Aaron Cole | |
---|---|
Birth name | Aaron Tyrese Cole |
Also known as | Aaron Cole |
Born | Bristol, Virginia [1] | February 28, 1999
Origin | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
Genres | Christian hip hop |
Occupation(s) | Rapper, songwriter |
Instrument | Vocals |
Years active | 2003–present |
Labels | Gotee [2] |
Website | iamaaroncole |
Aaron Tyrese Cole [3] (born February 28, 1999) is an American Christian rapper, singer and songwriter. He began his career at the age of four. He signed to Gotee Records, a record label founded by Christian hip hop performer Toby McKeehan. Cole is known the best for his songs "Right on Time", "One More Day" and "Like You".
Cole was raised in a musical family, where his father had his own recording studio in their apartment. Around the time of his high school years, Cole discovered that music was his true vocation, and he wanted to become a professional rapper. "I remember in junior high just enjoying being a regular kid, but I would get picked on because I wasn't smoking, drinking, or getting in trouble," says Cole. "One afternoon I came home and told my dad what was going on and why, and he shared that he thought I was called for a purpose and that this calling would cost me to not be like everyone else. It was that moment that I encountered God for the first time for myself, and I knew I was born to do this and began writing and putting my own songs together." [4] Cole currently resides in Bristol, VA.
Cole began his career at the age of four. One day, his father wrote him a song called "Jesus is the Rock". It was also the title of his first CD, released in July 2003. Throughout his career he bridged the gap between rapping and singing. He has since released a total of six independent projects. He has featured on songs by Hollyn and DJ Maj. In 2016, Cole was inducted into Christian Hip Hop's top media outlet Rapzilla's Freshman Class and noted by Essence Magazine as one of 16 gospel artists to watch. [5] Cole signed to Gotee Records in 2017. [6] [7]
Year | Single | Chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Christ [8] | US Christ Air. [9] | |||||||||||||
2014 | "15" [10] | — | — | Fifteen is the New XV | ||||||||||
2017 | "Facts" [11] | — | — | Non-album singles | ||||||||||
"Y.C.H.M.B." [12] | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Right on Time" (featuring TobyMac) [13] | 28 | 27 | ||||||||||||
"Time Square" [14] | — | — | ||||||||||||
2018 | "One More Day" [15] | 34 | 22 | Virginia Boy | ||||||||||
"Off My Back" [16] | — | — | Cole Season (Playlist) | |||||||||||
"Motions" [17] | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Down Like That" (featuring Koryn Hawthorne) [18] | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Yo Handz" (featuring Caleb Cruise) | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Exclusive" | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Promised Land" | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Mama Said" | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Making History" | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Patient With Me" | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Greed Money Power" (featuring Derek Minor and Beleaf) [19] | — | — | ||||||||||||
2019 | "Fasho" [20] | — | — | Not By Chance | ||||||||||
"There for Me" [21] | — | — | ||||||||||||
2020 | "Only U" (with Terrian) | — | — | Two Up Two Down | ||||||||||
2021 | "Like You" (with Tauren Wells and TobyMac) | — | — | |||||||||||
"Miracle" | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Above Me" (featuring Parris Chariz) | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Leave Me" (featuring J. Moss) | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Front Row" | — | — | ||||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Year | Single | Chart positions | Album |
---|---|---|---|
US Christ [8] | |||
2018 | "Starts With Me" (with TobyMac) | 36 | The Elements |
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Aaron Cole | New Artist of the Year | Won |
2020 | Not By Chance | Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year | Nominated |
2022 | "Above Me" (featuring Parris Chariz) | Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year | Nominated |
Two Up Two Down | Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year | Nominated |
DC Talk is a Christian rap and rock trio. The group was formed at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1987 by Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max Smith. They released five major studio albums together: dc Talk (1989), Nu Thang (1990), Free at Last (1992), Jesus Freak (1995), and Supernatural (1998). In 2002, the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music called dc Talk "the most popular overtly Christian act of all time."
Christian hip hop is a cross-genre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United States during the 1980s.
Kevin Michael McKeehan, better known by his stage name TobyMac, is an American contemporary Christian music singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. His road band is known as Diverse City. He was first known for being a member of the Christian rap and rock trio DC Talk, staying with them from 1987 until they went on hiatus in 2000. He has since continued a successful solo career with the release of ten studio albums: Momentum (2001), Welcome to Diverse City (2004), Portable Sounds (2007), Tonight (2010), Christmas in Diverse City (2011), Eye on It (2012), This Is Not a Test (2015), The Elements (2018), Life After Death (2022), as well as five remixed albums: Re:Mix Momentum (2003), Renovating Diverse City (2005), Dubbed and Freq'd: A Remix Project (2012), Eye'm All Mixed Up (2014) and The St. Nemele Collab Sessions (2019). He became the third Christian artist to have a No. 1 debut on Billboard 200 chart with Eye on It.
