At 45 years old, I feel silly listening to the same music my teenage kids listen to or even the music I used to listen to as a young adult. I make and promote people in my age group making and listening to music that is mature. Our culture really lacks that!
TL;DR: If you didn't know about good Christian Rap then know then you just didn't know about it. Everyone I named was on an island for how popular they were, at least in my city among the black churches, so if no one put you on to the really good artists, that you could count on one hand, you couldn't help but think all of it was bad. I've been out the Christian Rap loop but I'm not hearing about current artist today by word of mouth or social media at all. But that maybe because of how lax we've gotten about listening to secular music that kids aren't clamoring for alternatives like we were in the late 90s/2000s. Even if you didn't like them, DC Talk was probably the first alternative/contemporary Christian music you heard or got put on to that rapped. Then the o.g. gospel rap album, Rev Run Presents, was an early popular one that was definitely the most urban sounding. Canton Jones popped up and now we're at least hearing something cool while in church or at a church function that's not Kirk Franklin (much love and respect tho!). Then Lacrae dropped. Everybody was listening to Lacrae! He was the only Christian artist that actually sounded like the rap on the radio during the early days of Trap Music when Jeezy was eating. Lacrae had the beats and flow and he was actually spitting bars! (26 inches is a pretty low throne!). Cross Movement headed the Christian Hip-Hop sound as the genre really split into distinct rap, hip hop, and even a southern sound modeled after Master P and No Limit Records with Antonious and Grapetree Records. Then DJ Lace came through with the gospel rap mixtapes, Down South Crunkness. But by this time I'm out the house in college and can listen to all the cussing I wanted in music lol.
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At 45 years old, I feel silly listening to the same music my teenage kids listen to or even the music I used to listen to as a young adult. I make and promote people in my age group making and listening to music that is mature. Our culture really lacks that!
TL;DR: If you didn't know about good Christian Rap then know then you just didn't know about it. Everyone I named was on an island for how popular they were, at least in my city among the black churches, so if no one put you on to the really good artists, that you could count on one hand, you couldn't help but think all of it was bad.
I've been out the Christian Rap loop but I'm not hearing about current artist today by word of mouth or social media at all. But that maybe because of how lax we've gotten about listening to secular music that kids aren't clamoring for alternatives like we were in the late 90s/2000s. Even if you didn't like them, DC Talk was probably the first alternative/contemporary Christian music you heard or got put on to that rapped. Then the o.g. gospel rap album, Rev Run Presents, was an early popular one that was definitely the most urban sounding. Canton Jones popped up and now we're at least hearing something cool while in church or at a church function that's not Kirk Franklin (much love and respect tho!). Then Lacrae dropped. Everybody was listening to Lacrae! He was the only Christian artist that actually sounded like the rap on the radio during the early days of Trap Music when Jeezy was eating. Lacrae had the beats and flow and he was actually spitting bars! (26 inches is a pretty low throne!). Cross Movement headed the Christian Hip-Hop sound as the genre really split into distinct rap, hip hop, and even a southern sound modeled after Master P and No Limit Records with Antonious and Grapetree Records. Then DJ Lace came through with the gospel rap mixtapes, Down South Crunkness. But by this time I'm out the house in college and can listen to all the cussing I wanted in music lol.
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Who are some of the younger Christian rap artists you referred to? (4:05)
Jon Keith, De La Cruz, Alex Jean, RichDanFamous, Trey D’Shaun, Aaron Cole, Toyalove, Definitely D, Jackie Hill Perry, T.Latrell, Jaye Newton