Tag: rap

TUNNEL RATS return right here in 2024 with first new song in nearly 2 decades. Check out the song and music video for the new single, “We On Top”, below. What do you think? [Pic from Rapzilla.com]… Continued →

SoCal rapper Peace 586 (born Rene Vasquez) has been hitting the hip-hop game hard since the late 80s (first as M.C. Peace), as a member of the seminal and innovative Freedom of Soul, and through numerous collaborations with artists like S.F.C., Jon Gibson, Scott Blackwell, J.C. and the Boyz, and many others. He went solo following the break-up of Freedom of Soul and released his first solo album in 1996. As impressive as that is, what’s even more impressive is the fact that he’s still been active as recently as 2023, releasing a full-length solo album on his own label.… Continued →

Join Newselph and Illect Recordings for a free listening party to celebrate If It Ain’t Broke, Remix It (vinyl & digital). Come along to listen to the music with the artist and chat about the making of the album. If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It features an incredibly lengthy list of collaborations including K.I.N.E.T.I.C., Sareem Poems, Sivion, Rel McCoy, Ozay Moore and many others. Follow the link below to RSVP: https://illect.bandcamp.com/merch/if-it-aint-broke-remix-it-listening-party… Continued →

Early Christian rap is a thing of beauty. Similarly to mainstream rap, early examples–though they give insight to the development of the genre–often suffer from simplistic lyrics, weak production, and/or rapping styles that are now outdated and sound lazy by today’s standards. However, we must remember that the genre took decades to develop. In fact, the early 90s were a tough era for the style. It had started to become mainstream and risked disappearing into a subgenre of pop music until it was rescued by gangsta rap and alternative rap a few years later, pushing the genre to new styles and heights, though not without controversy.… Continued →

The most legendary holy hip-hop cipher of them all? Perhaps. Tunnel Rats’ debut Experience (1996) was truly mind-blowing. It’s one of those rare albums where the line between art and artist was completely blurred, if it even existed in the first place. The lyrics (as well as the passion behind them) reflected absolute love of hip-hop music and culture, and absolute love of God and his Gospel. Very few artists, very few albums or artistic endeavors reach that climax of full integration where neither the message nor the artistic medium was compromised in any way whatsoever.… Continued →

Rap music in the early 90s was making huge breakthroughs into both mainstream pop music and Gospel music, all the while splintering into dozens of subgenres: gangsta rap, new jack swing, Miami bass, among the most prominent. Tulsa locals D.O.C., AKA Disciples of Christ were fluent in the Philadelphia-based new jack swing sound, a combination of hip-hop, urban contemporary pop, and R&B/soul sounds. Alton Hood and Kevin Harvey met in college before they knew the Lord. Having dabbled in the party lifestyle, and even in the occult, they turned their lives over to Christ through a miraculous intervention of God.… Continued →

Idle Achiever are once again back at it and “Oxygenate” certainly doesn’t disappoint. Their music defies genre classification and they really are playing in a league of their own but not so different from any likeable band you’d hear thrust in front of you. If you enjoy rap mixed with some indie pop and even synth emo, then you’ll love this new one. It’s like righteous explosion from the joining of Twenty One Pilots, Owl City, Eminem, Gym Class Heroes, Manafest, NF, and For King & Country.… Continued →

Rising West Coast hip hop star – Miles Minnick, is back at it again with a hot new track titled “Chokehold” with Emanuel Tha Prophet. His new record “Holographic” drops worldwide on November 11th! Check out the song below.… Continued →

Rapper Braille (born Bryan Winchester) has been making hip-hop since at least 1998, first as a solo artist and then additionally as a member of Lightheaded (featured in an earlier Song of the Day), Acts 29, and most recently the worshipful project Beautiful Eulogy. The Portland-based rapper has released just under a dozen albums, including independent releases, a Japanese import, and a collaboration with Symbolyc One, not including his work in the aforementioned cyphers. Although I’d heard of him through his association with Syntax Records, it was his 6th album Box of Rhymes where I was first introduced to his music.… Continued →

