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.
Timothy Jerome Parker, better known by his stage name Gift of Gab, was an American rapper best known for performing in the Bay Area hip hop duo Blackalicious along with DJ Chief Xcel. He was also a member of Quannum Projects, a Bay Area hip hop crew and record label, and performed and recorded as a solo artist.
Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg in 1999, following the commercially successful release of The Slim Shady LP that same year. The label's name comes from the last name of Eminem's alter ego, Slim Shady.
Welcome to Diverse City is the second full-length studio album released by Christian singer TobyMac. The songs on this album deal with racial tolerance in society and a desire to know God better. Several other Christian artists appear on this CD, including Bootsy Collins, Coffee from GRITS, DJ Maj, Papa San, Paul Wright, Superchick, and T-Bone . TobyMac also reunites dc Talk on vocals in a remix of his song "Atmosphere", the last track of the album. The album has sold over 600,000 copies in the United States.
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.
Michael Joseph "Mike" Allen, professionally known as DJ Maj, is an American Christian music DJ and rapper, contributing to gospel music albums released by tobyMac, GRITS, Ill Harmonics, Carman, dc Talk, and the Newsboys. DJ Maj has released several mixtapes, as well as three solo albums: BoogiRoot, Speckled Goats and Speckled Goats II.
James Victor Heinz, known professionally as J57, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, and music video director that infuses hip hop with indie rock, pop, folk & Americana music. He is a member of the Brown Bag AllStars, a group of emcees he helped create while working at Fat Beats in 2004, and Jamo Gang, a hip-hop group along with Ras Kass and El Gant. J57 cites DJ Eclipse and his mentor DJ Premier, as his musical influences. He owns a record label called FiveSe7en Collective which is the home of a lot of new, promising talent in different genres of music. J57 was co-host of Shade45 / SiriusXM’s show “Rap Is Outta Control” with DJ Eclipse for 5 years.
BoogiRoot is the first album by American Christian rapper DJ Maj. Before this, his primary releases were mixtapes which did not feature his voice very much.
Alive and Transported is a live album by Christian hip hop artist tobyMac. It was released on May 27, 2008 and debuted at No. 112 on the Billboard 200, and also placed at No. 4 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart. It is currently sold as a CD/DVD combo. The live show recorded for the album was also played on Monday, June 9, 2008, in movie theaters. The film was filmed at the Richard E. Berry Educational Support Center in Cypress, Texas.
The Ringleader: Mixtape Volume III is a 2003 Christian hip hop album mixed by DJ Maj. It was his first commercial success. While it is his third mixtape for Gotee Records, his first two received little media attention. This DJ mix has an overall hip hop feel, but some tracks, specifically "Under Pressure", "A Friend", and "Showpiece", are more precisely rhythm and blues. While the album combines the talents of many different artists, the theme that God is in control is a maintained through all the tracks. The Ringleader marked the debut solo for Jason Eskridge, who had previously been a guest singer with GRITS in Grammatical Revolution. Other artists represented include tobyMac, Kirk Franklin, Out of Eden, LA Symphony, 4th Avenue Jones, Camp Quest, GRITS, Verbs, Bobby Bishop, Shonlock, and Pigeon John.
Donavan LaMond Johnson better known by his stage name XV is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Wichita, Kansas. He first gained major attention after the release of his twelfth mixtape Everybody's Nobody, for which he received two awards from DJBooth.net. His name, XV, refers to the age (15) at which he began his musical career. On Monday July 26, 2010, XV announced that he had signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records via his Twitter page.
Michael Wayne Atha, better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Gadsden, Alabama, and raised in Antioch, Tennessee, he embarked on his recording career in 2005, releasing four mixtapes to positive local reception. His fourth mixtape, Trunk Muzik (2010), earned him wider recognition and led him to sign a recording contract with Interscope Records. He re-worked the mixtape into his first major label release, Trunk Muzik 0-60 (2010).
Versus is the first EP by American singer Usher. It was released on July 20, 2010 on LaFace Records and Jive Records in conjunction with the deluxe edition of his sixth studio album Raymond v. Raymond. Several producers contributed to the production of the EP, including Polow da Don, Jim Jonsin, Rico Love, Drumma Boy, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and Max Martin. Versus is marked as "the last chapter of Raymond v. Raymond", and follows the theme of Usher exploring around the subjects of being newly single and a father.
Tyler Gregory Okonma, known professionally as Tyler, The Creator, is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. He has been cited as an influential figure in alternative hip hop during the 2010s. Okonma became well known in the late 2000s, when he emerged on the internet as the leader and co-founder of the music collective Odd Future. Within the group, Okonma participated as a rapper, producer, director and actor, releasing studio albums that he produced for its respective members. Okonma also performed on his sketch comedy show Loiter Squad (2012–2014).
Fear of God II: Let Us Pray is the major label debut extended play by American rapper Pusha T, released on November 8, 2011, under Decon and G.O.O.D. Music. The EP was his first project with Kanye West's GOOD Music label, since the announcement of his signing in September 2010. Pusha T claims his inspiration for Fear of God is that a vast majority of the people who he came in the music business with are in prison: "I came in the game with super producers. We made hit records. I never thought that it gets deeper. But not for nothing, 2009 I lost eight of my friends to incarceration. Everybody that I came in to the rap game with, and when I realized that those components weren't there anymore, the 'Fear of God' really came over me. It's full of the dichotomy of 'right and wrong' and 'good and evil'. A lot of it deals with greed. A lot of it deals with instant gratification. Personally... life without instant gratification... I don't know what it is."
BBNG is the debut album from Canadian jazz instrumental hip hop band BadBadNotGood. It was released as a free download in 2011. The album features a mixture of original compositions and covers of songs from the artists Flying Lotus, Gang Starr, J Dilla, Joy Division, Nas and Ol' Dirty Bastard. The cover artwork was designed and made by Connor Olthuis and Sam Zaret.
A Night to Remember is the second studio album from Christian musician Shonlock, released on March 18, 2014, by Arrow Records and produced by Joshua Crosby, Solomon Otis and Tim Rosenau. The album saw commercial charting successes and positive critical reception.
Nelson J. Chu, known professionally as DJ Official, was an American Christian hip hop DJ, record producer and songwriter. He was a member of the Christian hip hop collectives 116 Clique and The Cross Movement.
