5 Greatest Athletes in Christian Hip Hop


5. Believin’ Stephen

Stephen Brindle, better known to Christian hip hop as Believin’ Stephen, is the only artist on this list who is still an active athlete (besides … well, you’ll see). Unlike the rest of this list, he wasn’t a star athlete in college, but he has since taken up the sport of powerlifting and excelled.

Brindle has won several competitions and placed 10th in his 220-pound weight class at the USAPL Raw Nationals, which he is training to compete in again this year. He has lifted as much as 395 pounds on bench press, 535 on squat and 605 on deadlift.

Being jacked isn’t just a hobby for perhaps the most jacked Christian rapper either. His day job is Associate Strength and Conditioning Coach/Speed and Agility Coordinator for the University of Pennsylvania. He had previously served at University of Pittsburgh as an assistant strength and conditioning coach.

4. Reconcile

If Reconcile’s music makes you want to tackle something more than most artists’, it’s no coincidence. The 6’3”, 215-pound Ronnie Lillard led his football team at Lehigh High School of Fort Myers, Florida to back-to-back district titles from the linebacker position.

Reconcile earned All-County, All-Southwest Florida and All-District honors at Lehigh. After a year of hitting people at the United States Air Force Academy Prep School, Rice University offered him a full ride scholarship to play football (which makes him being a former member of Full Ride Music awesome).

His junior year, though, a brain injury forced him to hang up the cleats. As disappointing as this was in the moment, it actually allowed him to shift his attention to hip hop.

Editor’s Note: The following highlight video has no audio, so pressing play on the clip and “HHGH” at the same time will enhance your viewing experience.

David Daniels
David Daniels
David Daniels is a columnist at Rapzilla.com and the managing editor of LegacyDisciple.org. He has been published at Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, CCM Magazine, Bleacher Report, The Washington Times and HipHopDX.
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