Check out this new Lecrae song titled “Spread The Opps”. You can view the music video below and give the song a listen. “Church Clothes Vol. 4” coming soon!… Continued →

A rising young rapper in his own right – Miles Minnick, just dropped a killer new track with WHATUPRG titled “Steppin'” and it’s out now on all digital networks via Reach Records. Check out the official music video for the song, below.… Continued →

A fairly new California rapper by the name of Miles Minnick, just dropped his new song with Bizzle called “GHOST”. It’s a hot one and I think a lot of fans of the genre will be all over this. Watch the music video below and you can stream the new song on all digital networks right now.… Continued →

Check out this great new music video from 1K Phew that is sure to make a couple people run and hide. Watch out Karen. Music video for “The Offering” can be found below.… Continued →

Propaganda is my favorite rapper whom I have officially seen & hung with twice. I’ve been listening to him since his days with Tunnel Rats & have every one of his albums if that tells you anything. You can also check out my other faves NF & Dirt. He is steadily going still & I am currently reading his Terraform book. This thought provoking SOTD is my fave & you can read the lyrics below. Once I heard this Middle Eastern carpenter say, “You know, the healthy don’t need doctors.” … Continued →

If anyone asked me to name my favorite Christian hip-hop project of all time, it is without a doubt Brainwash Projects, and their sole album The Rise and Fall of . . . . Perhaps the album title was a hint at how long the project would last, and we all just missed it at the time. Rise and Fall had everything: lyrical witticisms, dope beats, funky rhymes, and humor by the bucketloads. While the whole album is worth listening to straight through without skipping any tracks, one of the strongest singles is “Want for Nada,” a testimony to God’s faithfulness.… Continued →

Playdough aka Krum is an awesome rapper originally from Texas. He was half the duo known as Ill Harmonics which I loved back in the day with their album An Octave Above the Original. I have most everything he has done in his career & is one of my 3 faves besides Propaganda & NF. This SOTD is a humorous reference of what would you do if you knew you only had one day left on this earth. … Continued →

We’re digging deep into the archives for this one. For those not familiar with electro-funk, it was an underground genre in the 1980s that bridged electronic dance music and hip-hop. In fact, in many ways it was a predecessor to the proliferation of rap music. The genre was known by a variety of names: electro-funk, techno-funk, and simply electro (not the goth/industrial version from a few decades later). In the mainstream scene, some of the most well-known names were Newcleus, Shannon, Egyptian Lover, Afrika Bambaataa, and some of Midnight Star’s mid-80s material.… Continued →

There is simply not enough hip-hop on this site. Let’s fix that! I grew up in a small, very monochromatic town in Oklahoma, where most of the people had my skin color. In that part of the world, there were two kinds of music–country and heavy metal. In the 80s, a few of my friends who were more hip had started getting into this new “rap music” that I knew very little about. But growing up in a country-western family and then discovering rock on my own, I wasn’t really predisposed to listen to rap.… Continued →

Underground hip-hop leaders Illect Recordings (home of Sivion, Terem, James Gardin and many others) are running holiday sales currently on physical merch (12″ Vinyl, 7″ Vinyl, CDs, Cassette Tapes & more). A few new items are included in addition to a couple re-stocks. There are also pre-orders, from tomorrow, for the Sivion x DertBeats Vinyl LP. Stock is expected to arrive in a few weeks from Europe. The official release date will be 6-8 weeks later but fans who pre-order the vinyl will be the first to have it.… Continued →

Lecrae drops brand new song and music video for the track “Drown” with John Legend. Check it out below this message. Lecrae’s new album, “Restoration”, is out worldwide on August 21st via Reach Records.… Continued →

