“I see a lot of death here. Instead of Die Daily, why don’t you live daily…” well, sir, that’s the point!
Every day that we are alive we have the chance to make an impact. We take life for granted and push things to the side. But what happens if we lived every day as if it were our last? What if we died daily – to self, to desires, to procrastination, to the flesh? That’s the message Oklahoma founded Die Daily Team promote every day, as inspired by Galatians 5:24.
“Our mission is to advance the Gospel in our families, local churches and surrounding communities as we die to self, live for Christ, and truly serve others.”
Die Daily was formed within the last decade by co-founders Kyle Peacock and rapper Kadence. The two had a heart for urban outreach and ministry and created a movement more than a record label. The team consists of Kyle Peacock – GM, KadenceOKC – MC/Producer, Sean C. Johnson – Singer/MC, B-Les – MC, Apoc – MC, Dillon Chase – MC, cash hollistah. – MC, Big Rob – Singer, A. Ward – MC, KT Hallel – MC, Skyler Young – Engineer/MC, Gerry Skrillz – MC, OnBeatMusic – Producer, Dre B. – MC, C.J. Luckey – MC, DB 405 – DJ, and Dwayne Pano – Pastor.
Co-Founder Kyle relocated from Tennessee to New York City last year to live and work out of the NY School of Urban Ministry (NYSUM) in the City Reach discipleship program. On January 18th, they hosted the One Night event where Kadence, Sean C. Johnson, Gerry Skrillz, and Dre. B performed. Dwayne Pano was the DJ and speaker for the night.
The NYSUM building is located smack dab in the middle of a residential block. A former hospital building, the structure is a maze of workshop rooms, chapels, meeting rooms, and dormitories. It’s truly a cool place to take a walk through.
Let’s do a first person switch…
Kyle greeted me at my car and walked me through the building. He took me to where all the artists had been living for the last few days. I was first met by Pano and then had a warm dap-up with Skrillz and Kadence, two artists I’ve previously interviewed for Rapzilla. Then Dre and Johnson came out. These guys are all solid. First impressions go a long way, and at that first meet, they made me feel like a friend. If you can’t make strangers feel comfortable immediately, then urban ministry might not be your calling.
From there, we walked to the performance space for sound check. After running through a few songs, we set up in a hallway to do a live streamed Rapzilla interview. After a few false starts, we got cooking and these men laid down some facts. Rather than breaking the interview down, I’d encourage you to watch it yourself. (embedded below).
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Once the performances started at 7 p.m., it was on. Everybody killed it. The room was small, it made for an intimate performance where everyone could feel like they are part of the artist’s eyesight. That’s important. You need to feel a connection to what you’re watching, especially if the music is new to you. From a performing standpoint whether an artist cares to admit it or not, you need to feel a connection with the crowd. The crowd plays a huge part in a performance.
After the show, we all kicked it for a few hours by the dorms. We did some NY pizza, took a walk through the cold winter neighborhood, and just fellowshipped and built bonds. For Die Daily, that was important. A few of the members live in Oklahoma, but these guys are spread across the country. They rarely are ever together, so for them, it was a family reunion. They were getting to know each other again. I appreciate them letting me into that circle as part of the family. You learn a lot by just having normal conversations outside of an interview.
Overall, this experience was one of my favorites as a journalist. I was able to take in a lot and see how PEOPLE balance artistry and ministry. I saw the behind the scenes messiness and the genuineness of people just like you and I. It’s the encouragement to remember to live every day like it’s your last. A reminder to Die Daily in order to live fully.
