/hip-hop culture. This
of thousands more that watch services on their website.
curriculum is like no other. It’s a multimedia bible study
Pastor Craig Groeschel and the leadership team there
equipped with teaching DVD’s, leadership guide, student
are very humbled by what God is doing through them
study guides, ESV NT bible, and each guide comes with
and their desire is to help other ministries and give back
a 13 letters CD. You got dudes like Lecrae, Trip Lee, Sho
to them. Instead of creating a website where they sell the
Baraka, shai linne (Lampmode), Flame (Cross Movement)
resources they’ve created for their church they decided to
and a few others doing the teaching. So you know the
just give them away. What? For free? Yes, free! What’s
teaching is engaging. We’ve waited for a long time for Hip-
the catch?
There isn’t one – it’s just them wanting to
Hop to collide with curriculum that is done in excellence, but
advance God’s kingdom! Refreshing isn’t it? Welcome to
now the wait is over. Lecrae says, “You thought it was just
Open @ Lifechurch.tv where you can get thousands of free
CDs and concerts... you must be kidding me. Naw man,
resources. This includes message series complete with
this is a lifestyle...” Lecrae opens the 13 Letters album with
outlines; graphics, video intros, commercials and everything
tracks “Begin with the End” and Trip Lee ft. Tadashi. So we
you need – plus you can watch the video of their service
got to dig in! Grab ya bibles, spirals, and highlighters and
to see how it went down! There are tons of other great
dig in to the 13 Letters curriculums. This is a must have
curriculums for kids ministry, teens, graphics, videos, small
tool! I am going through it right now with my teen leaders @
groups and even worship! If you lead any kind of ministry
Crossover and they love it. Big ups to Reach Records for
and want some fresh ideas and you’re looking for some solid
meeting the needs of urban ministries!
stuff, then head over to Open and take a look around. Take it, tweak it, make it your own as God inspires you and then
- Kenneth Godbolt aka Broken
give Him some thanks for the people over at Lifechurch! - Cisco
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In this issue’s Production Corner, we mine the minds of some of the hottest producers in Christian Hip-Hop. We ask them 1.) How they balance their relationship with God and music, 2.) Advice for up and coming producers, 3.) Some of the resources that they use and would encourage us to use, 4.) Share with us some of the success principles that have helped them succeed. May you continue to seek the wisdom you need to pursue the dream that God has given you. Enjoy.
Bakaz men. The Story
Jacques was able to share the reasons he would not participate. Before his internship was over, Jacques was able to build strong relationships with certain individuals and offer a godly solution to their challenges. Jacques had the opportunity to stay in Miami, but he knew that God was calling him back to Tampa. He returned to Tampa and reunited with Shorne. The duo now partner with Soundright (owners Brain and Greg Powe) and are focused on making music for Christian artists.
Advice
The best advice we received was not verbal. We watched people and
Shorne and Jacques became friends and started making music
learned the lesson from what they did. Be different. Learn from other
together while attending IADT academy for recording arts. Their first
people’s sound but be different. Listen to music. Challenge yourself.
break came when they worked for a local Tampa artist called Acafool,
Don’t just listen to your favorite rappers. Listen to Jazz, Country and
who was one of Jacques and Shornes teachers at the academy. He
music scores.
asked the duo to work with him because he knew the quality of their work. More doors opened because of their reputation. Stacks (owner
Resources
of Sobe Entertainment) heard their music and asked them to work on
The best resource is internship. Go to any studio you can, and intern.
a number of projects with him. This soon led to more work and more
Reading is different to hands on experience. A book teaches you the
opportunities to network their music. All of this was happening while
technical aspect but when you intern, you are around people who
the duo was still at the academy. As most achievers are aware of,
have been doing music for years. (For more information on internship
winning streaks do not last forever. Work started to dry up. Jacq and
contact bakazmen@ myspace.com/dreamhousestudiostampa)
Shorne were evicted from their apartment. Shorne stayed in Tampa
and started to produce for a local Christian group. Jacques spent a
Success principles
season homeless until he called Stacks and was able to move to Miami
Regardless of the situation, when God says its time to go, it is time to
and intern as an engineer. Jacques internship enabled him to further
go. It’s all about the music. Make good music. When you make good
develop his connections and his skills. He eventually transferred to
music, it speaks for itself. We didn’t have to focus on the best wardrobe
another studio in Miami called Circle House.
or the best image. All we did was press play. Know the business part of
the industry. There is more to the industry than just putting a song on
Balancing God and Music.
Jacques saw that God used these experiences to allow him to share and strengthen his faith. When artists looked to involve Jacques in ungodly activity,
MySpace. Once you perfect your own sound; invest time and money on promoting the sound. Read a lot of books. Christians have the resources but we don’t always use them. We want everything to be supernatural. Do your homework. In the business world, they grind and they hustle. We have to grind and hustle. God does his part, but we have to do ours. Faith without works is dead.
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JR
Balancing God and music: The key to understanding balance in our lives is understanding stewardship.
TONY STONE Balancing God and music: Don’t let your ministry become an idol. Enjoy yourself in the Lord.
Resource: futureproducer.com, books – “Music Through The Eyes Of Faith” by Harold M Best and “Blue Like Jazz” by Donald Miller.
Resource: Check out Future music magazine, computer music magazine, and Sound on Sound magazine.
Success Principles: Honoring God and leading your family will bring Gods definition of success into your life. Nothing comes easy, as you have to grind.
Success Principles: Know when to say no, support other producers, be satisfied with how much success God grants you, and seek the maximum glory to God.
Advice: As much as possible, producers should fight to be original.
K-DRAMA
Balancing God and music: Since we worship the “God of the work”, not the “work of God”, I make sure to reflect on God through the study of the scriptures and prayer prior to doing ministry work. Resource: Honestly I’m not a book reader, so whenever I have a question about anything, I Google it and it usually points me to several message boards where the insight is very helpful! Success Principles: I work on music 8 hours a day (this is my full-time) leaving me with plenty of time for studying, family, friends and hobbies outside of music. Advice: Be original and create your own musical lane of genius by not being influenced by what’s going on in the mainstream music industry.
Advice: Take on a serious approach at studying the Bible and desire spiritual accountability so that you grow properly.
GOD CHASERZ
Balancing God and music: Start everyday off with prayer and seeking, then God will balance out the rest. Resources: Two great resources I use are Soundsandgear.com for software reviews and I follow @TheMusicBizGuy (via twitter) who gives tips you can bank on. Success Principles: Work hard and count the little victories because they add up to a mountain of success. Advice: Seek God, master the gear you have, and never stop learning new techniques.
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Back in the summer of ’94 I recall visiting a Southern California Bible bookstore and finding a delightful surprise on the music shelf; Christafari’s Reggae Worship. At the time gospel reggae was such a unique concept, but I was sure that this novelty would eventually go the way of gospel grunge, Christian ska and techno praise. I was wrong. Over fifteen years later, the genre is not only surviving, but thriving! In fact, many would argue that the burgeoning genre of gospel reggae is currently stronger than its secular counterpart. The last six months have a lot to do with its growing success with hit releases by most of the major players in the field. Here are some of the highlights… First out of the gate is Christafari’s rootsy No Compromise, the band’s 20th anniversary release that features guest appearances by over 30 top gospel reggae and features by Urban D, RedCloud and Dominic Balli. As a tribute to the late Keith Green (who had an album and biography of the same name), for the first three months Christafari made the album available for whatever fans could afford--or even free. The response was so great that it actually knocked down their web server a few times! In promotion of this release Christafari did extensive touring in Europe and South America in addition to some spot dates in the US. This album is now available for purchase on iTunes and GospelReggae.com, and ended up being the top gospel reggae seller of 2009. Other high profile releases include Koen Duncan’s Shine High, which incorporates elements of hip-hop, roots, dancehall and Trinidadian soca. This CD is a splendid response to Koen’s award winning freshman debut Bring Down. Another noteworthy release is Papa San’s long awaited Higher Heights. This CD is more of a throwback to his earlier sound and even earned him a Steller Award nomination. After this came a release that launched a partnership between two of the biggest powerhouses in gospel reggae; Lion of Zion Entertainment and Lion of Judah Sounds. Lion of Zion was started back in 1998 by Mark Mohr (of Christafari fame) and almost 50 releases later they have the broadest distribution in the genre. Lion of Zion is responsible for launching the gospel careers of top artists like Stitchie, Sherwin Gardner, Mr. Lynx and Avion Blackman. Monty G initially signed with Lion of Zion back in 2002 and since then has co-produced over thirty titles with DJ Frost under his own label, Lion of Judah Sounds. With this new partnership the biggest tastemakers in the gospel reggae industry have united. Their first project under this new agreement was Positive’s Never Let Go. Hailing from the sunny southern Caribbean isle of Tobago, Positive has had unprecedented success in the secular reggae scene. Every one of his singles and videos has reached number one in the mainstream market despite his decidedly Christian lyrics. Following this was Mr. Lynx’s The Seeds You Sow and DJ Frost’s explosive Streetlight Mixtape Vol. 4, the best selling mixtape series in the genre. These releases culminated around Monty G’s first USA tour that had Monty and his crew of almost a dozen artists braving the unforgiving winter in a Winnebago while traversing from state to state in promotion of the new releases by Lynx, Frost and Monty G’s highly anticipated World Domination CD. Other noteworthy releases include St. Matthew’s Fellowship Ova Friendship, Solomon Jabby’s Firmly Planted in Dub, Jermaine Edwards’ Destiny, Avalanchee’s Uncut and the incredible re-releases of Ricardo Clarke’s Uprising and Dominic Balli’s Public Announcement. Overall, the gospel reggae genre is on the rise. For more on the genre and these albums check out: www.gospelreggae.com
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few months ago I had the opportunity to visit family and friends in Savannah, GA. At my brother-in-law’s family
So we can come to a very important conclusion: what God values, we
home, we were made aware that at a specific time and
must value. When you read His word, you learn that he values women
location we can actually witness the space shuttle and
who are devoted and committed Christ followers. Women committed
space satellite orbit directly above us. It will look like a star,
to His ways and model a real relationship with their Creator. He valued
slightly bigger but it will move across the sky, almost like
Mary, Jesus’ mother, who as a young teen submitted to God’s will,
a shooting star. So we headed outside into the cold night to witness
answered him, “ I am the Lord’s servant” (Luke 1:38) knowing she
this event at exactly 6:41pm. As I stood there looking up at the sky I
could face public disgrace for being pregnant while being pledged
was already amazed at the vast number of stars that lit up the sky. I
to marry Joseph.
had forgotten what a night sky looked like without the interruption of
her dirt and offered her a new life and a new way, and because of
skyscrapers or city lights. Within minutes we spotted the “moving” star
her, many became believers (John 4:7-26,41). How about Mary of
and then the other one that followed it. For me, that was the highlight
Bethany who was ridiculed for unselfishly pouring out her treasure
of my evening, but it also made me aware of how little I felt at that
oh Him? Jesus honored her for her devotion (John 12:3). After His
moment. I was just a little spec in this world surrounded by millions of
resurrection, in the early church, we read His Apostles continued his
tiny stars and a bright full moon.
high regard for women. We know He is pleased when women like
He welcomes the Samaritan woman, knowing all
John Mark’s mother open their homes to the church family (Acts 12:5Have you ever felt so little and insignificant? Have you ever been in
19). We read and learn of women who use their gifts to influence
a crowded room surrounded by people and still felt all alone? I believe
others and introduce them to Christ, like Lydia (Acts 16:13-15,40) or
most of us would answer yes to these questions, but the real truth is
a theological thinker like Priscilla who traveled with Paul and taught
God has not forgotten you. He didn’t just place us in this world, in our
Apollos the work and faith of Christ (Acts 18:18, 24-26).
community and in our circumstances just to leave us there unattended. In Isaiah 40:26 it says, “He marches this army of stars out each night,
You have been strategically placed in this crowded world for a
counts them off, calls each by name, so magnificent, so powerful and
specific purpose. God is not impressed when you settle to just co-
never overlooks a single one!” Not one star is missing from the sky,
exist with others. He is not impressed when you value one woman
from God’s eyes. Now if you have good eyes and near perfect vision,
over another because she is more like you, thinks like you or dresses
according to an Astronomer, Simon Driver, you should be able to see
like you. He is more concerned that we personally know Him through
5,000 stars. However, there are still billions more that you cannot see
His Word so we may obey His will for our lives. God is pleased when
with the naked eye. In 1995, The Hubble Deep Field study reported
every woman who belongs to Him fulfills His purpose in the church.
that there are billions of galaxies out there and each one contains
Yes, there are billions of us on this globe, but our ways are not hidden
billions of stars. And every night, not one is missing! If we are talking
from Him. If He can bring out the countless stars of heaven each night
about some meaningless stars positioned in the sky, how much more
one by one, He can bring you (and the billions others) into His light.
meaningful are we as his children? If he takes the time to make sure
Take a look at the sky tonight. Are the stars out? Then be glad. Smile.
every star, every galaxy, every moon and sun is in its place, wouldn’t
God cares for you and values you. •••
he care where his children are positioned in this world? Yes, there are billions of individuals that co-exist in this world, but not one has been forgotten. “The Lord knows those who are his” (II Timothy 2:19).
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At its foundation, Lady of the Evening (LOTE) is a question
a story not watered-down to dumb the truth, because on one side we have a committed man whose only allowance in marriage is to the church; and the other side we have a woman whose faithfulness is solely towards her profession of sleeping around. But when you throw in a pure friendship that turns into an honest love affair, it furrows eyebrows and certainly turns a lot of heads. That’s exactly the reaction we want, because that’s exactly what the original story did. Anything less than controversial would do little justice to the heart of the matter.
Our lives in the present are direct results of how we’ve individually answered those questions. They’re honest questions that both atheist and clergy, alike, have asked. Israel’s history records an instance when their God answered back – less reliant on words, and more so by example. That’s what Lady of the Evening does. It examines the query and paints a picture – a motion picture – of both question and answer, inspired by the life of Israel’s prophet, Hosea.
“It’s telling us to rethink what we think about God,” according to the director. “It’s not about ‘Christian’ or not; its about a story involving tension between God, faith, and religion. Where do they align? When do we draw the line?” And that is ultimately what attracted other talents to this project. I brought Sam onboard, Sam brought Hugo; Hugo Perez, in turn, got the attention of three actors on top of their game and rising.
The idea first came when I begin asking those questions myself, when I heard a message spoken about an Israeli prophet that God commanded to marry a prostitute. It wasn’t a suggestion; it was God directing his own movie for a nation to watch. That is why I approached a friend I trusted with a resume that edified his passion as a filmmaker. I believe our nation, especially, needs to watch that “movie” again.
