Since the hip hop genre became popular in the 1970s some Christian hip hop artists have put a Christianity flair in their lyrics. It was not until 1985 that the first Gospel rap album was distributed and released commercially. The artist that has this distinction was Stephen Wiley with his album entitled Bible Break. Another pioneers in this genre was Reverend Rap also known as the Reverend DeWayne GoLightly. His work never released commercially.
Around the same time David Guzman started a group by the name of JC and the Boys. The Dynamic Twins, SFC, T-Bone, and MC Peace were some of the stars that came out of this group. These were among the first to appear on live television shows such as TBN and The 700 Club. The first hip-hop solo artist was Michael Peace and is now considered the grandfather of the genre.
The later 1980s showed an increase in this type of musician with the legendary group DC Talk. This group not only was inspiring and successful, but they were also business savvy. They formed a record company named Gotee Records in 1994 that was influential in beginning other Christian musicians careers. Toby McKeehan or Toby Mac is one of the founding fathers of DC Talk.
The history of DC Talk began at Liberty University in Virginia where Toby McKeehan and Michael Tait met and began writing songs and singing together. Some time later they had Kevin Max join the group when he left his own secular rock band. Once the three were united, then DC Talk was established. They released five albums which helped to name them as one of them most influential and popular Christian acts of all time.
GRITS is another well known group that actually got its start as dancers for DC Talk. Stacey Jones and Teron Carter are from Nashville and use the name GRITS because it stands for grammatical revolution in the spirit. This group was the first acts to sign with Gotee Records and have been successful breaking into the mainstream.
The Gospel Gangstaz are another interesting group in this genre. This group was formed by four members from Compton and South Central in Los Angeles. The interesting part about this group is that they are former members of Crips and Bloods gangs. Having been transformed by Jesus they are able to go into the dark parts of their city to shine his light.
One of the more popular artists today is Kirk Franklin. Kirk is now a solo artist, but started his career in 1992 as the group Kirk Franklin and the Family. He has performed with many of the biggest names in Christian and secular music. Read more about: christian hip hop artists
Around the same time David Guzman started a group by the name of JC and the Boys. The Dynamic Twins, SFC, T-Bone, and MC Peace were some of the stars that came out of this group. These were among the first to appear on live television shows such as TBN and The 700 Club. The first hip-hop solo artist was Michael Peace and is now considered the grandfather of the genre.
The later 1980s showed an increase in this type of musician with the legendary group DC Talk. This group not only was inspiring and successful, but they were also business savvy. They formed a record company named Gotee Records in 1994 that was influential in beginning other Christian musicians careers. Toby McKeehan or Toby Mac is one of the founding fathers of DC Talk.
The history of DC Talk began at Liberty University in Virginia where Toby McKeehan and Michael Tait met and began writing songs and singing together. Some time later they had Kevin Max join the group when he left his own secular rock band. Once the three were united, then DC Talk was established. They released five albums which helped to name them as one of them most influential and popular Christian acts of all time.
GRITS is another well known group that actually got its start as dancers for DC Talk. Stacey Jones and Teron Carter are from Nashville and use the name GRITS because it stands for grammatical revolution in the spirit. This group was the first acts to sign with Gotee Records and have been successful breaking into the mainstream.
The Gospel Gangstaz are another interesting group in this genre. This group was formed by four members from Compton and South Central in Los Angeles. The interesting part about this group is that they are former members of Crips and Bloods gangs. Having been transformed by Jesus they are able to go into the dark parts of their city to shine his light.
One of the more popular artists today is Kirk Franklin. Kirk is now a solo artist, but started his career in 1992 as the group Kirk Franklin and the Family. He has performed with many of the biggest names in Christian and secular music. Read more about: christian hip hop artists
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