Hostyle Gospel

Last updated
Hostyle Gospel
Hostyle Gospel and Mc Jin.JPG
King Soloman (left), MC Jin, Proverb and Big Job (right) at the Flavor Fest Urban Leadership Conference 2014
Background information
Also known asHostile Gospel, HG, Elite M.O.C.
Origin Champaign, Illinois, United States
Genres Christian hip hop, hardcore hip hop, crunk
Years active2003 (2003)–present
LabelsHostyle Gospel Ministries
MembersKing Solomon [1] Proverb
Big Job
Teckniek
Kamikaze
Hdavid Garcia
Website www.hgbooking.com

Hostyle Gospel is an American Christian hip hop group from Champaign, Illinois. Its members include Demetrius Morton (King Soloman), Raynard Glass (Proverb), and Fontaine Pizza (Big Job). [2] [3] [4] [5] Hostyle Gospel is best known for their aggressive Christian rap style. The group is also known for creating their own sound called Christian battle music, which also can be referred to as Christian war music or The Hostyle Gospel sound. [1] [6]

Contents

History

Formation and Early Successes (2003–2015)

Hostyle Gospel was formed in 2003 from a central Illinois group known as Elite M.O.C. [6] [7] It originally only had two members: Raynard Glass and Demetrius Morton. However, Fontaine Pizza joined the band in 2005. It also has several other members who work on music production, graphic design, and website management. [2] [8] [9]

In 2013, Hostyle Gospel got together with the Champaign School of Music and hosted the Family Rock Jam Session for the Community of Champaign/Urbana. The event was the first Christian hip hop performance for an educational program in a Champaign community. [4] After the success of the Family Rock Jam Session, the group made their on-air and debut radio broadcast on 97.9 Jamz WJWZ with their single Break. [10] Later that year, Hostyle Gospel's album Desperation was featured in the gospel magazine Gospel Synergy in a list of new artists and new music to watch out for. [11] On October 11, Hostyle Gospel performed with Christian rappers KB (rapper), Da' T.R.U.T.H., MC Jin at Flavor Fest Urban Leadership Conference 2014 in Tampa, Florida. [12] In 2015. Hostyle Gospel performed on Bobby Jones Present. Bobby Jones interviewed the group and talked about his views of Christian hip hop and how he felt that the music could be a useful tool for bring people closer to Jesus Christ. [13]

2016–2018: Freedom, Liberty, Justice and Collaborations

On April 19, 2016 Hostyle Gospel teamed up with Christian Rapper John Givez and released a single titled Skittles & Iced Tea that talked about the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case. The song addressed the importance of Freedom, Liberty, Justice and human rights for Americans. [14] The group also teamed up with hip hop artist Gemstones and released a single entitled "Clap" which debuted on June 8, 2016. [15] On October 14, 2016 Hostyle Gospel released their fourth studio album entitled Hostyle Takeover to great reviews. The album features Gemstones, John Givez, Fred Lynch and with beat production from Tone Jonez. [16] According to a 2018 article by Jesus Wired, Gemstones wasn't the first choice to be on their 2016 single "Clap". The group disclosed that MC Jin was their first choice for the song. However, MC Jin had other obligations so they decided to go with Gemstones. [17]

2019–present: Triumphant Anthem

Hostyle Gospel (left) 1K Phew (center) and Joe Glass III (right) June98artwork illustration.jpg
Hostyle Gospel (left) 1K Phew (center) and Joe Glass III (right)

On August 12, 2019 the group talked to Thrive Global about the groups opinions on political topics. Hostyle Gospel opposed Christians speaking out on political topics unless political officials misrepresent the country. In that same interview, the group talked about why they chose to make an aggressive song like Skittles and Iced Tea. Big Job explained that the group hated how the young black and brown people were being mistreatment in America and felt that it was their job to try to stop some of the bleeding that the country was experiencing at that moment. [18] In an interview with Elna Govendor on praverb.net, Big Job explained Hostyle Gospel's lack of excitement about award shows. He convey that "award shows are for people, not God. At award shows, people are expected to judge individuals on their art, which they put their blood, sweat and tears into — all to get praise from others, whose opinions shouldn’t matter anyway." [19]