Bringing in Marshall Allman (FOX’s Prison Break) and his wife, Jamie Anne (The Notebook), was a natural progression, as well as Mark Pellegrino, the mysterious “Jacob” on J.J. Abram’s LOST. “The minute I knew LOTE was a worthwhile project, I began casting in my head,” recalls Perez, “On top of that list was Jamie. I’ve seen her talent at work and knew she was the right person to play our lead.”
posed in a short film. It’s a look inside the human heart that asks, “Who am I that God would be mindful of me?” It’s in posing a question that consists of both God and me that determines much of who we believe we are and how we live our lives. Our definition of God really determines how we define ourselves. And at one point in each of our lives, we all ask those burning questions: Is anybody up there? Does anybody care?
I first met Sam Sanchez through a MySpace bulletin looking for interns. He answered my inquiry on behalf of XXXChurch, an organization that helps people with their addiction to and involvement in pornography. I never heard of the guy, but we soon discovered commonalities in film, philosophy and purpose. We’ve collaborated since on short films and other projects. You may know Sam for his music video “Constance” by The Procussions’, Mr. J. Medeiros, or KJ-52’s “Fanmail.” One might even recognize his promotional videos for Compassion International, World Relief and short films for Rob Bell’s “Jesus Wants to Save Christians.” His resume only shows a fraction of what he’s capable of and a glimpse of what he’s truly passionate about: movie making. When I proposed this project to him, he was supportive even as it went through many ideas, countless brainstorms and a handful of drafts. “Roy kept asking me to read scripts,” Sanchez says, “This one was different. It felt right. I am fascinated with stories of women in the sex industry. It keeps growing. And my wife cares about this issue, which helps me care more.” It was at that point he enthusiastically sent the script over to Hugo Perez, our Executive Producer. The two go back several years to when Sam was a student at Moody Bible Institute and Hugo needed help producing a video for the American Heart Association. “I knew then that Sam was a talented, amazing brother. I’ve always enjoyed working with him and look for opportunities as often as possible to work with him again. So it didn’t take much for him to tell me about LOTE and ask for my help in producing it in order to convince me to jump in.” That should say something about Sam Sanchez, coming from an Emmy-award winning producer. “LOTE seemed to be such a passionate story with great characters that were easy to relate to,” says the Executive Producer, “That is what first drew me into the project.” “A priest and a prostitute” sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but in all honesty, it’s a vulgar look into our own lives, and if the transcendent story of Hosea can be told today it would start with those very two people. And by vulgar, I mean <<< S.O.U.L | Pg63
Perez has known the Allmans for about 5 years, meeting Marshall in Chicago while he was filming Prison Break. They hit it off instantly and spent a lot of time that year becoming friends. Marshall, in turn, became another producer as Jamie took the leading role, which then ushered in discussions of the role of the Catholic priest. Perez had initially thought of another actor–friend in Hollywood, but the Allmans convinced him otherwise which led to Mark Pellegrino, a friend of Marshall and Jamie’s. “He seemed even more appropriate for the part than the other very talented actor we had considered,” states Perez. “In the end, as is often the case with producing and filmmaking, it’s all about connections. Connection to a story, connection to the team that is coming together to make the film, connection to the actors, and connection to your audience. It’s a great process made even better when your story is something that you are sure will have an impact in so many lives.” By the time this article hits the press, the Lady of the Evening shoot should have already been wrapped, the feature-length screenplay underway, and the production team should be in preparation to take our calling-card-ofa-short-film to film festivals, distributors, and prospective investors for a feature-length undertaking. Our hope is to present a quality product to those who catch the vision and desire to be involved, whether that entails following us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ladyoftheevening), helping us create a buzz, keeping us in your prayers, or partnering with us financially. I equate Hollywood as the new Rome – a place of prominence and glory, gods and entertainment – and this project, like Saint Paul, is our “Appeal to Caesar.” We have all, in one way or another, been influenced by “Rome,” and by the influence and storytelling of one saint, Rome was forever changed. I can only pray the same for this story. •••
by: Roy Saringo
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by: Sketch the Journalist
Normally I take pride in breaking news stories. October 17, 2009 was not one of those days. That was when I had to tell the world my friend died unexpectedly. You may know him as Enock - a member of Christian Hip-Hop’s flagship group The Cross Movement. He helped found and, in fact, gave them that title. That seems like a lifetime ago. Another name, another city. On this day, he was simply Juan James – husband to Natalie and father to 4-year-old Jana. The word I received was that, despite his youthful 35 years, Juan had an apparent heart attack at his overnight job. I was on the road at the time – traveling through the winding mountain roads of Arkansas to visit family. Well, Enock was my family, too. >> <<< S.O.U.L | Pg61
With spotty cell reception, Twitter seemed the best way to let the largest number of people know about our loss in the quickest way possible. One hundred forty characters and 30 tear-shedding seconds later, the word was spreading as well as prayers for his surviving family. How I wished it were a mistake; a terrible, gossipy rumor that we are known for all too often. When I arrived at my destination I was finally able to muster up the courage to call his wife. Unfortunately, Natalie’s sobs told me I had been a faithful journalist. ***** Houston got to know Enock at the turn of the millennium. In 1999 my man s/ave was running ONEMIND Magazine out of his apartment. When he found Enock through an instant messenger search they became kindred friends, chatting freely, sharing stories, and talking about the sacredness of music and life. At this time Enock had been asked to/decided to step away from the mic after dealing with sexual addiction and divorce – two seemingly “Scarlet Letter” sins for anyone involved in gospel music ministry. A year later OM’s operations were moved to the offices of Much Luvv Records, where s/ave worked closely with Tre9. There, he established long distance ties between Nock and Tre and the trio built with one another through several late-night phone conversations. Seeking friendship, accountability, and a fresh start - Enock then decided to move from Philadelphia to Houston. To me, as Sketch, I saw Enock as a rock star during our first face-to-face meeting. After all, this was THE Enock from THE Cross Movement. He deflected the admiration. Even though we knew him as the booming voice from “Introducin’” his own self introduction was always just “Juan” and usually not even audible. A man of considerable size and build, (CM members remember calling him “Cell Block ‘Nock”) he still seemed shy, contrite, and gentle. ***** Part of Enock’s healing process came through the helping of others. Here in Houston, he started what were called R.A.M. Sessions – monthly Bible study and accountability meetings designed to “Restore All Men.” Approximately a dozen guys devoted themselves to this group – praying for one another, asking tough questions, and allowing themselves to be vulnerable. At Enock’s memorial service, these gatherings garnered nearly as many mentions as his song titles. Years later the legacy and impact of those studies survive its founder. ***** Imagine if Trip Lee, the talented young boy from Reach Records’ 116 Clique, decided to switch camps, move to Florida, and make music for the independent, less lyrical theology-driven GodChaserz Entertainment label. That’s akin to what took place when it was announced that Enock’s next project would be released on Much Luvv Records. And it was bound to happen. Several months of living with and working for Tre9 had surely stoked his creative fires. With a renewed confidence, Enock expressed a desire to “take off the mask” of a professional Christian and share his story. His next album would honestly discuss his failures as well as the battle and temptations that plague full time music ministers. The result was AWEthentic – a meaningful collection of tracks some deemed too raw for release. Enough that, a few short weeks before the project was scheduled to be the first title submitted to a new distributor, a key studio technician decided it best to pull his music off of the unconventional record. Thankfully, the selfless Stephan “Stikk” Oran came to the artist’s aid, producing the perfect backdrop for Enock’s truth tales. The deadline was met and the Christian Hip-Hop community got a peek behind the curtain they thought they’d never see.
AWEthentic illuminated imperfections, challenged co-laborers, and shouted warnings of similar, sin-inviting situations. Too bad not everyone took notice. In the wake this year’s public admissions of “moral failings” by Ambassador and Da’ T.R.U.T.H. (two artists at the heart of The Cross Movement collective and its associated record label), the album seems eerily prophetic. If true art always retains its relevance, the AWEthentic album is looking ready for the Louvre. ***** The more I hung out with Enock the more he just became Juan. And the more I just became Jason. He always asked about things that many do not. About my family. How was the wife? How were things at home? He became a person, not a persona. We related on several levels. Aside from a love of hip hop and Jesus, we also had our frustrations with His bride. He introduced me to The Message paraphrase translation of Scripture. I turned him on to Don Miller’s Blue Like Jazz and singer/songwriter Derek Webb. He told me several times that I needed to read Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna. Our deconstructions of traditional church were not mean spirited or ill founded. We were simply two guys trying to reconcile the Christian life we read about in the Bible with what we saw under steeples each Sunday. It was community. It was friendship. Something I miss now. ***** The most unforgettable part of Enock’s memorial service was indeed when Natalie James took the stage. With a strength that shielded her pain, she opened Juan’s prayer journal and began to read aloud its entries. She shared moments of hope and joy: His 30th birthday, the birth of his new daughter, or a recent job promotion. But she also gave a voice to his frustrations and fears: How he couldn’t seem to leave Hip-Hop alone despite the toll it took on his family. How he prayed to better manage his finances. How he questioned the quality of spiritual leadership he offered his wife and child. It was a bit jarring. Who in their right mind would discuss such intimate details in such a public setting – especially when they might be the last words spoken or remembered about this soul? But in hindsight, there was no better way to honor one of the realest people to ever approach a microphone. May he rest in eternal bliss with his Father. We will see you soon my friend. You can show your support by purchasing his AWEthentic album from www.thebus-shop.com (100% of the proceeds will be given to his family) or by sending donations, payable to Natalie James, to:
Natalie James 512 Enid Street Houston, Tx 77009 For an overview of Enock’s musical legacy, download DJ Primo’s free Much Luvv Radio Special Edition Tribute to Juan James aka Enock mixtape at: www.freechristianmixtapes.com
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Leaders Need Help Too... and a Coach Can Help! Congratulations! You’ve decided to be a leader. On behalf of all humanity I would like to personally thank you for making this noble decision. But now we have a few simple questions that we would like for you to answer: How are you going to make the impact that you have long dreamt about? How are you going to fulfill the calling on your life? How are you going to influence those around you? What are you going to do to be a leader that we admire? How are you going to flip this world Upside Down? What’s that? You say you don’t know, or you aren’t quite sure. It’s ok. Don’t fret! Don’t be overwhelmed! You are not alone. All leaders have been asked these questions in some form or fashion. Often times we ask our selves these very things late at night 3 hours before we have to wake up. And yet very few of us have sought the necessary guidance so that we may begin providing the answers that both we and others seek. Well, now you are without excuse. Get a coach! Athletes do it. CEO’s do it. Pastors do it. Why haven’t you? Perhaps because your unsure of how to get a coach, or how exactly a coach can help you. Well if that’s the case here is some guidance. Lead 222, one of many organizations focused on coaching youth pastors and leaders, describes the coaching conversation as a “focus on your Inside Game (personal character) and you’re Outside Game (professional skills) to ensure you are reaching your full potential in all areas of your life.” To summarize a coach will help you fulfill your God given potential as an individual, a leader, and in every other area of your life. Are you a self proclaimed control freak? Do you have grandiose ideas but are unsure of what your first step should be? I’ve seen leaders overcome these challenges, plus many more, through proper coaching. Coaching is different from training, different from mentoring, different from therapy. A coach views those
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he/she works with as Capable, Creative, and Complete. Capable to do all that they aspire to, creative in a way to figure out how to do it, and complete with all the abilities necessary to make it happen. A coach will help you be future focused while assisting you to take full ownership over your life and actions to accomplish the goals you have established. If you don’t have goals, don’t worry coaches can help you create those too. When you engage in a coaching relationship, you own the coaching conversation, choosing what it is you would like to focus on, and the coach acts as your guide, asking questions to help you come to a place of self revelation and offering advice along the way. The coach is your confidant, friend, and often times your cheer leader, but all the time your coach is a vital resource for any leader who desires to be the best they can. Upside Down, Inc., an organization dedicated to developing emerging leaders, views coaching as a way to develop a generation of future leaders that will turn the world upside down by righting the wrongs of man. Additionally, Intentional Focus, an organizational development consulting firm, indicates that through the coaching conversation those being coached will be challenged to improve, take action, and ultimately become a greater leader. If you’re like other leaders and have been asked tough questions, whether by yourself or others, that you haven’t been able to answer, a coach can help. If you find yourself stuck and need a push to get unstuck, a coach can help. Or if you just want to further develop your potential as a leader by sharpening your skill set, a coach can help! Don’t delay, start the conversation today. To find out more about the coaching experience, or to find a coach today, please visit: www.lead222.com, www.upsidedowninc.com, or www.intentionalfocus.com Fred Polirer Founder and President Intentional Focus, Inc.
Hold onto your platinum plaques if you got em… in reality if you’re reading this you probably don’t have one! The hardcore truth of what Christian Hip-Hop sells is what I want to dive into and dispel the myths, share the facts and set the record straight on what it means to do this music. Let me explain how sales are actually counted in the music business… before the days of digital downloads running (and ruining) the industry you got paid on how many albums you shipped to stores. This made it hard to gauge how many records were physically sold… if you shipped 1000 units of an lp you may only actually only sold 750 physical copies. With the introduction of soundscan in 1991 record companies then had to way to estimate how many albums were actually sold and thus became the barometer for how successful (or unsuccessful) an album was. The saying goes “men and women lie but numbers don’t”, so lets disperse with the myths and speculation and dive into some actual numbers... the best way to accurately gauge the sales of this genre is in two ways: total artist sales and individual album sales… The following is the top 6 overall sellers in Christian Hip-Hop according to soundscan. (All numbers are rounded up or down to the thousand for simplicity).