Jonah Kirsten Sorrentino, better known by his stage name KJ-52, is a Christian rapper from Tampa, Florida. The "KJ" part of his name refers to his old rap alias, "King J. Mac," a name which he later described in one of his podcasts as "horribly cheesy." "52", which is pronounced "five two", not "fifty-two", is a reference to the Biblical story of Jesus feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fish, which is also sung about in his song "Push Up" from The Yearbook and in the "KJ Five Two" on It's Pronounced Five Two. He was awarded the Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year for "Never Look Away" and Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards of 2007. On July 28, 2009, KJ-52 released "End of My Rope", which is the first single for his album Five-Two Television.
Gotee Records is a record label of Christian hip-hop, based in Franklin, Tennessee in the United States.
John Reuben is an American Christian hip hop artist signed to Gotee Records until late 2010. Reuben has sold over 200,000 copies of his first four albums. He released his sixth album, Sex, Drugs and Self-Control on December 22, 2009. The album was nominated for a Dove Award for Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year at the 42nd GMA Dove Awards, while the song "No Be Nah" was nominated for Rap/Hip-Hop Recorded Song of the Year.
Lecrae Devaughn Moore is an American Christian rapper. Since having began his career in 2004, he has released ten studio albums and three mixtapes as a solo artist, as well as three studio albums as a lead member of the hip hop group 116 Clique.
Ayiesha Woods is a contemporary Christian musician signed to Gotee Records. She has released two studio albums on Gotee: Introducing Ayiesha Woods (2006) and Love Like This (2008). Woods is known for the hit songs "Happy" and "Big Enough" from her debut album. Her musical style is a distinct mix of several genres, predominantly including pop, soul, urban and rock.
Mark Julian Felder, more commonly known as Bizzle, is an American Christian hip hop recording artist and entrepreneur.
The discography of Lecrae, an American Christian hip hop artist, consists of 11 studio albums, two of which were collaborative; four mixtapes; two extended plays, one of which was collaborative; 130 singles, including 75 as a featured performer; 73 music videos, including 37 as a featured performer; and 86 guest and other appearances. Lecrae debuted with Real Talk in 2004 through Reach Records; the album was re-issued the following year by Cross Movement Records. After the Music Stops followed in 2006 and his third solo album, Rebel, was released in 2008 and reached No. 1 on the Gospel chart, the first Christian hip hop album to do so. Rehab, his fourth solo album, was released in 2010 and reached No. 1 on the Gospel, Christian, and Independent charts, and garnered a nomination at the 53rd Grammy Awards. Rehab: The Overdose, was released on January 11, 2011, and peaked at No. 1 on the Christian and Gospel charts. Lecrae began garnering mainstream attention when he performed at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher and was featured on the Statik Selektah song "Live and Let Live" from his Population Control album.
Jamie Grace is an American contemporary Christian musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. In 2010, TobyMac found her songs on YouTube and signed her to his label Gotee Records for two albums. She released the song "Hold Me" in 2011 which landed her a nomination at the 2012 Grammys and won the 2012 Dove Award for New Artist of the Year.
Kevin Elijah Burgess, better known by his stage name KB, is an American Christian hip hop artist and music executive from St. Petersburg, Florida. He is the leader of the hip-hop group HGA. Burgess signed a solo artist contract with Reach Records in 2010. The label has released several projects, including the Who Is KB? mixtape in 2011, Weight & Glory, on July 17, 2012, 100 EP on March 4, 2014, Tomorrow We Live on April 21, 2015, and Today We Rebel on October 20, 2017. He is also a member of the label's collective formerly 116 clique shortened to 116.
Gravity is the sixth studio album by American Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released on September 4, 2012. The album features appearances from Big K.R.I.T., Mathai, Ashthon Jones, Sho Baraka and Mali Music, along with labelmates Trip Lee, Andy Mineo, Derek Minor, who was formerly known as PRo, and Tedashii. Producers on the album include DJ Khalil, Street Symphony along with his production team Heat Academy, and The Watchmen. The first single off the album, "I Know", was released on July 24, 2012, and was followed by "Tell the World" featuring Mali Music on August 15, 2012, and "Mayday" featuring Big K.R.I.T. and Ashthon Jones on August 30, 2012. Reach Records released five music videos for the album: "Lord Have Mercy", featuring Tedashii along with No Malice of Clipse, on August 1, 2012, "Tell the World", featuring Mali Music, on October 19, 2012, "Mayday", featuring Big K.R.I.T. and Ashthon Jones, on December 13, 2012, "Fakin'", featuring Thi'sl, on February 1, 2013, and "Confe$$ions", featuring David Banner, on April 30, 2013.