Hostyle Gospel has released four studio albums, four mixtapes and has worked with many of the top names in the Christian industry. [6] The group is also being guided and mentored by Christian rap legend Fred Lynch from the Christian hip hop group P.I.D. [1]

The group released a single entitled I Am Not The One on January 3, 2020. [20] The song was rated a 5 star by Jono Davies from Louder Than The Music and was praised for its "pulse-pounding rhythms, raw lyrics and for igniting a fire of passion for God all across America." [21]

In late 2020, Hostyle Gospel collaborated with Reach Records rapper 1K Phew and indie rapper Joe Glass III to release a single called June 98. [22] The track was a reference to 1998 Chicago Bull's Championship team and Inspiration by Michael Jordan's quote from the ESPN The Last Dance (miniseries) film “They can’t win unless we quit!”, which was a celebration of the Bulls’ second defeat of the Utah Jazz. [23]

Reception

In 2013, the group's album Desperation received a review of 3/5 from gospel music historian, Bob Marovitch, of the Journal of Gospel Music. Marovitch described the group as "a no-nonsense battle axe who loves the world and its people enough to help them mightily". [24] On October 23, 2014, Brain Magazine (fr) released an article praising the group for being one of the benchmarks for how true Christian rappers should record music and conduct themselves in the music industry. [25] In 2014 at the Flavor Fest 2014 Conference, Hostyle Gospel was interviewed live on the #1 syndicated Christian hip hop radio show, Jam The Hype with Chris Chicago. Their single Break was debuted and the group also talked about their future plans and projects. [26] [27] In 2015 their Desperation album brought the group international success. Cross Rhythms picked Hostyle Gospel's "Praise", "Turn It Up" and "Rock" to be featured on 101.8FM Cross Rhythms City Radio station in the UK. [1]

Members

Discography

Studio albums

Filmography

Television

TitleYearRoleNetwork
Bobby Jones Gospel 2015themselvesThe Impact Network [35]

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lecrae</span> American rapper, record producer, and actor from Texas

Lecrae Devaughn Moore is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record and film producer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">116 (hip hop group)</span> American rap group

The 116, formerly 116 Clique, is an American Southern Christian hip hop collective originally from Dallas, Texas signed to the Atlanta-based Reach Records. The group performs a wide variety of contemporary hip hop styles, from chopped and screwed to trap to Latin hip hop. The 116 Clique is named after the Bible verse Romans 1:16: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile." For them it means acknowledging the power of the Gospel and the divine calling to proclaim it in every area of their life. "We can lay our lives down to serve and glorify God in everything we do."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demarco Castle</span> American rapper

Demarco Lamonte Castle, also known as Gemstones, is an American singer and rapper from Chicago. He is most well known for his affiliation with fellow Chicago artist Lupe Fiasco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lecrae discography</span> Christian hip hop recording artist discography

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; 114 singles, including 63 as a featured performer; 67 music videos, including 31 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.

Derek Johnson, Jr., better known by his stage name Derek Minor and former stage name PRo, is an American Christian hip hop artist, singer, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reach Records</span> American label of Christian hip hop

Reach Records is an American independent record label specializing in Christian hip hop. The label was founded in 2004 by Ben Washer and the hip-hop artist Lecrae. In addition to Lecrae, the Reach Records roster contains artists like Tedashii, Trip Lee, Andy Mineo, 1K Phew, WHATUPRG, Wande, Hulvey, and Limoblaze. The hip-hop collective 116 operates under the label and consists primarily of the label's solo acts. The artists Sho Baraka, Derek Minor, Aha Gazelle, KB and Gawvi were formerly signed to the label, and DJ Official was under the label until his death.

Aaron Rivera, who goes by the stage name Asaiah Ziv. Rivera, formerly known as KIDD, is an American hip hop musician. His first studio album, Murder My Flesh, was released by Christian hip hop label Infiltrate Music in 2013, and was a Billboard chart breakthrough release. He subsequently released a free extended play in 2014, Hipsavvy: The Introduction, also with the label Infiltrate Music. On February 1, 2016, Rapzilla, which is run by the owners of Infiltrate, revealed that Rivera no longer identified as a Christian, and that he was released from his contract.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NF (rapper)</span> American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer (born 1991)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rawsrvnt</span> Musical artist

Eddy Puyol, who previously recorded under the name Rawsrvnt, is an American Christian hip hop artist, speaker, songwriter, and producer. He has released six studio albums, five extended plays, several singles, and a few compilation albums with greatest hits.