Note... these are totals as of 11.21.09*
1. Grits with 571, 000 total artist sales -This is over the course of 14 albums -Biggest selling album is “Art of Translation” with 158,000 2. Kj-52 with 560, 000 -This is over the course of 8 albums (these 8 are including 2 side projects) -Biggest selling album is “It’s pronounced 52” with 123,000 3. T-Bone with 449,000 -This is over the course of 10 albums -Biggest selling album is “Last street preacher” with 117, 000 4. The Cross Movement with 345,000 -This is over the course of 6 albums -Biggest selling album is “Holy culture” with 95,000 5. Lecrae with 277,000 -This is over the course of 3 albums -Biggest selling album is “After the music stops” with 124,000 6. Gospel Gangstaz with 218,000 -This is over the course of 3 albums -Biggest selling album is “I can see clearly now” with 170,000 Those are the top 6 overall selling artists (based on total units sold over a career) here is the following top 10 overall selling albums:
Note … this is listed artist, album, sales, release date* 1. Gospel Gangstaz “I Can See Clearly Now” 170,000 (5.18.1999)
6. Kj-52 “Behind the Music” 114,000 (02.01.2005) 7. Kj-52 “Collaborations” 106,000 (7.16.2002) 8. Lecrae “Rebel” 103,000 (08.19.2008) 9. The Cross Movement “Holy Culture” 95,000 (4.22.2003) 10. Grits “Grammatical Revolution” 92,000 (05.12.1999) These numbers will leave you either depressed or excited based on you’re perspective of what it means to be a part of this genre. You may notice that even our biggest selling album still hasn’t broken the 200k mark (much less selling gold @ 500k) 10 years after its release. Even on total artist sales there are only two artists (myself and Grits) who have ever sold 500k in TOTAL sales. Christian Hip-Hop still remains a very niche market without the financial and/or supportive muscle to drive artists to the gold and platinum status level. With overall album sales down 50% from 2001 for all genres (and continuing to decline every year) the reality of an artist reaching those milestones remains hard to fathom. The truth is that this genre doesn’t have the same outlets to push records to soaring heights in sales… we lack the video and radio outlets to support us and so have to rely on word of mouth and touring to sell our product. And on a side note, I can’t help but think that our message clashes brutally with the mainstream market message of sex, drugs and material goods... this makes it hard for a mass consumption of what we do. It’s very similar to the junk food that we buy everyday… if all of sudden your Big Mac tasted different and was formulated to be good for you, the truth is the public wouldn’t buy it. If one day you woke up and decided to change your eating habits to consume tofu burgers you’d have to seek them out to purchase them, as they aren’t readily available. Christian Hip-Hop is the tofu burger of the industry… good for your spiritual health but most people refuse it because they prefer the “junk food” of mainstream Hip-Hop.
What’s a Christian Hip-Hop artist/consumer to do? Press on! We need to support, work hard, grind and continue to pursue our call that God has on our lives all the while maintaining a realistic perspective. We don’t do this for the sales and/or money (hopefully); we do this for a higher calling. While it’s fun sometimes to try and size ourselves to everyone else, it’s not always the healthiest or godliest thing to do. The nation of Israel clamored for a king so “they could be like all the other nations” but keeping up with Jones’s usually leaves us empty.
2. Grits “Art of Translation” 158,000 (08.07.2002) 3. Lecrae “After the Music” 124,000 (7.06.2005) 4. Kj-52 “Its Pronounced 52” 123,000 (9.24.2003) 5. T-Bone “Last Street Preacher” 117,000 (02.21.2001)
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On a side note… maybe we should rate our albums the following … gold (100k) frankincense (50k) and myrrh (25k)…. No? Ah well… it worked for the wisemen. •••
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Written by an anonymous artist that was a victim Hello, I am an up and coming Christian Hip-Hop artist you may or may not know. This article is an effort to warn many new artists who desire to serve the Lord, but may be swayed by the cruel, selfish, deceitful slick talkers who promise to take you to the next level. So, this manager found me online. We will call the anonymous manager Bob. So, Bob contacts me online and makes me promise after promise. He tells me about all the connections he has with all of the previous record labels he has worked with. The first thing that I should have asked was, “well, if you have so much experience, and such great connections, why aren’t you still working for those major labels anymore”? Bob notified me that he would connect me with all of his previous connections and assist in taking me to the next level. But, before he could do anything for me he needed to receive a retainer fee. This is another red flag. Bob also was very assertive in attempting to recruit me under his management company. He constantly said things like “come now, it’s a great time because we can focus all of our attention on you”. He made it seem as if he would direct all management attention into me, “the new, hot, young artist”. I have now learned a lesson that I wish I had learned some time ago.
NEVER PAY A RETAINER FEE. You never pay a retainer fee because once you have paid it the party
you have paid is not obligated to produce results for you, unless specific results are detailed within a signed contract. Once I paid the retainer fee, it was all downhill from there. All of the sudden, all of the contacts, promises and presented effort was distant and non traceable. On top of that, Bob wanted a percentage of everything. Shows that I booked, without any assistance, Bob
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wanted a percentage. Record sales from CDs I made with
3 times. Also, in the contract it will specify the financial
my hard earned money and sold at events I booked, Bob
details of the agreement, so make sure it specifically details
wanted a percentage. Even though he was not working,
and outlines what the company will do for you so that after a
Bob wanted a percentage, of everything. This was another
period of time, you can look back at the contract and check
flag. Another flag that I disregarded was the fact that Bob
off what has been done. Protect yourself at all times and
really did not appreciate me speaking to previous artists he
do not allow anyone to take advantage of you. Understand
had worked with. Be wary of this. If a manager has done
that ultimately God is in control. Do not make any hasty
a great job, they should be happy to use the success they
decisions. Allow the Lord to direct your steps. If you seek
have procured with previous artists to convince the next
the will of the Lord above all else, every decision you make
artist. Bob did not want his past artists to communicate with
will benefit the mission of the cross and you personally. Do
his future artist. He did not want this because he was a con
not allow selfish ambition and delusions of grandeur to blind
artist who gained the trust from young zealous Christian
you from the call of the Lord. Stay focused on the Lord and
artists, and once he received the retainer payment, he
he will direct your path. •••
quickly lost interest and began seeking the next artist to deceive.
After months and months of headaches, confusion, and complete agitation, I realized that I was being conned and opted out of the contract. Once I mentioned my discontent with the previous months, Bob became hysterical and furious with me. He threatened to sue me and claimed that I breeched the contract. Of course, he totally refused to acknowledge the fact that he had done absolutely nothing to propel my musical career. All he wanted was his finances, and to be completely honest, I had to pay him. So, to those of you who are reading this, please don’t make the same mistake that I made. First of all, pray before entering any business or ministry relationships. Second, do a background check on every organization you work with. Ask for references and then follow up and contact them! Third, have as many conversations as you need to have before you feel comfortable aligning with a company, and if they become impatient and attempt to force you into an agreement, take that impatience as a sign of their greed. You should not allow anyone to represent you that hurries you or forces you to do anything. Fourth, make sure that you have a lawyer review any contract you receive at least
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This St. Louis MC is definitely a street rapper.
top of the mainstream Hip-Hop itunes charts! His digital distributor
His rhymes take you to what’s really happening on the block.
(Syntax) got him placement on the front page of itunes and people
This’L knows this well, as this is where he grew up. It’s what he
began checking out his music and we’re feeling it. On top of that
knows. These are the streets he hustled in. Even though he’s now
his loyal fan base jumped on the release and supported it and it
been serving the Lord for years he stayed connected with his ear
propelled him all the way up to #4 on the itunes charts beating out
to the street by constantly doing ministry in the hood and building
artists like Lil Wayne. This was so encouraging to see an indie
and ministering to his family members that are still out there. Even
Christian Hip-Hop artist get blessed and get exposure like this.
though he’s now building a national audience and traveling much more, he still goes into local Juvenile Detention Center’s to minister
on a regular basis. It’s his heart and his passion and he regularly
cats, so to see him on the charts made me feel really good as I know
This’L’s real raw approach definitely reaches out to street
sees real fruit coming out of it.
it was ministering to a lot of people far from God that wouldn’t heard his music otherwise. His album sparks off hard with the song “I Hate You” as he talks about the drug Crack and how he’s watched it tear his family and his neighborhood apart. It then jumps into his first single and music video “Windows Down” as he spits
about reppin’ Christ loud as he rolls through his hood. The album
isn’t just him talking about what he did or what he has seen, but it presents the truth of Christ and talks about how believers need to be “Urban Missionaries” and get on they grind out there and present the hope that we as believers have found. His new CD quickly
To many in the Christian Hip-Hop Community we were first
became a favorite to many at Crossover when we stocked it in our
introduced to This’L as he was an original member of the 116
hip-hop shop. A box of CD’s sold out within a week. Everyone
Clique. I remember meeting him and hearing him rock at Flavor
was buzzing about it. Many claimed it was the dopest hip-hop
Fest back in 2006. He was a big intimidating looking dude, but he
album of the year, and several dudes even bought extra ones to give
was really a humble teddy bear when I met him. I was impressed
out for evangelism tools to people they had been trying to reach
with all the members of 116 as they had this real passion, solid
for Christ. If you haven’t checked out this artist yet – I’d highly
skill and solid theology. This’L released his first indie release
recommend him. His myspace also has several videos on it. The
“This House I Shall Live” back in 2007. I don’t remember hearing
Calvary joint is powerful as he uses scenes from The Passion of The
too much about it as not too many people in FLA. had heard
Christ movie. Check out part of his testimony on the video “I Hate
much about it. But, on August 11 , 2009 he released his second
You” - Part 1, and you’ll see his heart. I’m amped about seeing him
independent record “Chronicles of an X-Hustler” and it launched
again this coming October at Flavor Fest X! •••
th
him into the national spotlight. I don’t even remember hearing much promotion leading up to it, but suddenly this cat was on the
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CONTINUE HERE Right after school, the Lord pulled the rug out from underneath me and took me to a place where I was alone. Most of my friends disappeared and the girl I was in a relationship with for 5 years bounced from out of nowhere. In this season, I now look back and see what the Lord was doing. For 4 years prior, I had been crying out to the Lord to deliver me from the life that I couldn’t deliver myself from. Little did I know, this was the answer to my prayer. It was in this time that I was given power to deny myself and start to grow in my understanding and knowledge of who my Savior was. A few months prior to that I had met Timothy Brindle at a rave in Pittsburgh. He was eating shrooms and I was on any combination of pain pills that I would have been doing at that time. We were familiar with each other’s music, but had never met. From there we built a friendship and decided we wanted to start working with each other. For the next few months we started work on his first solo album. Around the time the Lord was doing a work in my life, and Tim had a drastic conversion by reading the book of Luke. As a result, the Lord allowed us to start running the race together and it was through him, that I met all the Philly cats. Tim was living in Philly and I was still in Pittsburgh. In 2002 I went to Philly to chill with him and that was when I first met J Silas, Everyday Process, Jas Knight, shai linne, Redeemed Thought and many other key brothers in the faith. 3 months later I went to Philly and secured an apartment. That’s where Lamp Mode was started…in a 1 bedroom apt in West Philly with a closet for the vocal booth.
Dash:
Wow, some journey that was, God really brought Esso through a lot no doubt! If you ever heard DJ Essence’s work you can tell he’s hip on the classics and has a unique ear and blend to his beats. Here’s how he got started.
Esso: At
the age of 15 I went to my first rave in Pittsburgh. I remember being enthralled with the DJ and being amazed at his centrality in the evening and the power he had. That was my first exposure to dj culture. Shortly after, I had been out all night at another rave and we went back to a guy’s house that was a dj. The same thing happened. I sat by his tables for hours and watched him spin, itching to try it out, but he wouldn’t let me. That same dude also owned a record store in Pittsburgh. From there, I started to buy records, with no idea about different genres (dance music) and just started listening. I rigged up my dad’s technics system that we grew up with and bought a mixer from radio shack. In the beginning, I was really into progressive breaks, funky breaks and progressive house. After that, my brother ended up getting some belt drive turntables, which were a piece of crap. I kept playing with them and in a few months we ended up buying 1200’s. Within a year I was playing at clubs and parties around Pittsburgh and the Cleveland, OH area. During that time, my brother was playing hip-hop and jungle and even though I spun breaks, we always listened to and were influenced by hip-hop. So much so, that it
Proverbs 16:9...
discipled us. At the age of 18, my brother and I started a record store in Pittsburgh, which allowed me to get a vantage point into working with distributors and selling music. Even from them, I always had a DIY, Indy mentality. Around the age of 18 I started to get bored with dance music and wanted something a little more challenging and fun to spin. So, I started to play my brother’s hip-hop and jungle records. I was sooooo influenced by this tape I got from dj avee from NY. I couldn’t stop listening to it and I was always influenced by east coast hip-hop dj’s. I loved the rawness and the simplicity of their mixes and tricks. It felt like straight from the street hip-hop. West coast dj’s were always a little too clean and perfect, as if there weren’t a human behind the turntables. I liked the blemishes and spontaneity that east coast dj’s brought to the table. I was also heavily influenced by Roc Raida and was lucky enough to spin at a rave with him in 1995 that my brother threw. We got to hang out in the hotel room afterwards for a while...I’ll never forget that. DJ funk flex was another one that influenced me back when he was in his heyday, around the 90’s, along with the stretch Armstrong show with Bobitto. Man, I miss those days! Continuing in hip-hop, I made a decent name for myself under the moniker Adolf Thievez, in which I put out around 13 mixtapes. That was how Timothy knew who I was. He didn’t know I was from Pittsburgh until we actually met and was like, “you’re Adolph Thievez!” With my mixtapes I started to record drops and freestyles by other emcee’s and that’s where I got into recording and producing. I went to a couple studios and would always be frustrated by the process of feeling rushed because I couldn’t afford long hours, and I was never getting exactly what I wanted because we were so worried about time. I used the hustle mentality and started to buy equipment. The first thing I bought was a Roland vs-840 and started to do my recordings and mixtapes on there...before it was just straight to tape, no edits! That actually helped to become a better dj because you could be an hour into your set and if you messed up you had to start back at the top. Nothing was digital. A few months later I bought an mpc2000 not knowing anything about it... my beats were horrible for years! One of the interesting things is that due to where we lived, there was no one else close to us that were dj’ing or producing. We taught ourselves everything and that’s why I learned how to scratch backwards and can’t learn a lot of new scratches without really going back to the beginning. With that, I feel that everything I’ve learned is really my own and unique since it came from hard work. The first battle I entered was around 1996/1997. I couldn’t even scratch. Somehow I made it to the 2nd round, but in the 1st round I was getting booed. It was so funny. I was high and drunk, so I was flipping the crowd off and yelling...lol. But, what I love about getting booed is that I went home that night and learned how to scratch because I knew that I had made it to the next round, which was the next week. Eventually, I just kept buying equipment and learning about recording, mixing and producing, right after I graduated college I purchased a pro tools system which was where I really got
“The heart of man plans his way,but the Lord establishes his steps.”
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into engineering and recording other people’s music, as well as our own.
Dash:
Okay, I know I ain’t the only who thinks of Esso as Mr. Everything to the label! But seriously, how’d the label all come to life?
