Aesthetics: Music: As older rappers claim hiphop is dead, Christian hiphop grows and spreads its limited vision of the Gospel

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The Courier Post in Camden, New Jersey ("South Jersey" across the Delaware River from Philadelphia) carries a Q & A article by its columnist Kim Mulford, "On a (holy) roll--Everything you ever wanted know about Christian rap music."

While thirtysomething rap stars complain hip-hop is dead, holy hip-hop is growing.

Since Christian rap began two decades ago, the genre has improved in quality and quantity, while gaining acceptance among churches and the music industry.

In April, for the first time, the prestigious Grammy Awards will include a category for "best rock gospel or best rap gospel."

Next week, 125 Christian rap artists from around the country will perform during a music-and-worship fest in Atlanta called Holy Hip Hop Week. Organized by Holy Hip Hop Inc., the event highlights performers from dozens of cities and will be aired nationally (though not locally) on the cable network iLifetv.

Still, gospel rap rarely gets radio play. Here, then, are answers to questions you never knew you had about hip-hop's holy rollers.

Q: I've never heard a Christian rap song. Is it any good?

A: "The music has gotten much better than when it first started," says Caresa Northern, an Atlanta promoter who operates a Christian nightclub and handles booking and marketing for Holy Hip Hop Inc. "It's more in tune to what's going on in society today. If you heard (gospel rap artist) Canton Jones, you would think it was Jay-Z."

Q: What are the lyrics about?

A: "They rap about their relationship with God, about being holy," says Northern. "They rap about (treating) their body as a temple, about not having premarital sex . . . about how the devil is trying to attack them, how God saved them . . . just what pertains to their life."

The discourse in answer to this above question starts well but then devolves rapidly into a negative tone. The whole approach sounds anti-holistic and defensive. Where's the great vision of the reach of the Gospel into every nook and cranny of everyday existence? What of finding vocations in serive to God and humanity...doctor, lawyer, Indian chief, athlete, painting, opera singer, journalism. The write-up says "just what pertains to their life." Whose life? I don't know any young people who are getting married to avoid premarital sex. I don't know any who equate horniness with the devil making a special attack on them. What about their schools: are the rappers rapping for better schools? For the freedom to go to a Christian school with broad horizons rather than God/Devil dualism? The root of hiphop seems so meagre, no wonder it's often so very uncreative in either its Gangsta or Christian forms. It cultivates mediocrity both poetically and musically, whether Christian or Gangsta. Excellence should be its goal for authentic performers; and all-of-life-redeemed should be its horizon of hope and mission.

Q: That can't possibly be cool. These guys sound like nerds, not "gangstas" who know anything about the 'hood or the "real" music industry.

A: Not true. A number of gospel rap artists were once secular stars. Mr. Del (aka Delmar Lawrence) from Memphis, Tenn., left the controversial and platinum-selling rap group Three 6 Mafia to become a Christian rapper. Christopher Martin, formerly "Play" in the 1980s-early '90s group Kid n' Play, is hip-deep in holy hip-hop.

Gospel rap now claims as its own Kurtis Blow, the first rap artist accepted by the mainstream (remember 1980's "The Breaks?")

Pop Music Scene, by Owlie Scowlie

Q: What are sales like?

A: Not huge, but it's getting better, says Danny Wilson, founder and CEO of Holy Hip Hop Inc. (The organization's first compilation CD was nominated for a Grammy in 2004.)

"We're still dealing with the fact that people don't know anything about it," says Wilson.

The Gospel Music Association reports Christian rock and hip-hop music accounts for about 25 percent of all Gospel music sales. Gospel music recently posted double-digit sales growth and is expected to increase as churches diversify their music ministries.

Q: Hip-hop doesn't belong in church. Aren't Christians supposed to be singing hymns and praise-and-worship music?

A: Holy hip-hoppers are using their music to reach people who are turned off by traditional church. The genre slowly is being accepted by churches as an outreach tool for youth. Insiders such as Cross Movement and Holy Hip Hop would like to see more churches embrace it.

"What I think "church' has to understand is that hip-hop is here to stay," says Wilson. "It wasn't created by man. It was created by God. It's an opportunity for you to use it as a tool to bring people close to God."

Q: Who are some up-and-comers in Christian rap?

A: Those on the move are Canton Jones, Shei Atkins from Houston (her song "I Got Shot" is taken from her personal life), Tony Stone, Lecrae and T-Bone.

Q: Are there any Christian rappers in South Jersey?

A: Absolutely. Cross Movement Records, a Christian nonprofit company founded in 1997, is based in Deptford. The group The Cross Movement is known as one of the forefathers of holy hip-hop and has released six albums, some of which placed on the Billboard charts.

South Jersey is home to Vigilant Multimedia & Entertainment, a nonprofit organization which promotes local Christian rap artists. VME held monthly holy hip-hop concerts in Camden before moving its venue to Philadelphia a few months ago.

Christian rhythmn-and- praise hip-hop artist Modern Day David (aka Lawrence Williams) lives in Willingboro. His self-titled sophomore album is addictive. (Check it out online at www.mddmoderndaydavid.com)

Also, a new Christian rap artist from Raritan, Somerset County, will be performing at the Holy Hip Hop Awards next week. Prophetess (aka Tamara Lanza) has been writing gospel rap for about a year.

Q: Where can I find Christian rap?

A: Some gospel rap CDs are in wide distribution in stores such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy. You also can download songs from iTunes or eMusic. Free music can be heard at soundclick.com. Or check Altared Lives Radio, an Internet radio gospel station (www.altaredlives.org).

If you like it, buy it. Churches also can invite Christian rappers to perform. Northern from Holy Hip Hop does booking for about 200 artists.

"Just support the artists," Northern urges. "For half those artists, that's their lifeline . . . . That's their livelihood."

Isn't hiphop actually more the parading of attitude than anything else? Doesn't Christian hiphop parade the same damned attitude all gussied up in Bible verses? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I've overlooked something in the new trend, as hiphop itself enters into decline simply because of its poetic and musical poverty.