John Lawrence Givens, known professionally as John Givez and sometimes Juan Dando, is an American musician, who plays hip hop, R&B, soul, funk and neo soul music. He is cousins with fellow rapper JGivens. John has released two studio albums, Four Seasons in 2013, Soul Rebel in 2015, while both releases charted on the Billboard magazine charts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gawvi</span> American rapper

Gabriel Alberto Azucena, who goes by the stage name GAWVI, is an American Christian hip hop artist and music producer, formerly for Reach Records. Born in the Bronx, New York, he has released three extended plays, five albums, and twenty-three singles including his songs; "In the Water" and "Late Nights." His career commenced in 2008, doing production work for Lecrae and Trip Lee, who continue to be his most consistent collaborators. In early 2016, he was officially signed to Reach Records. In early 2022, Reach ended their professional relationship with Gawvi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skittles & Iced Tea</span> 2016 single by Hostyle Gospel featuring John Givez

"Skittles & Iced Tea" is a single by Christian hip hop artist Hostyle Gospel featuring John Givez, released on April 19, 2016. The idea of the "Skittles & Iced Tea" song came from the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case. Martin was shot and killed on the way home from a local store to buy Skittles and iced tea. This song represents the freedom, liberty, justice and everything else that the constitution stands for.

"Clap" is the second single released by Christian hip hop artist Hostyle Gospel featuring Gemstones, released on June 8, 2016. "The track "Clap" was produced by Tone Jonez ." The concept encourage Christian believers to applaud through the form of clap no matter what they are facing in their lives. Gospel Music Historian, Bob Marovich, described the group lyrics as "strapped with their bible as a holy weapon they chant infectiously at demons.” The groups stated that "We are given so many reasons to be defeated and hold our heads low, but it is in those times when we are at our bottom, all alone that we have to "Clap" for and encourage ourselves. Wherever we may end up, we are able to "Clap" your way through".

<i>Hostyle Takeover</i> 2016 studio album by Hostyle Gospel

Hostyle Takeover is the fourth album from Hostyle Gospel. Hostyle Gospel Ministries released the project on October 14, 2016. The Christian hip hop group worked with Tone Jonez, Lamorax, John Givez, Gemstones, Fred Lynch, Marty B, Laquisha Burries and Jonathan Jackson on the production on this album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">God's House of Hip Hop 20/20 Summer Fest</span> Christian hip hop festival

The God's House of Hip Hop 20/20 Summer Fest, often referred to as the 20/20 Summer Fest, is an annual two-day-long Christian Hip Hop (CHH), Latin Christian Hip Hop, and Gospel Hip Hop music festival held in Los Angeles at the Banc of California Stadium. It is produced by the Los Angeles Christian hip hop station God's House of Hip Hop Radio, powered by Dash Radio, owned and operated by Aulsondro “Novelist” Hamilton and Chantal Grayson, and curated by Emcee N.I.C.E.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Am Not the One</span> 2020 single by Hostyle Gospel

"I Am Not the One" is a 2020 single released by Christian hip hop group Hostyle Gospel on January 3, 2020. The single "challenges the world's point of view that looked at Christians as weak because of grace and mercy that they give to people, and change it to motivating fellow believers to operate in the power of their calling."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">116 discography</span>

The discography of 116, formerly known as 116 Clique, a Christian hip hop collective originating from Dallas, Texas, consists of six studio albums, one of which was a remix album, one remixed extended play (EP), twenty singles, seven music videos, and one video album. The collective formed in 2005 under the auspices of Reach Records, and released its first album, The Compilation Album, that year on December 27. The following year, a remixed version of the album by DJ Primo was released on July 6. A third album, 13 Letters, followed on June 19, 2007, which charted at No. 10 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart and No. 29 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart, as well as the remix EP Amped on August 28. Man Up was released on September 27, 2011. A Christmas album, The Gift: A Christmas Compilation, was released on November 23, 2018, and charted at No. 27 on the Christian Albums chart. The Gift: Live Sessions, a live video album recorded at the 1971 studios in Atlanta, was released on November 28, 2019. The sixth album from the collective, Sin Vergüenza, a collaboration between Reach and No Apologies Music and a combination of continental United States hip hop and Latin American urbano, was released on October 23, 2020. All twelve tracks from the recording were released as singles.