Esso: In Pittsburgh I had an idea to start a record label
under the name Sick and Tired Records. The first release was a mix CD/Compilation that I did. The second thing we were supposed to do was my boy Timothy’s album. In Pittsburgh, I was calling the studio Lamp Mode Studios (because I liked to work in dark rooms with lots of lamps). Well, as the Lord interrupted things we decided that Sick and Tired wasn’t a good name for a Christian record label, so after brainstorming, just decided to keep Lamp Mode. Because of my background in the Indy, hip-hop scene I had the DIY attitude engrained in my mind. The vision for the label was to provide a platform for artists to be what they wanted to be, without the red tape or politics of the industry saying what they could or couldn’t do. As a result of that, and in the Lord’s providence, the first albums were very theological. This wasn’t intentional on my part, but it was just the way that the dynamics of the label worked. Since the label was set up to give a platform to artists and allow them to be themselves, it just so happens that our first artists were very theological and of a particular bent. For years we were intentionally avoiding distribution so we could keep costs low and develop a grassroots following. This allowed us to do some creative things, like give away music and set our own prices. We also started out with a “whatever you can afford” policy that we adopted from Desiring God Ministries. One of the questions that I always asked in the beginning was, “why are we doing this”? A lot of people study secular labels and models and think that they have to adopt their policies. So, it’s common to look at what Puffy has done with Bad Boy, or Jay-Z did with Rocafella, and think that is the model for success. Well, as Christians we have to ask, “how does the gospel inform this decision”? We need to be able to decide that just because a secular label does something, we don’t have to do that or follow it because we have different definitions of what success is. As a result of this philosophy, I wanted to rethink some things. One of these would be.... the amount of money the artist gets per album. Most labels are set up to take advantage of the artists and give them as little money as possible. This in part due to an archaic royalty system that is still in place from a bygone era when artists weren’t actually songwriters. So, instead of
adopting this model, which is complicated, time consuming and unethical, I was like forget that... I’m going to throw that out the window and start fresh. I decided that each album we would put out would become a partnership with that particular artist and we would split everything 50/50. No point system and nothing else hard to explain. Of course, it does get a little difficult as we get bigger and as we have multiple avenues of revenue/distribution channels, but it’s still set up with this simple philosophy in mind. Another thing we were always big on was NO CONTRACTS! I felt that if I couldn’t trust you to keep your word, then we shouldn’t be doing ministry together. So, everything was based off verbal agreements and pounds.
Dash:
Essence puts in work for real, he serves as a producer for all the artist, does all the graphics, websites, and all promotional stuff. But in all cases he’s the guy that mixes, masters, and all the admin stuff. Mr. Everything in short! And 15 albums later as a label we can see the fruit Lamp Mode is producing. So what does the future bring for you guys at Lamp Mode? Y’all have brought so much to the table thus far, so what’s next? Anything I say in regards to this must be prefaced with the verse Proverbs 16:9...”The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” This has always been a verse that the Lord hammers home as all of our albums progress. We have many ideas and goals, but the execution of them must be the Lord’s grace if any of them come to fruition. With that, we are seeking to become more unified as a label, with a more focused direction. Part of the challenge is that when you look at our roster, we are unified in the essentials, but we have a pretty unique, niche group of artists. That’s something we are praying through. We are also anticipating the future, and I, as well as shai linne have a passion to venture into and transition into doing worship music. Personally I’m also looking to get into and expand into more multimedia, I.e. video production and photography work outside of just the label. My degree was in graphics and video production so I’m hoping to focus on that more in the future as I anticipate what my life will look like post-Lamp Mode. •••
For more on DJ Essence or Lamp Mode Recordings, visit: www.lampmode.com
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He is the name behind the label, Lamp mode to be exact; he’s in fact the “essence” of the label… I’m talking the big hommie DJ Essence aka “Esso”. If your unfamiliar with Lamp mode records you’ve seriously been hiding under a rock! The label features such artist as Hazakim, Json, Steven the Levite, shai linne, Evangel, and Jas Knight. Lamp mode is independently owned and operated being based out of Philly. Their mission statement is “Highlighting the Character of God, while presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ and a biblical world view through Hip-Hop culture.”
Dash:
Today we’re getting to know the main dude behind it all. Esso, lets first start with your youngin’ days and how you came to know Christ…you know, your grass roots.
Esso: I was born in Indianapolis and moved to Texas at the age of 3. I lived there until I was 12 years old.
In that time period, I grew up going to a different school every year. It was back and forth between private, public and home schooling. The town we lived in was a Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) town and I was raised going to the church there. If any one I knew were a Christian, they were a SDA. It was there that I got my first exposure to Christianity, as well as my mother. She would read the bible to my brother and I every night, as well as pray with us as we were going to sleep. She didn’t know a lot, but she has a beautiful childlike faith that still amazes me to this day. I can’t say at what point I became a Christian, but I know that I never would have denied who Jesus was and I always said that he is my personal savior and that he died on the cross for my sins. Of course, over time the depth and understanding of those statements became clearer as I sat under sound doctrine and grew in fellowship with solid believers. Growing up I was surrounded by a wide diversity of music. I remember listening to my dad’s record collection on his Technics turntable and Technics stereo system every Saturday morning for breakfast. We would listen to Elton John, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Carole King, Van Morrison and so many others. I was steeped in folk music and classic rock from a young age. I also had a grandmother that would sing gospel and bluegrass songs all day long as she sat in her rocking chair. I grew up listening to that stuff...I also had older cousins that were in to the post-punk/new wave stuff that was real popular in Dallas at the time. We were listening to Siousxie and the Banshees, The Smiths, New Order and Joy Division. Also being involved in the skateboard culture from a young age, I was listening to hip-hop, too. One of the first tapes I remember listening to non-stop was LL Cool J’s ‘Bigger and Deffer album, which came out in 1987. I must have listened to that tape everyday for a year. So, from an early age, there was exposure to a broad range of music always being around. At the age of 12 we moved to a small town an hour north of Pittsburgh. Up to this point, I would have said that I was a pretty good kid. At the age of 13 is when I first started to get involved in smoking weed. My older brother and cousins were always taking me around and introducing me to things. From there, I got involved in doing any and every drug I could get my hands on. Between my family and friends, we always tried to see how far we could push ourselves. By the time I was 15 I had smoked crack and ate acid. There wasn’t a drug that we didn’t indulge in and push each other to the limits with. All this time, most of us would have assented to faith in Christ and even talked about him to others while we were getting bent. Of course, we knew what we were doing was wrong, but it was so much fun that it was hard to stop. This led to a 10-year drug addiction, as well as involvement in hustling most of those years. I was involved in a lot of crazy stuff, which I can’t really talk about, but it included moving stuff across the country and a few times, internationally. In all of it, I never got caught doing anything and the Lord really preserved me through it. In it all, my mother was praying for my brother and I like crazy. We would come home at 7 am from being out all night and she stayed up all night praying for us and reading her bible. She knew what we were doing, but couldn’t stop it. In it all, I was able to manage to get a BA in Communication from a Pennsylvania state school and thought I would pursue a career in broadcasting. (CONT. ON PAGE 51)
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interviewed & written by: dj dash
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• Dallas, Texas // By With Drew Castillo The Pitch: A not-fully-living Enemy army is in relentless pursuit. They don’t really care who the Good Guys are or what status they have. They simply want the Life that is within – even going so far as to suck it out of their prey. The Title: Zombie World The Premiere: A Sunday morning youth service at The Fire House which is part of Bishop T.D. Jakes’ larger Potter’s House church in Dallas, Texas. This is where Zombie World’s producer, Drew Castillo, will break down the layered meaning of this short film to its audience. Although he didn’t pen the script, he did commission the story. You see, it dovetails nicely into his current sermon series that carries the same name. And it offers Castillo a referential launch pad to discuss spiritual warfare and what it sometimes feels like for Christians living alongside unbelievers. Oh yeah – the cast, crew, and writers are generally novices and all are too young to vote. Why give bunch of teenagers expensive equipment and ask them to create a complex narrative (that could easily be misconstrued) about such an important message? “For me, it’s all about empowering the kids and allowing them to interpret [Scripture] through their gifts,” Castillo said. And he walks the talk. Not only does he offer his kids starring roles in front of and behind the camera, he also teaches them how to create future content using industry-standard hardware and software through Fire House’s classes on Final Cut (video editing) and Photoshop CS3/CS4 (graphics) programs. There are also hands-on training courses for camera operation and on-air talent. Castillo said that in his short one-year tenure as youth pastor he’s already seen five or six students graduate from his ministry and choose broadcast journalism majors at their colleges or universities. “They actually go into their field of study way ahead of all their other classmates,” Castillo said. “That’s a good feeling to help kids out and do that.” Castillo also offers internship positions and media consultation services through the Design Digital business he co-owns. Although a pastor by degree, he said that his ministerial education trained him to also pick up a secondary craft. “I always tell people Jesus was a carpenter beyond his ministry. I’m a youth pastor, but I also do video,” Castillo said. And he does it well. Design Digital’s client list includes Major League
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list
Sketch the Journa
Baseball’s World Series, Ford Motor Company, Ed Young’s Fellowship Church, and in the broader television division of Bishop Jakes’ entrepreneurial efforts. Castillo says he loves both jobs but his passion lies in student ministry. That includes roughly 1,000 kids each week who are steeped in both the “new media” and Hip-Hop cultures. “I feel like this is an Instant Messaging/reality TV generation and at a click of the button they have access to tons of information I didn’t have growing up,” Castillo said. “But I don’t want to be against media. I think that more than just tolerating, we need to embrace it.” In addition to projects like Zombie World, Castillo has infused his youth services with multi-media. Students present the announcements via televised news. Bible quiz competitions are done by text message. Worship music is often led with Hip-Hop beats and sing-along lyrics and illustrations presented via video. Understandably, such efforts can appear like luxuries to small churches. While they may have the desire to incorporate multimedia into their services, many lack the budget of a megachurch like The Potter’s House. Again, that’s where Castillo and his Design Digital collective can offer assistance. In between Fire House duties, he can often be found on conference calls with churches and other ministry outlets that need advice, coaching, or direction. “I always ask: What are their immediate needs. What’s their purpose? What type of call and response are they looking for? It can possibly be all accomplished with a simple, clean video without graphics,” Castillo said. “It’s okay to take small steps.” He said he also encourages churches to look into used equipment (his favorite camera is pre-owned) and to look at where they can pool resources to dedicate toward these efforts. “Instead of buying another church van or throwing a men’s retreat, which are each valuable in their own right, why not invest that money into the basic elements of a media ministry?” Castillo suggested. In his opinion the ROI is often much quicker and more visible. “And once you can demonstrate that, you’d be surprised to know how many people would love to be involved with a media team. Lots of your congregants will want to be behind the camera or willing to donate specifically toward those efforts,” Castillo said. And by doing that, who knows what dividends might be yielded? Perhaps the next hottest thing out of Hollywood isn’t the mindless entertainment of the “Stanky Leg,” but the mind-craving villains of a Christian allegory called Zombie World. •••
Crossover Church has become internationally known for reaching out to those influenced by urban/hip-hop culture. Crossover’s creative approach has caused them to be considered one of America’s most innovative churches. The church currently holds 3 Sunday services as they are bursting at the seams. They are in the process of relocating to a larger facility so they can more effectively impact the growing needs in the inner-city. To help with this effort, Urban D. (who is the lead pastor) and several artists from Crossover have launched The Growth Tour as the proceeds go directly to Crossover’s new facility. Urban D. and some of his team are available to come to your event and do music, speak, train leaders or whatever your need may be. We’ll work with your budget and the first 50 people at your event get a FREE Urban D. CD! For details and available dates go to www.urband.org *Crossover artists, dancers and DJ’s @ select dates.
Visit: crossoverchurch.org/growth to watch the story and see the new facility!
MISFIT MUSIC
interviews by Chris Durso
mis*fit: One who is uncomfortable with his or her surroundings and seem to be disturbingly different from others.
Recently I got the chance to catch up with two musical MISFITS who are making a difference in their surroundings; the “church world”. Notice that I didn’t say the “music industry” or “gospel world”. Don’t try to compare them to anyone because they are alarmingly different from everyone else. These two guys are in the forefront of Hip Hop but for them it’s less about a beat and more about productivity. They are musicians but cannot be defined as just artists because they are only using their talents in order to reach the world. See, for them its Kingdom business and that and only that is why they have entered this Christ-led MISSION. For starters, I got the chance to talk with my good friend Canton
Do you feel the christian youth have really embraced the sound of
Jones. You might know Canton Jones as a singer, songwriter, vocal
christian hip-hop?
arranger, producer, Radio host and founder of CAJO Records but right now he is working on making that list of titles a little bit longer.
CANTON:
He is a true inspiration and at the top of his game. Check out our
of the Gospel Realm. I feel like it’s not really the youth that has to
interview.
embrace it. It’s the youth leader. If they’re leaders embrace it then
CHRIS: Canton whats up man its great to be to get with. I know you’re a busy man so let’s get to it. What “Kingdom business” have you been working on lately?
CANTON: Working on a film called “Between Love and a Hard Place”. It’s exciting because this is a new thing for me! This is my first movie. It focuses on abuse in the home. I’ve been slated for
Hip hop is very influential. It’s used in every medium
they will accept it.
CHRIS: Anything new we can expect from Canton Jones? Anything cooking in the kitchen?
CANTON: We’re gonna work this thing out!
We’re gonna take over.
The day of the weak Christian is over! It’s time to stand up and be counted for!
a new Television show with GMC “Hype& Glory”. I’ve also been
CHRIS: Do you think this generation is taking the gospel as serious
working on my first book. It’s going to be an exciting year!
as our generation in making Christ relevant?
CHRIS: What role has the CAJO family played in that?
CANTON:
CANTON:
The gospel and any type of
I’ve been working on multiple
spirituality , religion , or faith is usually something passed down.
releases from each of the Artists.
From Abraham, to Issac to Jacob...before it was written on the
CHRIS:
scrolls. Every generation is responsible for the next generation. I noticed that you have
a young team around you in the CAJO family. Is that on purpose? Do they help keep you current?
CANTON:
If a generation is not taking it serious the generation before it is to blame.
CHRIS:
What’s your advice to this generation who are wiling to
turn this world upside down? I am NOT that old.
They are younger but I am not that much older!
(Jokingly).
CANTON: DO IT!
You know what it takes....James 2:17(Amplified
It’s my
Bible) So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of
job to stay current, to stay relevant.
obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative,
The team around me are guys that are hungry… that want to impact. We look
dead).
for talent and character for CAJO artist.
CHRIS: Awesome! Faith; that’s exactly what this generation has.
Drive is a MUST …people that want to
I’m so glad to see someone like you speaking that into their lives.
work for the Kingdom.
CHRIS:
How influential do you feel
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I think they’re taking it as serious as the generation
before them presents it to them.