The discography of American Christian hip hop artist Andy Mineo, formerly known as C-Lite, consists of three studio albums, three mixtapes, one compilation album, twenty-one singles, including seven as a featured performer, fourteen music videos, including six as a featured artist, and fifteen guest appearances on various albums. Originally from Syracuse, Mineo initially achieved success as a producer in Upstate New York, and was a member of the hip hop group Fat Camp, signed to Syracuse University's Marshall Street Records. After moving to New York City where he re-dedicated his life to Christ, he closed down his production studio and restarted his career. He released his first mixtape Sin is Wack Vol. 1 in 2009. After providing sung vocals for the song "Background" by Lecrae from the album Rehab, he experienced a surge in popularity and became highly sought after for collaborations. His 2011 single "In My City" featuring Efrain from Doubledge also garnered attention, as did his appearance on the song "Reverse" by Tedashii from Blacklight. He signed to Reach Records in 2011 and dropped his stage name "C-Lite" in favor of his legal name. Under this name he released another mixtape, Formerly Known, in 2011. In May 2012 he debuted a four episode web series entitled Saturday Morning Car-Tunez in which he remixed classic hip hop songs. The four songs were subsequently released for free as a compilation album. His debut full-length studio album, Heroes for Sale, was released April 2013.
Derek Laurence Johnson Jr., better known by his stage name Derek Minor and former stage name PRo, is an American Christian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, actor, and screenwriter. He co-founded the hip-hop record label Reflection Music Group (RMG) with Doc Watson, and signed to Reach Records in a joint venture between the two labels in 2011. In 2012, Johnson announced that he had changed his stage name from Pro to Derek Minor. In 2014, he announced that as his two-album contract with Reach was complete, he would no longer be publishing releases through that label.
Capital Kings is an American pop, EDM, and Christian pop act. The group went on hiatus on January 3, 2018 before returning on July 7, 2023, with the single "Higher". The group consists of producer-rapper Cole "Saint X" Walowac and producer-singer Jonathan "Nevada" White who was briefly replaced by Dylan Housewright.
Anomaly is the seventh studio album by American Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released on September 9, 2014, through Reach Records. The album features appearances from Crystal Nicole, Kari Jobe, and For King & Country, along with label-mate Andy Mineo. Anomaly met with a positive critical reception, and the song "Nuthin", released for streaming as a single on July 1, 2014, was nominated for the 2014 BET Hip Hop Awards in the best Impact Track category. The album also fared well commercially, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with over 88,000 copies sold. It also debuted at No. 1 on the Top Gospel Albums chart, marking the first time that any artist has ever topped both the 200 and Gospel charts. Anomaly won Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the 2015 GMA Dove Awards, and Rap, Hip Hop Gospel CD of the Year at the 2015 Stellar Awards. Two songs earned a nomination for the 2015 Grammy Awards; "All I Need Is You" was nominated for Best Rap Performance, and "Messengers", featuring For King & Country, won Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.
Nathan John Feuerstein, known by his initials NF, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has released two EPs, I'm Free (2012), and a self-titled EP in 2014 with Capitol CMG. His second and first major-label studio album, Mansion, was released on March 31, 2015. His third studio album, Therapy Session, was released on April 22, 2016, and peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard 200. His albums have earned several accolades, some of which include the Gospel Music Association Dove Award for Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year in 2016 and the Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year in 2017.
Ryan Dale Stevenson is an American Christian music singer, musician and guitarist, who primarily plays a contemporary Christian music and worship style of music. His record label is Gotee Records, co-owned by Christian music artist tobyMac. He released three extended plays, Yesterday, Today, Forever, with BEC Recordings, Champion of the World, independently, and Hold Nothing Back, with Gotee Records. His first studio album, Fresh Start, was released on September 18, 2015, with Gotee Records. He's had five songs chart on the Billboard charts, "Holding Nothing Back", "The Human Side", "Not Forgotten", "All Yours" and "Eye of the Storm".
Ireoluwa-Anike Dees, born Mutiat Yewande Isola, and professionally known as Anike, is a Nigerian American rapper, actress and former journalist and A&R administrator from Austin, Texas, United States. She signed to the Christian hip hop label Reach Records in 2019, where she had worked as an A&R administrator. Prior to that, as an independent artist, from 2013 through 2018 she released multiple singles and made numerous featured appearances on various songs, as well as worked as a music journalist. She is the first woman signed to Reach. Her debut extended play (EP), Exit, was released on April 24, 2020, followed by a mini-EP The Decision on December 4, 2020.