Jacob Cardec, artistically known as Cardec Drums, is a Puerto Rican drummer, music producer and songwriter, specializing in Christian urban music who has worked with artists from Reach Records, Reflection Music Group and Funkytown Music. He has received various awards for his work with KB, Lecrae, Redimi2, Almighty and Andy Mineo.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Cummings, Tony. "Hostyle Gospel: The Illinois militants called to be servants not hip-hop stars". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Hostyle Gospel; Music, Videos, Songs, News, Photos, and Lyrics". MTV . Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Hostyle Gospel Biography". The Biography. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Hip-hop gospel group visits for Family Rock Jam show". The News-Gazette. 31 March 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "Hostyle Gospel Artist Profile". New Release Tuesday. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 "Hostyle Gospel (The Best Kept Secret)". Louder Than The Music. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  7. ↑ Cummings, Tony. "Hostyle Gospel – Desperation". Crossrhythms. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "Prayer Changes Things" (PDF). Rebirth Magazine: 24. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "Hostyle Gospel – Immortal Combat". Christian Sonic. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  10. ↑ "24 November 2013". 97.9 Jamz WJWZ. The Genesiz Lounge Radio Show. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  11. ↑ Williams, Keith. "GSM November2013" . Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  12. ↑ Horton, Chad (5 September 2014). "Flavor Fest 2014". Rapzilla. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  13. ↑ Jones, Bobby (June 4, 2015). "Hostyle Gospel on Bobby Jones Gospel". YouTube .
  14. ↑ "Hostyle Gospel, John Givez Team Up for "Skittles & Iced Tea" Single". urban christian news. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  15. ↑ "Audio Hostyle Gospel". Gospel Centric. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  16. ↑ "Hostyle Gospel's "Hostyle Takeover" Details Announced". urban christian news. September 17, 2016.
  17. ↑ Moss, Iain (Feb 19, 2018). "20 Questions With Hostyle Gospel". Jesus Wired.
  18. ↑ Maverick, Kevin (August 12, 2019). "Fighting Demons. An interview with Hostyle Gospel!". Thrive Global.
  19. ↑ Govendor, Elna (9 August 2019). "Guest Post: Exclusive Interview with Christian Rap Group Hostyle Gospel". praverb.net.
  20. ↑ Longs, Herb. "Hostyle Gospel's "I Am Not The One" Pushes Us Toward Power & Praise". the christian beat. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  21. ↑ Davies, Jono. "HOSTYLE GOSPEL – I AM NOT THE ONE". louder than the music. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  22. ↑ Sarachik, Justin. "Hostyle Gospel – June 98 Ft.1K Phew & Joe Glass III". Rapzilla.com. Rapzilla. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  23. ↑ Moss, Iain (October 2020). "Hostyle Gospel, 1K Phew, Joe Glass III channel Michael Jordan's Bulls on "June 98"". Jesus Wired. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  24. 1 2 "Hostyle Gospel Desperation". Journal of Gospel Music. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  25. ↑ "Preach The" Christian Rapper'?". Brain Magazine . Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  26. ↑ "Jam The Hype Live With Chris Chicago – Flavor Fest 2014 Edition". Jam The Hype. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  27. ↑ "On The Air". power927.fm/. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  28. ↑ Nikkel, Mary. "Hostyle Gospel: Aggressively Advancing Hope". newreleasetoday.com. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  29. ↑ Moss, Iain. "20 Questions With Hostyle Gospel". jesuswired.com. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  30. 1 2 3 "Hostyle Gospel – Discography". Allmusic . Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  31. ↑ "Hostyle Gospel – Let Me At Em". Cross Rhythms . Cross Rhythms. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  32. ↑ "Immortal Combat". Jesus Freak Hideout. John DiBiase. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  33. ↑ Christian, Neil. "Hostyle Gospel". Holy Culture. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  34. ↑ Honeyman, Lins. "Hostyle Gospel – Hostyle Takeover". crossrhythms.co.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  35. ↑ "Hostyle Gospel – Bobby Jones". Youtube. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.