After spending some time with Canton Jones, I got the chance to chop it up with the biggest DJ in Christian Hip Hop, DJ Official. DJ Official has not stopped producing and mixing it up over the past decade. Not only was he Cross Movements DJ but he has also produced tracks for everyone from one The Ambassador to R-Swift, Flame and Lecrae. (That’s just a hand full from the pile of artists he has been dealing with.) Recently, he released his first solo album, “Enter Mission”. The eclectic Hip Hop album is an instant classic (in my opinion) but what else do you expect to get when you have over 20 of the top artists rhyming on a DJ Official beat. Even though the names and sound are thru the roof, Officials heart is way more focused on the mission than the recognition. Check out our interview.
CHRIS: Official, so glad to rock with you man. You just dropped your 1st album “Enter Mission” Congratulations on that! Its so dope that you came out with this album. I honestly love it and already have told you its an instant classic. But why after all these years did you decide to come out with your own album?
OFFICIAL: I have always wanted to put an album together but I was just waiting for the right time. I finally felt released to do the album. When I was presented with an opportunity to do an album I wanted to make sure that it would impact people and they could use it to better help in their everyday walk. As my friend Miguel and I were speaking about a subject, we came up with the idea of doing an album based on missions. Now, when many people think of missions they think some small town in the middle of nowhere that they have to travel long hours to get to. Though that is needed, I wanted to create an album that dealt with missions on a more everyday life level; your home, your workplace, your street and your church. Many have forgotten that the people right next to us are in need of a Savior and we are the ones to tell them.
CHRIS: Who are some of the artists on the album? OFFICIAL:
I got a chance to work with many artists for this project,
twenty-seven artists to be exact. So many great guys from all over like Lecrae, Flame, Tedashi, JAZ, Sho Baraka, Magellan, Phanatik, Thi’sl, K-Drama and so many more! This is strictly a compilation where I will be producing each track. I’ll let those who have been gifted to rap/rhyme or sing do their job. I will not be rapping but will help in the overall theme, styles, music and sound of this album. One thing about me is that I love music and many different forms of music, and I love creating them too. So on this
OFFICIAL:
Its just how God worked it out. After Cross Movement
came to an end I wasn’t sure what I was going to do next but then Reach invited me to DJ on some shows so I went. From that we just jelled and it’s been great!
CHRIS: So you get with the label and you guys come out with your own album but why did you call it “Enter Mission”?
OFFICIAL:
My boy Mac The Doulos once said “Sunday is just one day. Hey, I’m a Christian all the time. I’m on a mission”. Ever since I heard that line it has stuck with me and the truth behind this line… It was the inspiration for this album; “Enter Mission” where we deal with the topic of being missional.
CHRIS: What was your vision behind it? OFFICIAL:
My vision is really
for people to have a “Missional mindset”.
One might ask,
“What does it mean to be missional?”
Being missional
means to use your everyday walk, talk and behavior in such a way that people are affected by the Gospel message. A good friend of mine wrote a song that spoke the words “Send me, I’ll go!”. This album has the same theme and purpose “Send me, I’ll go”. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Here is the verse that birthed that song which is also the verse I sign when people ask for my signature: “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I Send me” - Isaiah 6:8
CHRIS: Awesome man. Thank you so much for using your talents to turn this Hip Hop world Upside Down for Christ! Both of these musical revolutionists are making a change that is priceless. Though they are crazy gifted they have both worked very hard to get to where they’re at. When you work as hard as these two and are this unique then, of course, people will have to take notice. What we should learn from them is that in order to make change then you have to take action. They have really put in the work and that’s why their music stands out like no other, thus putting them in a genre of their own…which can only be labeled as MISFIT MUSIC.
album you will hear - Reggae, Downsouth, East Coast, Commercial, Underground, Electro, and Rock/Hipster; as I always wanted to do an album that better fit what I listen to and who I am.
CHRIS: Some people may not know this but you recently transitioned on out of the CMR camp and are now with Reach Records. Why the change?
By Chris Durso Director of Youth Explosion Ministries www.YouthExplosion.com Twitter.com/ChrisDurso www.ChrisDurso.BlogSpot.com
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Continue here...
pagan beliefs and philosophies in with Christ. Some got
30 years basically for being Black. His family and his people had suffered
caught up in man made rules, regulations and rituals.
extreme racism for hundreds of years. A major shift happened in the
These things became idols. Many of these things were
government and it became a democracy and Mandela was released from
considered just as important as Christ. Epaphras saw
prison. Within a very short people of time he found himself sitting behind
the danger in this and reached out to Paul who was on
the desk of the president, as that became his position. He then had the
lockdown in Rome. Paul then penned the letter we
control to get revenge and put some real heat on the white minority, which
know as the book of Colossians to challenge and warn
had put him in jail and hurt his family and people in so many ways for so
believers there to make sure Christ was the thing
many generations. But, he chose reconciliation and forgiveness. It was
reigning supreme in their lives.
a powerful movie with many touching and teaching moments. If you’ve seen it you know what I’m talking about. Those people didn’t deserve
In the beginning of chapter 1 Paul sparks it off with
forgiveness and didn’t even want change, but he offered it. This story gives
a prayer of thanksgiving for these believers in the city of
us a small glimpse of the reconciliation that God did with us through his
Colossae. He encourages them and then reminds them
Son. Christ didn’t suffer in a prison, but far worse he suffered torture, a
in verses 12-14, “Giving thanks to the Father, who has
beating and a bloody crucifixion for you and I who didn’t deserve it or even
qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in
want it. And then he conquered death as he resurrected on the third day.
light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness
As verse 21 and 22 says, “And you who once were alienated and hostile in
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
the mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach
(ESV)
As I studied that passage a word that really
before him.” (ESV)
jumped out to me was the word “qualified”. In this current economy with unemployment at it’s highest in decades there are
The passage also reminds us “All things were created through Him and
many people being turned away from jobs as they’re being told they
for Him and He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.” (v.
are “over qualified”. This means they have too much experience or
16b-17 ESV) He is preeminent. He gets the top spot! He reigns supreme.
education and they’re “too good” for that position. In the context that
But, in today’s culture it’s usually the person with the most money, the most
Paul is writing about here, none of us are “good enough”. We’re all
toys or the most fame that is the one that is considered to reign supreme.
“under qualified”. We can’t get with a perfect holy God because
This is the subtle or not so subtle message that the media pumps to us.
we’ve all done dirt and committed sins. But, the father took the
Some will say Knowledge reigns supreme. I’m definitely an advocate for
initiative and sent his son Christ – he gave his all! Now, because
education and higher learning as I’m constantly a learner myself, but that
of what Christ did for us on the cross as the final sacrifice for our
can never trump the spot of Christ. And that’s the core of our issue. We
sins we can now be “qualified”. We can’t do it by trying to give
have all these other things that get crowded into our lives and they get
our “all” in helping people or giving to the church or a charity…
blended into our worldview and soon there are several things that are in
we can only put our trust and hope in Christ and follow him, as he is
equal spots and even higher spots than Christ! I hear the stories from the
the only qualifier. If we are true believers we are now qualified to share
mission field in Africa where people will go to a church service in a remote
in the inheritance of God’s fam.
place for a week and camp right there in the field and worship the entire day in the hot sun without complaining or even eating. Meanwhile here in
Christ reconciled our relationship with God. He’s a God of reconciliation.
America we’ll quickly complain if the church building is too hot or too cold
Think about that for a minute. Most of us reading this have been through
and if church goes more than an hour or so people start to get antsy and
some forms of prejudice or racism during our lives. It’s an ugly thing
can’t wait to go and eat something. I could summarize it with a saying a
to experience. Most people who hold those views are ignorant and some
missionary told me. It rocked me. “In Africa they worship God with their
even proud of what they believe. It’s difficult to forgive people like that,
ALL, because they have NOTHING. But in America we have it ALL, so we
especially when they aren’t sorry and they think they’re right. Some of
worship God with NOTHING.”
you may have seen the movie “Invictus” which highlights the story of Nelson Mandela from South Africa. Mandela had been in prison for over
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So what’s it’s going to be in 2010 for YOU?
With Tommy Kyllonen aka Urban D.
e recently entered into a new year and a new decade. These are the seasons where we talk about what we’re
The question at hand is this – Is Christ Reigning Supreme in your life?
going to do “new” and “different” this time around.
Is He really? What if I said, “Prove it!”? What if I could look at what
But, stats show that nearly all of our new years resolutions miserably
websites you’ve recently been to? What you’ve watched recently? The
fail before the first month of the year is even finished. It’s 10:17pm on
way you responded to a tough situation? What if we could compare the
the second day of 2010 and as I’m writing this I’m suddenly reminded of
amount of time you spend online or on the social networks versus the
some things I need to do in the next hour and forty three minutes in order
time you spend socializing with your creator? What if I could look at your
to keep some of my resolutions on point – lol! Many of you reading this
bank account and see your spending habits? Would these things show
would include getting closer to God as one of the things on your list to
me Christ is reining supreme in your life? I’m not trying to get legalistic
accomplish this year. That might include spending more time with Him,
or set up some formula… I’m simply saying what would your practical
reading the scripture more regularly, getting an answer, getting more
fruit show? Hmm… I know some people just flipped the page as this
involved in giving back or even starting a new ministry.
article is getting a little too deep right now and it may be striking some nerves, but for those of ya’ll still with me lets dig into some scriptures. If
If we’re honest… it all boils down to what’s really important in our lives.
you got a bible pull it out and open up to Colossians.
Many of us have great intentions on giving God that number one spot in our lives, and it’s a great slogan, right? “God first, family second…” You
Paul was preaching the gospel in near by Ephesus when a guy named
know the rest as even mainstream hip-hop companies have made this
Epaphras came through and listened and became a true Christ-follower.
their motto! But, this can quickly become just another cliché. For many
He was amped and went back to his city of Colossae and spread this
of us it has. 2009 was a rough year for the Christian Hip-Hop community
message and soon another local faith community was birthed. Paul heard
as we found out some of the top leaders in the movement weren’t really
great things about them and was encouraged and prayed for them. But
giving it their “all”. It was disappointing and frustrating, but as we pray
as some time passed some of the people in the Colossian church began to
for them and their families I hope it was a wake up call for us. I know it
get distracted and sidetracked. Christ wasn’t their all. There were some
was for myself and people in my ministry. Some of our biggest lessons
people in the mix that began teaching some things that didn’t line up
can be learned from watching other’s mistakes.
with the gospel. Some began worshipping angels and mixing some other
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Chris Durso
carries a passion for the youth and the needs in NYC make Youth Explosion necessary. A NYACK graduate with a father like Pastor Michael Durso, and a brother like Adam Durso, who is the founder of Youth Explosion, Chris sees the need for a servant who understands street-level spirituality in the culture of today. Adam Durso placed the mantle on his brother for Youth Explosion, and now there is an Aftershock. We all may wonder about the times we live in these days, and the questions from the perspective of the youth need real answers. The youth are genius. They are more independent than the past generations, and they express themselves differently. They are ready to take on the world. They are pursuing their dreams using the resources out there; YouTube, facebook, etc. They are ready to get out there and do the things they feel to make a difference at an early age. The youth seem to be reaching out to get a grassroots understanding of what the gospel is trying to show us. Yes. But the pastors need to make sure we are speaking to them in ways that they understand; most of the time they are being spoken down to by elders. We have to make sure we are presenting the gospel in a way that will empower them. Have them reading the word, not just listening to the pastor. They need to understand that. In the heart of New York City, every Friday night, we host 700 kids. The best way to reach them is to have them teach each other. Get another youth in there that speaks their language, and it will be more accepted. It is a part of their responsibility to spread the gospel. It is an understanding that is exploding over language and cultural boundaries. But is that good news for the gospel, which could become lost in translation on the world stage of multimedia? Too much of anything is not good. After a while they will get bored. For example, we decided not to bring in as many artists as before because the kids were used to it. It was not a big deal. Too much of anything can hurt the gospel. We have to make sure we are being relevant more so. Whatever we use, we want to make sure they are getting that it is all about Christ. Back to the basics, so that even a child could understand. But today’s youth are being strongly influenced by mass media. We cannot try to impress the kids, but just use what we have and keep Christ as the focus. We cannot try to keep up with the secular artists while introducing Christ. That is not the purpose. Social networks are being used for a far greater purpose than just being social. Like MySpace, and like twitter; simple and short. We use them to keep in contact with the kids. These sites can be utilized for great things, and building relationships. This is how this society communicates. We can use it to our advantage, and even advertise to let them know what is going on. A movement like this does not go unnoticed. We have over 70 volunteers (youth leaders). They are definitely playing their role. Our church has 3500 members. And soon after the explosion, there came the Aftershock. YE is the name of the ministry itself. Aftershock is the weekly meeting that happens every Friday night. 2 times out of the year, artists are invited for Youth Explosion to conduct concerts, seminars, etc. We try to keep Fridays as a full-blown meeting. The effort and heart is the same, regardless of size. I am talking to local high schools, in order to conduct peer mediation. Some schools say I cannot say Jesus, others do not mind. We just want to get in there, get everyone in a room, and throw out a topic and just talk about it. Whether it is gang violence, drugs, etc - we get feedback from the students about why or why not to be involved in that. Even though I may not be able to say Jesus, I will be able to speak life into their lives and maybe even invite them to the Aftershock afterwards. Also, I have a book deal with Zondervan entitled MISFITS. Misfits are what we at YE identify ourselves as. A misfit is one who is uncomfortable with their surroundings and seems to be disturbingly different from others. And as Christians in a world where we do not make the majority of the decisions about the things we do or not do, we should feel like misfits. As misfits, we should not just remain uncomfortable; we need to fight and work until we are comfortable. So
if we see something broke, we need to try and fix it. If people do not agree with us, we need to try and speak into their lives, and hopefully we can sway their opinion. And if we cannot sway it, at least they will respect why we believe in what we believe, and not dissing us because of it. We are encouraging others to stand up and do what they are called to do. We encourage them to be a generation that really works towards turning this worked upside down. We live in a beautiful and Bizarro World, which is the title for our conference for youth leaders. It is conducted by a group of youth leaders in New York called Upside Down Inc. We just want to impact our youth leaders and encourage them to keep on going. The average youth ministry only stays open for two years. During that time, they will go through two youth pastors. That is the statistic. We want to make sure we end that. We want to encourage our youth leaders to keep on going. We know it is difficult, we know that it is hard, and that it is one of the most underappreciated ministries, where the kids never say thank you for driving them home, or spending a few dollars on pizza after the service and blessing them. But we want to encourage them to keep on going, so we came up with the Bizarro World Youth Leadership Conference just to really encourage them, and equip them with the tools that they need to keep on going. The line-up of speakers and artists is incredible. Everyone from Canton Jones, Hezekiah Walker, Urban D, and so many other great people are going to be a part of the event. We are coming together because we want to bless our leaders and applaud them for what they are doing and encourage them for what they are doing and to keep on going. The prize is not given to the swift or strong… “To change people’s perception on life so they can see that God is freedom and not religion or law”. The direction that I see it is going is keep on moving out, keep on reaching the kids in the neighborhoods and teach them how to impact their schools. That is what we have been doing so far, and that is what we are going to keep on doing. We keep growing in numbers, and I think that is awesome, but I think the success of the ministry is not based on the number of people we have on a Friday night. It is not based on how many people we have in the ministry, but that their lives are really affected by it. We could have a hundred people, like we have in our youth choir, but if none of them have a personal relationship or do not know who Jesus really is, we have failed them. We really want to focus on helping the kids understand who Christ really is, so much so that it pushes them to keep on living and pursuing that relationship. If I were to die tomorrow, I want them to keep on going and do what it is they were called to do. I want to encourage these kids to keep on living for Christ, and keep pursuing that relationship. So that is the vision; we want as many people, obviously, to be a part of that because we know that everyone is called to worship God, so we want to reach as many people as possible. That is what we have been doing, and that is what we are going to continue doing. We will keep teaching them and praying for unique ways to meet these kids, whether in our high schools or flier distribution, which we do two times a week. We hit the streets in the morning and evening and tell the kids about God. We do not bum rush them and tell them that they are going to hell, we just meet them and tell them a little bit about our lives and what we are doing now. We have a hundred voice youth choir, we have a Hip-Hop ministry, we have a rock band, we have numerous worship leaders and we love music, but we do not have all of these music ministries because we are making that next American idol, or that next gospel singer; we use it as a way to reach them. They have these talents, they have these gifts and they should use it for God. And we want to encourage them to keep on doing so. Even if they are not as gifted and talented as the next person in the church, if that is going to keep them encouraged, then that is fine by me. We all need to be encouraged. •••
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Beckah Shae is not Hip-Hop, but she does have Soul! Beckah’s mother was raised in a traditional Jewish home but converted to Christianity. Even though Beckah was raised as a Christian most of her family remains in the Jewish faith. Her music has provided her the opportunity to share Christ with her family and the rest of the world. After her parents divorced at a young age Beckah spent a good portion of her childhood in an unstable background. This allowed her to cling to God and has led her to where she is now. While you can now hear her music more frequently on the radio, you also hear her passion and love for God. So open your minds and lets discover who this giggly, free spirited and in my opinion, dope artist whom we call Beckah Shae is. S.O.U.L: People often struggle to hear God’s calling in their life. You obviously have an amazing talent. How did you realize that music is your calling and what were your action steps once you knew? BECKAH: Singing was always the thing I knew. My
family always called me “the songbird”. I started writing songs when I was 10 or 11 years old. At 18 I was picked up by a talent scout and got myself a manager. I was taken to producers and started singing songs like “down for my man” and stuff like that but I wasn’t comfortable with that. I knew I wanted to sing for God but He had more work to do in me. It wasn’t until I moved to Nashville, got married and got grounded in a church that things began to happen. I think having more structure created the avenue for where I am today.