There’s a new collaborative album out featuring Sareem Poems & Newselph, and . . . it’s now available on vinyl! Hip-hop leading indie label Illect Recordings are offering the vinyl for pre-order via their Bandcamp page. Fans who pre-order the vinyl will get it 2 weeks before it hits stores August 14 (via Fat Beats). illect.bandcamp.com/album/the-art-of-living… Continued →

From concepts to companies… How do you take a project from $500 to $500k in revenue? How do you take a label from nowhere to 200 songs and 80 million streams in a year? How do you do both while remaining focused on God and Kingdom Building? From concepts to companies, Doc Watson (Jacob Makaish), Co-CEO of Reflection Music Group and Trig (James Rosseau, Sr.), CEO of Holy Culture, come together to share their long-standing relationship, as well as their individual and interwoven journeys through CHH.… Continued →

Da’ T.R.U.T.H.’s latest track, “Never Fail,” features the vocal talents of Greg Cox. Combining punchy verses with some R&B flavor in the chorus, the song focuses on God’s consistent character. “Never Fail” is taken from the forthcoming EP, CHASING GHOSTS, which releases March 27, 2020.… Continued →

Seattle-based hip-hop label Illect Recordings are at the top of their game after more than a decade of releasing quality hip-hop and alternative rap. They’ve just released three new projects which can be streamed, or even downloaded for free! The first is an instrumental album from Sivion called “Group Therapy: Beats” and it features a number of underground hip-hop producers on different tracks. Choose your platform here: https://snd.click/group-therapy-beats The second is a “Sugary” single from French beat-maker Terem. Check it out here: https://snd.click/terem-sugary Lastly, we have another single (complete with an instrumental version) from Sareem Poems & Newselph, called “Freedom.”… Continued →

Remember as kids, when we were taught something was either good or bad, right or wrong, etc.? Then later, you realize everything doesn’t quite fit as neatly in those categories. It’s more complicated. Grammy nominated artists, Da’ T.R.U.T.H. and Flame delve into candid discussions on society, the arts, religion, humanity and more while exploring meaningful topics relevant to their shared faith and the culture that shapes it all. Visit https://complicated-ish.com for full episodes or listen on your favorite podcast platform. Connect with Flame https://www.facebook.com/Flame314/ https://www.instagram.com/flame314/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/2s6kyMmJZFgPCHXU0QxJLp… Continued →

Canadian emcee Rel McCoy (formerly RELIC) has released a brand new video for his song “Part of the Plan.” The jazzy track features guest raps by RationaL and lyrics that question religious platitudes during times of doubt and difficulty. Check out the video here: https://grownuprap.com/2020/01/30/exclusive-premiere-rel-mccoy-part-of-the-plan-feat-rational-video/… Continued →

A rising new hip-hop artist named HULVEY, has just dropped a brand new EP titled “Prelude” via his new label home, Reach Records. Check out the songs below via YouTube including some music videos. What do you think?… Continued →

Rising Hip-Hop artist – WHATUPRG, has just released his new music video for the song, “Glory” featuring the talents of GAWVI via Reach Records. Check out the track below.… Continued →

“Damn” is the only curse word you’ll hear on Kanye West’s latest album.* Jesus Is King is gospel rap, and not only in the usual sense. With the help of the Sunday Service Choir and Fred Hammond, the gospel influence is potent; although rhymes and beats are present, the latter are especially minimal. Opening track, “Every Hour,” includes no rapping at all and reminds me a little bit of Tonéx. Lyrically, the album is forthright in its expressions of Christian faith. Bible verses are referenced in “Selah” in such a way that would make even Goliath dizzy, while “Water” mentions Jesus’ name 16 times.… Continued →

On Wednesday, the video for “No Fly Zone” by Sareem Poems & Newselph premiered over at VIBE Magazine. The song is taken from 88 To Now, which is available in both digital and physical formats via Illect Recordings. “No Fly Zone” addresses issues related to digital identity and social media, and the video can be found below.… Continued →