Recording debut
The group's first album Word 2 the Wise released in 1991 through Broken/Brainstorm Artists International, a sublabel of Word Records, and was distributed to mainstream record stores through Epic Records. S.F.C.'s Chris Cooper helped with production chores and fellow S.F.C.'er The Dove added scratching. Also guesting was Crystal Lewis, whose album "Simply the Best" had included a song penned by Noel Arthurton. 2nd album No Room 2 Breathe garnered praise from True Tunes magazine as a "landmark in the Christian rap industry" for basing itself musically around live instruments instead of programmed samples and beats. [2]
The group was nominated three times for Dove Awards for their music and have appeared with well-known artists Westside Connection, Fred Hammond, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Crystal Lewis and Audio Adrenaline among others. They have also appeared on Fox Sports' "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" and at the Hard Rock Cafe in Dallas, Texas. [3]
In 2005, the group appeared on a compilation album ("Holy Hip Hop:Taking the Gospel to the Streets") that was nominated for a Best Rock Gospel Album Grammy Award. [4]
The group has also produced albums including one for the Rocket Ishmail and the first Bi-lingual Asian Holy Hip Hop artist, Only Won.
The 41st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill received the most nominations with 10, setting a record for the most nominations for female artist in one night. During the ceremony, Hill became the first woman to receive 5 Grammy Awards in a single night, and the first woman rapper to take home Best New Artist. Her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill became the first hip hop album to win the award for Album of the Year. Hill's Grammys sweep is widely considered as one of the biggest moments in hip hop history.
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.
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of Black genres such as R&B, pop-rap, quiet storm, urban adult contemporary, hip hop, Latin music such as Latin pop, Chicano R&B and Chicano rap, and Caribbean music such as reggae and soca. Urban contemporary was developed through the characteristics of genres such as R&B and soul.
Kirk Dewayne Franklin is an American gospel singer, choir director, record producer and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel and Christian R&B ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC). His accolades include 20 Grammy Awards. Variety dubbed Franklin as a "Reigning King of Urban Gospel", and is one of the inaugural inductees into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
The 34th Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on April 10, 2003 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2002. The show was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by CeCe Winans and Steven Curtis Chapman.
Frontline Records was a Christian rock record label, founded in 1986 by James Kempner in Santa Ana, California. The label focused primarily on modern rock, rap, dance-pop and hip-hop. The label closed in the early 1990s, and then resurfaced in 2010 to digitally re-release its music catalog.
Rob Wilson, better known by his stage name Fresh I.E., is a Christian rap artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Rene Francisco Sotomayor, better known by the stage name T-Bone, is a Christian rapper. His father was Nicaraguan and his mother is Salvadoran. His name came from being called 'Bones' as a youngster because he was very skinny. The 'T' was "added to give the name a little slang edge."
Glory is the third studio album by the Christian rapper Manafest. It was released on September 26, 2006 under BEC Recordings.
Brady Goodwin Jr., better known by his stage name Phanatik, is an American East Coast rapper and author who has recorded both independently and as a founding member of the two time Grammy-nominated Christian rap group The Cross Movement.
Torrance Esmond, better known by his stage name Street Symphony, is an American record producer and music executive from Memphis, Tennessee.
Baldwin Chiu, professionally known as Only Won, is an American rapper, actor, producer and stunt performer. As a hip hop artist, he writes/performs rap, beatboxing, and singing. He is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild involved in acting and choreographing stunt work. Only Won started rapping professionally in 1991 after being influenced by hip hop pioneers Run DMC, Will Smith, dcTalk, and T-Bone. Because he started rapping in both English and Cantonese, some consider him to be the first Chinese American bilingual rapper. At one point, he was labeled the "Christian" version of "Jin the MC".
Rehab is the fourth studio album by Christian hip hop artist Lecrae. It was released on September 28, 2010 on Reach Records. According to the Reach Records website, the album's "motto" is "The Christian life is an entrance into rehab." Centered on release and freedoms from inhibiting addictions and habits, Rehab is a highly conceptual album. Rehab is nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards. The album was named the Best Album of 2010 in the "Best of 2010: Rapzilla.com's Staff Picks" awards, and Lecrae was also named Artist of the Year. The song "Background" and the album itself were nominated for Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year and Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year, respectively, at the 42nd Annual GMA Dove Awards.
The Big Picture is the fourth studio album from Christian hip-hop artist Da' T.R.U.T.H. It was released on July 21, 2009 through Cross Movement Records.
The Cross Movement was a Christian hip hop group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Rene Vasquez, known by the stage name Peace 586, is an American Christian hip hop producer and emcee. His career began in the late 1980s, and has continued until the present.
Mr. Del is an American Christian rapper and music producer. He is president of the independent record label Dedicated Music Group (DMG)/Universal Records. He received a Grammy award nomination for Best Rock Gospel Album of the year and 2010 GMA Dove Award nomination for Rap/Hip Hop Album of the year. His first solo album, The Future, was released in 2005 and debuted at No. 15 on Billboard’s Gospel Chart. Hope Dealer, was released in 2007 and peaked at No. 47 on Billboard’s Gospel Chart and featured American jazz musician Kirk Whalum. Thrilla, was released in 2009 and debuted at No. 2 on the Christian R&B/Hip Hop Chart.
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.