S.O.U.L: You’re also on the road touring quite a bit. How have you balanced that out with being a wife and a mother of two beautiful little girls? BECKAH: Having brand-new babies is the most
challenging! It’s hard but I try to focus on where God wants them and me. Everything else is pretty smooth. We all travel together. My husband is a huge help. He’s my everything guy. Some days he’s my merch guy, some days he watches the kids and some days he’s my sound guy. He does it all.
S.O.U.L: Well it sounds like you have a great support system in place. I’m sure it’s been a long journey to get here. Can you tell me what was one of your biggest struggles that God really had to free you from before he was able to fully work in you? BECKAH: My insecurities. I had to see myself how God
sees me and accept the fullness of his love.
S.O.U.L: What would be your message to those that may struggle with their insecurities?
BECKAH: I think they need to overcome the concern of what others think of them and focus more on what God thinks of them. Seeking less the approval of others and accept and receive His. It’s important for people to accept that not everyone will like how they talk how they style their hair and other things. The only way to have peace is through an intimate relationship with God so that you know He is pleased. S.O.U.L: So along this journey of life and music, who would you say has been your major musical influences growing up and now?
BECKAH: It’s way too long of a list. My earliest
memories were of Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. I mean my first record was Thriller! After that it was just everything. I had an unstable upbringing so I just turned on the radio. I loved Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Now I would say I’m deeply influenced by spontaneous worship. I love Rick Pino, Hillsong, Kari Jobe, anything pure. I like anything from southern rock to swing.
S.O.U.L: Are there any artists you’re currently just itching to do a colab with? BECKAH: Leon Timbo and Rick Peno. They are both great. S.O.U.L: So what can we expect to see from you coming up? BECKAH: I recently released “here in this moment” from my new album “life” that will be released soon. I wanted it to be a breath of fresh air because there is so much deadness out there. S.O.U.L: Can you give us any insight on the CD? BECKAH: I wanted people to celebrate life. Jesus is the way the truth and the life. I feel it’s the end times and the enemy is robbing people but God tells us we can enjoy Him now and be uplifted. S.O.U.L: I’ve heard your single “here in this moment” on the radio and it’s a great song. The album is on my to get list when it comes out. So are you reading anything currently to keep you refreshed? BECKAH: When I read its normally devotional type books and the Bible. But I’m also currently reading His Princess: Love Letters from Your King by Sheri Rose Shephard. S.O.U.L: Well Beckah it’s been great getting to know who you are! I do have one last question. I read somewhere that you like to skydive. What on earth possessed you to skydive? BECKAH: Why don’t people want to skydive? It’s good to overcome our fears and kick it in the butt! ;)
To hear more from Beckah Shae you can visit www.BeckahShae.com or Myspace.com/BeckahShae. S.O.U.LMAG thanks Beckah for taking the time to speak with us. <<< S.O.U.L | Pg29
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by: Bo Boshers
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Whatever you have learned, received,
In an age like ours when it seems so many “churched” students
heard or seen in me, put into practice.” (Phil 4:9) For all of us
are no longer connected to any church within a few years after
that serve in student ministry is some capacity, we’ve got a tough
college, wouldn’t results like these be a refreshing change? Deep
question to consider: how can students put into practice what they
transformation of a few who continue to influence others is the
have not seen?
measure I invite you to embrace. And the one word that best captures how to accomplish this is mentoring. There is no doubt
If Paul’s example in this verse is to be followed in our day, someone
that Jesus methodology worked because here you are, his follower,
needs to get up close to students so they know what they need to
twenty centuries later desiring to lead others to be like him.
put into practice. When you take an honest look at the state of youth
An effective youth ministry can’t be reduced to just one simple
ministry today, most youth leaders admit there is a problem. If what
word. But no healthy youth ministry can exist without the strategic,
we want to accomplish is a deep life-change and spiritual maturity in
intentional development of young followers of Jesus Christ. The
our students, we need to have a new plan.
simple truth is that Jesus had it right: his focus was always on relationships, and his ministry was in perfect balance. He gathered
Trying to produce better programs or a more in-depth worship
and spoke to crowds, but never allowed their size or adulation to trick
experience, or even trying to have our students go out to serve and
him into thinking he’d done his work. Rather, while speaking and
help people more is not the answer. I believe it’s time to measure
ministering to the many, he also found a few young men and women
ministry using a different plumb line (Amos 7:7). We need to
to invest in deeply. And, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that
reevaluate our definitions of success, and instead take a closer look
band of followers turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6).
at the depth of impact Jesus made on a few individuals. Jesus’
This generation needs that to happen again. I believe students
success was not measured by a short-term body count. I believe the
are waiting for someone to show them the way. That’s what
standard by which Jesus measured his own success—and how we
makes youth ministry so exciting—you get to invest in a few young
ought to measure our success—is through deep lasting change in
difference-makers, just like Jesus did. What a privilege to be a part
a few. The guys and girls Jesus chose to be with were so altered by
of forming young lives.
Jesus’ life and teaching that they gave the rest of their natural lives to perpetuating his work.
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Jesus knew the power of modeling. He knew that it would take more than a classroom, books or conferences—more than thirty minutes of training a week—to transform his followers into his image and set in motion a new world movement. It would take being with a few and intentionally building into them over time for his work to be established.
So at the heart of any ministry that seeks to emulate Jesus—no matter how expansive or public its outward manifestation may be—must be a commitment from the leaders to mentor a few in the daily aspects of living. We call that The Be-With Factor. Mark 3:14 says, “Jesus choose twelve men and called them apostles. He wanted them to be with him…”.
Bo Boshers is the motivating and visionary President of LEAD222. For almost two decades Bo has worked with Willow Creek
Jesus lived it, and it’s God’s call on everyone who follows in Jesus’
Community Church and the Willow Creek Association. Bo was the
steps. I will say it again: mentoring is by far the most rewarding
Director of Student Impact where he led an outreach of over 1,000
activity for anyone who cares about students to engage in. No
students at the high school ministry of Willow Creek Community
question, youth ministry is hard work. But trust me, it will become much harder if you lose your passion. If you neglect to be with a few students where life change really happens, that zeal will cool. You cannot afford to watch lives change from a distance. Mentoring gets
Church and for recent years has been the Executive Director of the Willow Creek Association Student Ministries. Bo continues to be involved in the WCA student ministries, but his current role allows him to focus extensively on his passion area of coaching and mentoring student ministry leaders around the world. Bo has
you up close. Whatever else you do, be-with a few so that lasting
contributed material for several books his most recent being,
life-change happens.
“The Be-With Factor”.
- Bo Boshers
President Lead222
For more in-depth learning about mentoring, look for two books from Zondervan by Bo Boshers and Judson Poling, “The Be-With Factor: Mentoring Students in Everyday Life” and “The Be-With Factor Student Guide: Six Questions You Need to Ask About Life With God”
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by: DJ Tank
If you are an Urbanite at your core, it used to be hard being a
Christian and a Hip-Hop fan. Trying to stay on top of the latest Christian HipHop releases proved to be a task. You couldn’t count on secular Hip-Hop as it turned into a brag fest of sins and all its darkness. Finding Christian HipHop alone was challenging until six years ago. Along comes Holy Culture Download
(www.holyculturedownload.com)
to the rescue.
Holy Culture Download provides consumers with the broadest
collection of Hip-Hop music. They have you covered with the latest in east coast, west coast, mid west, dirty south, underground and even reggaeton. Are you a Christian DJ? Holy Culture has all you need with Holy Culture exclusives, instrumentals and the latest releases. Are you into R&P? Find rhythm & praise in its own section at Holy Culture Download. If you want to check out Christian artists from other countries, you can find that as well. There are artists from the U.K., Canada, Japan, Poland and Spain featured on the website. You can even preview the tracks before purchasing them.
You can buy songs as singles or download complete albums and
be assured that you are getting quality downloads. Holy Culture Download is serious about maintaining quality and integrity at its highest level. According to Trig & Anonymous of Holy Culture Download and Holy Culture Net, “We are very conscious about Holy Culture. We make sure we maintain the integrity and quality that Holy Culture consumers and artists have come to know and that future consumers can rely on. We are consumer centric. We take how the people interact with the site very seriously and what they are at the site for.” Not only are they serious about customer service, they are serious about providing a real and productive platform for Christian Hip-Hop artists to showcase their God given talents. Although Holy Culture is primarily run as a business, love guides this website as they not only showcase talents but also nurture them in their growth. I asked Trig and Anonymous how they review the music to be sold and featured on their website. “At one time we scrutinized the music too much. We still look for sonic quality and good music. If we notice the artist has potential but the sound quality is not up to par, we still consider featuring the artist and their music. We look at Holy Culture Download as way to use it as a platform for the people. We look for reasons to include, not exclude.”
As Christians, especially as Hip-Hop fans, we are very conscious
about who and what the artist is about. We not only listen to their product, we also want to know if the artist is sincere about their walk with Christ and what they are spitting on their tracks. There are those who are more conscious about their shine and not giving Christ the praise He is due and deserves. How does Holy Culture Download tackle this issue? “We try to do relationships with them. We don’t know what is in their heart, only God knows their heart.
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We try to help them out with their concept and what their intentions are. We are very relational. It is our duty to communicate God’s message and God’s love.” Is Holy Culture a ministry or an industry? This has always been a hot topic of debate with Christians and their business. But Trig & Anonymous both assure that it is not the case with Holy Culture. “First and foremost it’s about Christ. We are a Christian website. We believe that the two can co-exist. Our principles are Biblically grounded and they have to be so there can be real progress. There has to be progress.” That message is quite clear as you enter their website, you’ll read: “Holy Culture is an online resource whose primary goal is to make Christ known through the medium of urban music, specifically Christian Hip-Hop and R&P.”
How serious is Holy Culture about keeping it fresh and vibrant
for its fans and potential fans? They are currently revamping the website as a whole and not just Holy Culture Download. Holy Culture Net
(www.holyculture.net)
is getting a crazy makeover for early 2010
with features on not just music but social networking and media as well as a platform for artists to help their ministry to be a tool for their fans. “We have seen constant growth in the number of Christian Hip-Hop and R&P artists entering the marketplace. However, most are independent (not signed to a major label), lack marketing budgets and thus are heavily reliant on minimal (if any) advertising. That said, the objective of our new site is to provide Christians who embrace hip-hop culture with a unique and comprehensive experience.” Consumers will have access to music, video and other media. There will be social interaction via email, group chats and more. There will also be a photo gallery, event calendar, blogging and activity feeds. Artists will have fan interaction, discography, the ability to create audio leaks and free downloads, newsletters, submissions, the ability to accept donations as well as submit booking information along with riders. DJs will have the ability to submit charts, submit mixes to Holy Culture Radio, join a record pool, access to an artist database, create events for booking submissions and promoters.
