Two months ago, Christian Hip-Hop artist Paul Hernandez released a single called “Time Flies.” While Hernandez has only released an EP and five singles in the last two years, the artist has a history with CHH. In 2012, Rapzilla.com gave Hernandez the title of Rapzilla Freshmen. If you look, however, his name isn’t there on the list.
Don’t worry, Rapzilla didn’t revoke his title.
Paul Hernandez was formerly Dezcry, a rapper who constantly used intricate cadences over a worship sound. Hernandez still has that style, but he is not the same Rapzilla Freshman.
So what happened to Paul Hernandez?
“I wasn’t in the position to understand the responsibility of being an artist,” Paul said. “I would say I wasn’t there in my character to have the mentality of being consistent and didn’t recognize the work required to be an artist.”
Hernandez was 18-years-old at the time he was named Rapzilla Freshmen, earning the title with songs like “Faith” on Rapzilla.com Presents… King Culture. He lacked maturity, however, in recognizing the responsibility he now had. The flaw eventually showed in his content. He released nothing shortly after he earned the title. Paul said he wouldn’t release anything because he wanted it to be perfect or just procrastinated.
Listen to “Faith” Below:
“Time just kind of moved on and I didn’t realize how much time I actually wasted just not doing much,” Paul explained. “I regret some of that and certain things because I don’t know what opportunities could have come up or doors could have opened.”
The vicious cycle of perfection and procrastination reached a point where Paul needed to back away from his music career. In 2013, He gave away his studio equipment to a local community center. Looking back, this move hit the reset button on his career.
“It was bittersweet. It was good because I was able to bless that community center that had a studio. They were kind of shocked that I gave it to them,” Hernandez contemplated. “I was really happy I could do that, I felt like it was the right thing to do. At the same time, there was this kind of remorse like ‘oh dude, I just gave away all this stuff I worked for and paid for. Now I don’t have access to recording [equipment].’”
Paul continued, “I wasn’t sure why I did it. Afterward, I was contemplating it. I knew I had made the right choice. I did learn some stuff.”
Life proceeded on for Paul. He moved from house to house until he got married to his wife. His day job is a mailman and he is the worship leader for his church. God wasn’t over with Paul, however.
Soon after the wedding, Paul and his wife developed marital problems. “It was like hell,” working through those problems, Paul lamented. At the same time, God challenged Paul’s faith. While building their marriage and developing his faith, Paul turned to music as an outlet.
“It was therapeutic for a long time. I remember ‘The Vow,’ that song with S.O. was greatly inspired by what I was facing in my marriage,” Paul reminisced. “…After releasing that I was like ‘man, I’ve got to get back into this. I have so much I want to write about, so much to create.’”
Listen to Paul Hernandez Below:
After he released “The Vow” in 2017, Hernandez gained his drive back. It became his desire to tell what happened in his walk with God, his marriage, and what an artist means.
“I’ve been so compelled to touch people in a way where I can use my experience,” Hernandez explained. “The stuff that I went through in my marriage, through being a young man, remaining pure in this day-in-age, [and] to recognize the freedom in creating.”
Now, Paul Hernandez is back and ready to release music at age 25. With help from his church and hard work, he now has a studio again. With his drive back in place and a purpose, he has an album that is almost ready for release, which he has worked on for the past two years. Hernandez couldn’t say anything about the album, but he said to expect it sometime in August.
“Music at the end of the day is just a byproduct of my faith,” Hernandez said, “and I want it to be an opportunity to have conversations with people, be something positive they can listen to, and love them through it.”