Holy Culture Net not only has music and videos but also
features the award winning Holy Culture Radio network with great radio shows and rhythmic mix shows. The site also has blogging, devotionals, resources and more. Holy Culture Net has everything Christian Hip-Hop; not just music but lifestyle. The times are calling us to lean more on Christ and not our understanding. We are going to need to step up our game with our walk with Christ. We are going to need all the help we can get. Besides leaning on your church and its extended family, Holy Culture 2.0 will be a necessary site to keep hitting in 2010 for the Christian Urbanite. Big ups to Trig & Anonymous at Holy Culture for taking time out to talk to this sinner saved by His grace! Keep it movin’…
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Imagine the first day back to school, you’re on campus and you pull out your balled up schedule out of your book bag. You look at it and see the general classes that you’re familiar with such as Biology, Math, English, and you’re thinking to yourself that this semester is going to be a breeze, until you look and see the last class on your schedule! You have no idea what the class is and don’t remember ever signing up to take the course. Well maybe the course chose to take you! Welcome to Theophanies 101 my friend. Your instructors for this class are Michael and Anthony Wray and these professors don’t play so Brace Yourself! Not to worry though, they are not here to flunk you, not at all. As a matter of fact they are here to make sure you get the lesson and that you pass with flying colors, because this is a class that no one on earth can afford to fail! Still wondering what’s Theophanies? Hold on, your professors have just walked into the room and are about to begin but when you raise your hand to ask questions Don’t refer to them as Professor Wray or even Michael or Anthony. uhuh. Refer to them as Hazakim!
S.O.U.L.: Thank you for giving us the opportunity
to interview you two. I first want to start by introducing you both, we have Michael and we also have Anthony who, make up the dynamic duo Hazakim! Now not only are you both brothers in Christ but, you’re actually blood brothers. Who’s older and give us a little history on how you both started rhyming?
Mike: I’m the oldest so I’ll explain a little first.
My brother originally started rhyming back in 87 as a little kid. Just rhyming here and there. He became serious about it in his early days of Middle school, then started pursuing it more when he was with a crew called the Showcase Emcees which was, interestingly enough, headed by John Reuben. I personally never saw myself rapping. I loved listening to it but never saw myself doing it. Through a chain of interesting events, I really got serious about rhyming in 97.
S.O.U.L.: That’s what’s up! Now not every day do
you come in contact with Messianic Jewish brothers who rhyme! To me that’s amazing. For those of us that don’t know, explain to us what is a Messianic believer and is there a difference in how you worship when you gather together in a church setting?
Tony: We were raised in a believing household.
By that I mean that Yeshua was the Lord of our house growing up. Our formative years were in the Messianic Jewish movement. We get this question a lot as well, concerning our ethnic background. In short, we have substantial Jewish heritage as well as an interesting mix of other cultures. I guess God made us this way so that we can be sensitive to, and relate to, a wide spectrum of people....for His glory!
S.O.U.L.: Praise God man! Well that leads to my
next question… I wanted to ask you about the title of the album “Theophanies” which I found to be
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very profound in its meaning, please explain to the readers the definition of Theophanies and why you chose this as the title of the album?
Mike: Theophanies is a visible manifestation of Deity. Messiah’s divine nature is something that is so crucial for believers to understand. The reason we chose to focus on this topic mainly is because we feel like it’s time to really start educating the Body on why Yeshua stands out amongst others. It’s so hard for many people to grasp his divinity. It’s hard for people to grapple with the concept of the invisible, eternal God making Himself known in a bodily form of any kind. And so we sought to highlight the sacred compilation of writings which Jews hold dear and believers often neglect: the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). The Lord appearing to man in the person of His Messenger is seen throughout the Old Covenant scriptures. Furthermore, many faiths wrestle with this concept and claim that we’ve added pagan beliefs to Judaism to come up with the idea of Jesus being divine...when in fact all through the Torah and the books of the prophets the Lord wonderfully makes mention of Himself visiting our fathers before the New Testament was even written. The ultimate revelation of this Divine One who makes God known to us in physical form is the man, Yeshua the Messiah. We need to hear more about Theophanies now more than ever. I’ll never forget watching a reality show where there was Muslim talking to someone who called himself a believer. The Muslim asked the Believer “You say Jesus Died on the Cross, yet you say he was God Can God Die?” The Christian looked at him and shook his head as if to say “I don’t know, you got me on that one”. There are many believers reading this who wouldn’t know how to answer that question. That’s why this album is so crucial. As we start seeing more and more of Islam coming this way and a mockery and disdain for the person of Jesus, we better be ready to give an answer. Tony: I would add that the other purpose of this
album was to equip believers with answers when evangelizing the Jewish people.
S.O.U.L.: That it does, it’s definitely an album
you can listen to and take notes and go back to the scriptures to reference everything you just took in. Now from what I understand your previous release was independent. And in the song “Heavy Laden” we can get a glimpse of the journey of Hazakim and see that it was not an easy road to get to where you are at now. Is music now your full time ministry and how did the signing to the record label Lamp Mode come about?
Mike: Yes, our first album Hip-hologetics was an independent effort. Doing this hasn’t been an easy road at all. There are many factors that go into why it can get discouraging from time to time... especially for Hazakim. # 1: The face of hip-hop has changed a great deal. It’s all about simple chants and catchy choruses. No longer about being lyrical and stimulating people’s minds. In the CHH movement, we have the tendency to mimic what’s on secular top 10 radio. When Theophanies dropped we got
a booming response from people who were ready for something new and they respected the fact that we’re trying to sound like Hazakim... # 2: What do you do with Hazakim? We’re different in every way. We don’t fit the nitch of the church world and can sometimes be misunderstood in the Messianic world as well. And #3: We just look different. Hard to place us in a bracket. As far as doing this full time? No, we have to hold down jobs. It’s hard especially with this economy and, again, unless this cookie cutter era of hip-hop dies, original artists will struggle. Not much money to be made in the CHH field. Signing with Lampmode was a good thing for us. DJ Essence believes in what we do and was able to connect with what we were after.
S.O.U.L.: Yea, Lampmode is a label that I know
works well with the vision of Hazakim, including yourselves… the artist they deal with are no joke! Now I’m going to be 100% real on the question… “Brace Yourself” is one of the best Hip Hop songs of all time!!! Not one of the best Christian Hip Hop Songs, one of the best HIP HOP songs of all time! When I heard this track I got on my face and worshiped God because I don’t even hear you two on the track. It’s more like I hear God speaking through ya’ll! Was that the idea to feature God on the track and just allow your selves to be his conduit?
Mike: Wow, what an honor!! To be the mouthpiece
of the Lord is ultimately our goal and we love that fact that Hazakim is taken out of the equation. It should be that way. That song came about when my wife called me on the phone while visiting her folks up in the Bronx. She read to me the passage where the Lord spoke with Job and it floored me. While I had read it many times before, the weight of it hit me that day. Melissa (my wife) encourages me to start writing about it. So the rest was history. We feel like in today’s society (especially in the U.S.) we need a reality check. We tend to complain and be ungrateful. What would the Lord say to this present generation?
Tony: We prayed before writing that song. The scariest thing to do is to write a song from God’s perspective... and misrepresent Him! We wanted to make sure that the essence of God’s holiness, power and integrity were kept in tact....as much as is humanly possible to convey in music. It was made easier by the fact that we just literally took much of it from the Book of Job. S.O.U.L.: Yea man, that track is a definite classic
and another track I want to touch on is “Shamayin of Gold” I love this track because you talk about what Heaven will be like for the believer and I think it’s you Michael who attack the track like an architect describing the number of mansions and the square footage of each one as well as the heavenly sky scrapers using specific calculations from studied theologians. How accurate do you believe these calculations truly are and what is the message that you were trying to convey with this track?
Mike: Writing Shamayim was hard yet fun at the
same time. Simply because there isn.t much in
the word about what’s there. I truly believe that if anyone tried to put in words what they saw (such as John the Revelator) it would be nearly impossible to convey. But the scriptures do give us some helpful hints concerning heaven’s reality. So I had to really dig deep and do my research. There’s one book in particular that I read years ago called “One Minute After You Die” by Erwin Lutzer. This Book was very helpful. The goal of the song was to get the believers excited about what awaits them. It’s so easy to forget that there is a real Heaven waiting for those of us who truly love the Lord and have been saved unto righteousness. That Yeshua has truly prepared a place and it’s not somewhere in the far blue yonder. There are many songs that speak on Heaven but they typically focus on what will not be there. “No more crying, No more dying ect.” I did my best to explain what will be there. As far as the dimensions, I read different calculations from a 3 dimensional perspective. I made my decision after noticing the scholars mostly agreed with one another. So I ran with it. The cubit measurements of New Jerusalem are calculable with conversions as well. I’m sure Heaven’s dimensions are mad different than here though. That was an attempt to explain it in our terms. Doesn’t that song get you excited? LOL
S.O.U.L.: Definitely! That’s one of the songs I
keep on repeat on my ipod. And This next question is for you Anthony, on the song “Uncut and Raw” you speak on music in today’s culture… basically talking about ignorance is the style that pays as well as lame flows and cookie cutter 808 beats… some people could hear this track and think that you may be taking shots at southern hip hop or southern rap. Who are you addressing on this song?
Tony: I’m gonna be real honest with you bro. America has become a politically correct, feminized country.... and it has even spilled over into “rugged” hip-hop culture. In hip-hop, the politically incorrect are called “haters”. This is to discourage people from speaking out and displaying individuality. Post 9/11 America is a place where you either get in line, or you’re a terrorist/hater....but as believers we need to be honest. I remember a day in hip-hop when honesty was respected. Now, I realize that there are different tastes and preferences for different people but let’s be honest: hip-hop has gotten very predictable. Before I even hear a song nowadays I can usually tell what it will sound like....and sadly I am rarely wrong. Hip-hop has become predictable! We as believers need to stop completely jacking the steezes of secular rappers (South, West or East Coast). I remember a day when every crew had their own sound and their own flow, from coast to coast. Nowadays everybody is on the same thing! Where is the fun or creativity in everybody doing an auto-tune song!? When Roger Troutman & Zapp came out with the talkbox on songs like Computer Love (back in the eighties) did Ohio Players, the Gap Band, George Clinton and Rick James all start using the talkbox too? Our parents would not have supported such lack of creativity. We live in a cookie-cutter, ring tone generation where artistry is
not important. So long as it gets the booty moving.... who are we to “hate”? As far as the “south” goes...it just so happens that the south sound is what’s hot and the lack of originality stems from a sound that the south has helped popularized...but I would never diss the south. I live in the south and hear a lot of solid rappers coming out of the south. Had every New York rapper sounded like Wu Tang back in the 90s, I would have been dissing that too. But I’ll be real with southern cats...for the most part; they need to step up the lyricism. I mean....a lot of southern rappers have agreed with me that much of what the south produces is an embarrassment to hip-hop. You have a large population of suburban kids buying it, but they don’t really respect hip-hop as an art form anyways...they’re just going through a “cool” phase before they grow up to look down at urban culture. And then the urban crowd is often so trendy, they don’t really care what it sounds like....so long as it’s popular. Lastly, this cookie cutter sound (y’all know who you are) is largely due to the fact that, at the turn of this millennium, the strip club culture began to infiltrate aspects of hip-hop, much to its detriment. So who cares about lyrics anymore? So long as the girls are demeaning themselves to it.... artistry doesn’t really matter, I guess. At any rate.... it”s whack and I will stand by that statement. I don’t care what part of the nation is comes out of.
S.O.U.L.: LOL! Away from the music, you both
seem to be well equipped to defend the faith and I can definitely sense a teaching gift from both of you. Do you do any speaking engagements or teach in any capacity?
Mike: We have done some speaking from time to
time. We would definitely like to do more speaking as we see this as one of the ways the Lord will continue to use Hazakim. As more opportunities present themselves, we anticipate them!
S.O.U.L.: I have to ask this question because
include his excellent series on “Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus”. Keep in mind that the large majority of Jews in America are secular and are not as well versed in scripture as you may think. Their reasons for rejecting Jesus are more cultural than they are theological. “Oh, I’m Jewish...I don’t believe in Jesus” is as far as most go. It is your job to show them, from their own Bibles, passages such as Isaiah 53, Zechariah 12:10, Daniel 9:24, etc. Show them that Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah. Help them to understand that Yeshua did not come to establish a new religious institution but to fulfill Moses, the psalms and the prophets and to establish the Kingdom of Heaven, starting at Jerusalem and spreading to the ends of the earth. Show that through this lone Jewish Rabbi from Nazareth, your life and the lives of countless other gentiles, who were once without God, now have a relationship with the God of Abraham Isaac & Jacob! If He is not the Messiah, challenge them to name another Jew that has spread the truth of Israel’s God like Jesus has!
S.O.U.L.: I believe you are both married and
you also have children, and I hate to ask the tough questions but with what has happened in Christian Hip Hop as well as Gospel music lately with infidelity I believe guidance is definitely needed for artists who do ministry as well as those who are consumers of the music who look at the artists and their music for inspiration. From your perspective, how do we as believers keep both our family and ministry protected from these types of situations?
Mike: Very good question bro. I would say (for
married men) Number 1 - stay humble. If you are not humble, humble yourself quickly or God will do it for you. Number 2 - Love on your wife and spend as much time with her as you can. If you are always on the road or always away in the studio, you open yourself up to things. Don’t set yourself up. Be accountable to solid believers as well.
Tony: Don’t flirt....tone down the charm when around women that are not your wife. Make your bride your heart’s delight.
inquiring minds want to know lol. Since you do have a Jewish background what is your approach when witnessing to Orthodox Jewish believers, whether it be family members or people you come into contact with who live by the Old Testament but do not accept Jesus Christ as The Messiah?
S.O.U.L.: Amen! I want to thank you again for
Tony: Let the love of Messiah be so evident in your life, that you would provoke them to jealousy. Sure it’s important to be culturally sensitive and to educate yourself on terminology and Judaic thinking....but you would be surprised how many Jews come to a saving knowledge of the Jewish Messiah through the testimony of a gentile Christian friend who simply loves them and loves the Lord, prays for them and proclaims the truth....which is Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah. I think an excellent place to start in order to understand the history of the Church and the Jewish people, and why there is such distrust, is a book like Dr. Michael Brown’s “Our Hands Are Stained With Blood”. Other resources
Recordings. Look out for “9 Marks” on Lamp Mode....also the new album is being worked on. We promise this one won’t take years to release! Kadosh remix, a few singles and guest appearances...yeah! Thanks for the opportunity to share. Shalom
taking the time out to shed light on Hazakim and the ministry which God has placed before you. What can we look forward to from Hazakim in the future and how can we support your ministry?
Tony: A few exciting projects with Lamp Mode
Mike: Shalom family. Now go serve your King! stay connected with Hazakim: lampmode.com • twitter.com/HAZAKIM
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On Thursday December 31st, 2009 Onemind Magazine and Dasouth.com founder Richard “Slave” Douglas passed away at age 36. He passed in his sleep at his home from an epileptic seizure. Although he battled this condition, it was a complete shock to family and friends. Slave was a solid Christ follower and a passionate Hip-Hop fan. He will be deeply missed and remembered for his great contributions to Christian Hip-Hop ministry and journalism. Check out dasouth.com for detailed story about Slave written by Sketch The Journalist who was a close friend and ministry partner. January 24th, 2010 was a historic day at Crossover Church in Tampa, Florida as it was their last day at the North Orleans Ave. Campus. That facility has become iconic in our movement, as close to 40 major Christian Hip-Hop events have been held there including 9 Flavor Fest conferences. Nearly everyone that has been doing this music ministry on a serious level has been there as literally hundreds of artists have performed there over the years. The last day went out with a Huge bang as they hosted DJ Official’s release concert along with Lecrae, JR, Trip Lee, This’L, Young Josh, K-Drama, Tedashii, J’Son, R-Swift, Sho Baraka, Mac The Doulous, Magallen, Jaz and H.G.A. Stay updated on Crossover’s transition to their new facility through crossoverchurch.org Rawsrvnt will be making history in 2010 as the first Christian Hip-Hop artist to be featured on prime time Realty TV. It was mixed emotions, as he was hesitant knowing what reality TV can be like, but after prayer and council he decided to make it happen and let his light shine. At the time of going to press the only details we can tell you is that the show one of Donald Trump’s programs and it will be airing in the spring. Raw’s new album “No Ordinary Love” is also scheduled to drop on 3/16/10 so stay tuned to rawsrvnt.com.
Word on the street with upcoming releases:
Reach Records has grown into Christian Hip-Hop’s largest label over the past year or so. With the growing impact of their most recent releases LECRAE’S Rebel, TEDASHII’S Identity Crisis and DJ OFFICIAL’S Entermission… everyone is watching to see what is next from the Reach Camp. SHO BARAKA is next up with his sophomore release “Lions and Liars” set to drop on March 30th. Florida based indie label LA FAMILIA MUZIK continues to let you “enjoy the noise” as they just released their first single “I Give it to you” from their upcoming project “Greetings Earthlings”. It features the whole fam and it’s available for free download. The full project is scheduled to drop in the spring of 2010. Our scene hasn’t heard much from The TUNNEL RATS in a minute, but they recently released a new track entitled “I’m Yours” that is available only in digital form. URBAN D. has a new project dropping in 2010 entitled “Un.heard”. It will feature 12 tracks that he featured on from underground projects between 1998-2009. It will also have 6 brand new tracks featuring BRAILLE, D-MAUB, BRINSON, COREY HICKS and more. THEORY HAZIT just released two projects simultaneously “Modern Marvels” and “Lord of Fire 2”. ILLECT RECORDS has a new project entitled “Invitation Only” dropping sometime in 2010. Fans of that Dirty South swag will be happy to know PETTIDEE just dropped his new album “Race 2 Nowhere”. GODCHASERZ ENT. Has been busy in the studio as usual as BRINSON is cooking up something new that we’ll be hearing real soon. Crossover Church’s youth pastor BROKEN just dropped his debut album “True Freedom”, you can check him out at brokenmuzic.com. New Orleans based LONGEVITY MUSIC artist COREY HICKS is grinding hard on his 3rd solo release to drop soon.
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Artist Spotlight
with Chad Lauderdale
Bobby is an Everyday Man that holds it down with a wife and kid while doing ministry and music. He’s real. He’s honest. He’s humble. He’s passionate. He’s been at it for a hot minute. We caught up with this New Englander to see what he’s got poppin’ in 2010.
S.O.U.LMAG:
started in ministry?
How and when did you get
B.B.:
In 1995 I was introduced to a youth group in Lynn, Massachusetts, while I was a sophomore in college. I began assisting the youth director each week, and I quickly fell in love with the group and their city. Shortly thereafter, I took over the group. In 2001, I was a part of a team of church planters that started East Coast International Church, also in Lynn. I’ve been there ever since, and have filled multiple roles within the church. S.O.U.LMAG: What is your history as far as music? How did you get started?
B.B.:
I cut my first demo at age seventeen, just messing around in the basement. My freshman year in college I met a friend who had some recording equipment, so we started spending our weekends making beats and piecing together songs in my dorm. I began taking my demos with me to my youth group in Lynn, and realized what a strong outreach tool Hip-Hop could really be. Sixteen years and six records later, that conviction remains the same. S.O.U.LMAG: Tell me about your youth ministry and how its impacting your city?
B.B.: I play a different role in my church’s youth
ministry now than in previous years. In 2005, I hit the road as a full-time rap minister, and began doing public school tours and other ministry events on the national scene. As fulfilling as that was, I always felt there was a missing piece when I traveled. Something I realized while on that path was that my first love was my local youth ministry, and I began to really scrutinize the path God had specifically put me on. Through much prayer, I recognized that God truly wanted me to prioritize local ministry, and use my street work as an inspiration and testimony for the national platforms. I went back to the basics! Today, I am loving my role as a layman in my church. I teach the middle school class on Sundays, drive one of the church vans, and have the privilege of assisting the current youth pastor. I also have the privilege of mentoring kids on a more intimate level. It’s amazing looking back how I viewed “making it” as
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traveling the globe with my music. As much as I still enjoy taking stages outside of my region and country, I have truly enjoyed getting to know my city all over again.
S.O.U.LMAG: What are you currently working on and what projects can we look forward to? B.B.: My new release, Everyday Man, came out
this past July on Chosen/EMG/Universal. It’s my most mature record to date; I’m extremely proud of this project. The video for the song Please details a gang shooting in my neighborhood and the emotions that come with such situations. The video came out remarkable, and has brought some great attention to the record. DJ Shok has also remixed Everyday Man, due to drop early 2010!
Hot Christian Hip-Hop Music videos to check out:
1. Bobby Bishop “Please” Producer Lain Lee literally paints an incredible backdrop with ink drops and 3-D animation as Bobby speaks out on a gang shooting.
2. HeeSun “Open Your Eyes” featuring Shanelle Gabriel This female Asian MC from New York is truly amazing as she has a strong message for the ladies!
3. Urban D. “Hustle” featuring Spec and Jabo Dope graphics will grab you from the jump as you’re drawn into the storyline of why these 3 MC’s are on their grind.
4. Lecrae “Go Hard” featuring Tedashii The Billy Graham Association shot this video in New York City w/ live footage from Christ Tab’s YE!
5. Rawsrvnt “Tears 4 Peers” Raw pours out his heart about the violence in his city as he presents the true answer.
Subject: From Rikers Island!
Hey ya’ll! I got a copy of issue #11 and #13 from my brother in law when he came to visit me. He prayed with me and left me the magazines and some good books to read to grow in my faith. I really enjoyed your magazine, as it was really encouraging. I’m a producer that makes beats. I can’t wait to get home to now use my gifts for God. Thank you Urban D. and the Soulteam – ya’ll need to come to Rikers to visit as there are a lot of young cats out here that are astray! God Bless, Jean Marc aka Stoic - Wow! Great to hear our mags made it all the way to Rikers! Urban D. did some ministry there several years ago. We pray the magazines keep getting passed around and keep encouraging brothers as it spreads the light of Christ! We’d love to come back!
Subject: Sydney in the Hizzle!
Thanks heaps for passing on our details to that guy Troy that contacted you. He came along last week and I’m gonna keep in touch with him. We’re coming to Flavor Fest 10/10/10 with some of the krew! Thanks again for the article in your mag, Plastic showed us when he was here a few weeks ago. Is it possible to get a few copies? Hey our label has kicked off and we’re launching our 3rd release this month, send us an address and we’ll you send some stuff. If there’s a way we can get a few into your store hit me back and I’ll pass it on to our label person Kristy, she’ll work out the deets. How’s things with you guys? Looking forward to catching up again hopefully soon. Things have been rockin over here. The services, label, outreaches etc are all full steam ahead. A few hood dudes have come to know the Lord so we’ve got some fresh soldiers. G-d is good.
Subject: Inmate #L21125
Today I write you because I was sitting in the prison day room table when I sat down this magazine was right in front of me but no one knew where it came from, so I started reading it and I loved it. I’m here because I made wrong choices in the past. Pray for my family and me as I am now living for Christ, but I have a lot of pain because of my past choices. But, I am confident that the best is yet to come through Jesus Christ! Peace and God Bless, Hector Roman - Keep your head up Hector, we hope this issue will somehow appear on the table and you can be blessed by it!
Subject: Dope Quality!
I got my hands on a S.O.U.LMAG and I was blown away by the quality, design and content. Where have ya’ll been? I picked up the issue with Braille on the cover and I’m seeing this is your 14th issue… wow. I gotta get caught up on the back issues – are they still available and where can I get em’ Keep reppin! R. Jackson - You can get back issues at www.thesoulmag.com - we don’t have all of the back issues, as several are sold out and out of print forever, but check out the site to see what’s currently available! They’re going fast!
We’d love to hear from you... visit www.thesoulmag.com and drop us line. Maybe we will publish your comment.
Talk soon. Blessings. Matt-Mistery - Mistery you are a dope dude! This cat rhymes, does graffiti, DJ’s, breaks and travels the world – but he reps at krosswerdz hip-hop ministry in Australia. Check out issue #14 for a story on them!
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Table of Contents:
(Going backwards from the back of the magazine... bizzar ;) Pg.07 – Editorial w/ Urban D. – Upside Down Pg.10 – New Mail Pg.11 – Respect Due w/ Bobby Bishop Pg.13 – S.O.U.LNEWS Pg.15 – Bizarro World Schedule Pg.16 – Bizarro World Breakouts and Bios Pg.19 – Hazakim Pg.22 – Internet Spotlight w/ Holyculture.net Pg.26 – The Be-With Factor by Bo Boshers Pg.28 – Who Is Beckah Shae? Pg.30 – Leadership Spotlight w/ Chris Dorso & YE Pg.34 – ALL or NOTHING Pg.40 – Misfit Music (Canton Jones & DJ Official) Pg.42 – Bizzaro World Notes provided by: S.O.U.LMAG Pg.47 – Innovation Exposed w/ Drew Castillo Pg.48 – On The 1’s and 2’s w/ DJ Essence Pg.52 – Chronicles of an X-Huslter w/ This’l Pg.54 – BEWARE... the Wolf in Mangers Clothing! Pg.56 – Real Sale Numbers of Christian Hip-Hop Pg.59 – Leaders Need Help Too... by Fred Polirer Pg.60 – Remembering Enock Pg.62 – Lady Of The Night Pg.64 – S.O.U.LSignifance Pg.65 – Caribbean Spotlight Pg.68 – Producers Corner w/ Zulu Pg.72 – Resources Review Pg.74 – Movies That Teach Pg.76 – Music Reviews Pg.79 – “An Upside Down Generation” w/ Pastor Adam Dorso
The S.O.U.L. Team:
Publisher: Tommy Kyllonen aka Urban D. Creative Director: Edward Bayonet aka SPE© Contributing Editors: Rawsrvnt, Lucy Kyllonen, Elizabeth Kyllonen Our Contributing Writers: Adam Dorso, Bo Boshers, Sketch The Journalist, Lucy Kyllonen, Charles Langudoc aka Clok, Sori Lorenzo, Jonah Sorrentino aka KJ-52, Brandon Brinkley aka DJ Dash, Nosmo King, Chad Lauderdale, Chris Dorso, Cisco, Zulu, Roy Saringo, Fred Polirer, Mike Martinez aka Tank, Mario Armstrong aka Marz Review Team: Broken, Brovah Greg, Spyvey, Tank, Clok, Cisco, and DJ Dash Photography: SPE©, Brandon Brinkley, and James Cole Contributing Designers: Miles Harris, Ahmeen Hudson, Brandon Brinkley aka Dash and Fabian Alvarez Design Department: IAMSPEC.com * Printed by Adcoprinting.com in Tampa, Florida
For information on advertising visit:
thesoulmag.com and download the current press kit for detailed demographics, ad rates and specs. S.O.U.LMAG is published three times annually (in 2010) by Crossover Church. Crossover is a non-profit 501 ( c ) 3. Crossover’s mission is “To relevantly introduce the Truth of Christ to those influenced by urban/hip-hop culture as we develop worship, purpose, unity, and leadership in their lives.” S.O.U.LMAG exists to build on this mission as we take it to a global platform through print.
S.O.U.LMAG – Tampa, Fl
8870 N. Himes Ave. suite#614 | Tampa, FL 33614 subscribe today @ thesoulmag.com
S
everal months ago I sat with my creative team as we planned for a message series about fear. We were coming up with all these
scenarios for some reality TV type short films that we were going to create to tie in with each message. Then one of the guys on the team looked at me and asked me what my greatest fear was. I told him and he got excited and said, “That’s what we have to film!” I quickly said, “No, we don’t have enough time…” as it dealt with me going to the doctor. He shot back, “My wife is a doctor and we can get you in there tomorrow to do this.” Man… I was stuck. So, I decided to face one of my worst fears that I hadn’t in nearly a decade. Don’t laugh… I went to get my blood taken. Even though I was nervous it went well and the video came out really good and touched many people. As I traveled and spoke at many places I used the video and message and literally thousands were impacted by it on top of the youtube crowd (search for “Urban D. gets drained”).
Then a few months later I again had to face this same fear, as I had to get a physical for an insurance policy. It went okay and I was
relived it was over. But, then we got a phone call that I was denied due to some serious blood issues. What? I’m totally healthy and I feel fine and the other blood tests with the video came out perfect. They sent the actual report and I took it to the doctor in my church that is actually a blood doctor (hematologist) so she could look at it. She said my liver levels were off the charts and if it was correct it was a miracle I was still able to function. God has a sense of humor right? Now I had to get my blood taken several more times for testing (3 viles each time) and I even had to get a sonogram to make sure my liver and kidneys were okay. But, there were some moments I began to question, “what if something really is wrong?” They talked about possible cancer in my liver or kidneys. Those types of thoughts immediately turned my world upside down! I have a wife and two young daughters and a church that I lead… how would all this effect them if…
Our world’s can be turned upside down in just one moment can’t they? It could be a car accident, a heart attack, or being a crime
victim. Everything can be changed in a second. Sometimes God lets those moments happen to rock our worlds to get us to realize that he’s the only thing that really matters! I love watching people build an authentic relationship with Christ and then watching them get on fire and turn their world upside down for him! That’s why we partnered with upside down inc. and Bizzaro World for this issue to present one of the craziest magazines you ever read. It’s completely backwards with some other upside down surprises. You know we always are pushing the envelope of creativity and innovation. So don’t get upset, be open to something new, follow the arrows, enjoy and have fun! Turning the world Upside Down,
Tommy Kyllonen aka Urban D.
About the Editor:
Urban D. now has normal blood levels as he leads Crossover Church through an upside down transitional period, as they get ready to move into their new 43,000 square foot facility. Check out his blog at urband.org or follow him @twitter.com/urband813
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