Welcome to our weekly episode of Rapzilla.com’s Top Christian Rap News Recap. We endeavor to grab the best stories from the previous week and give them to you every Monday.
We did an interview with the mega-popular comedian John Crist. You may recognize him from his various skits, standup, or viral videos. Others may know him from his “Check Your Heart” song with nobigdyl., 1K Phew, and DJ Mykael V. He spoke about how the song came together and hilariously talked about being clueless throughout the whole process of recording. The comedian then took some time to address the popularity of the song being on CCM radio although they generally don’t play rap. He shares a lot of good points about some Christians’ fears of hip hop music and how he hopes to be a middle man.
Andy Mineo dropped his epic album filled with incomplete and raw songs with Work in Progress. Some of the songs are original versions of songs released. Overall, the music down to the marketing, artwork, and accompanying podcast makes for an experience rather than a listen. Mineo’s “incomplete” work may be among the best collections of art the rapper has made.
Last weekend Kanye West and his choir appeared at the California Worship Center. Church members were shocked when they saw Kanye integrate his worship with the church that was already there. He even had a special guest – Tori Kelly.
Shepherd has been signed to RECORDS/COLUMBIA (Columbia Records). The deal comes after the success of his independently released hit single “Gametime,” which surpassed over 5 million streams, was selected for the Beast Mode playlist (6 mill. followers), charted Top 50 Viral on Spotify, and was played during the NBA Finals. He will now be label-mates with the likes of mainstream superstars such as Sia, Diplo, Noah Cyrus, Nelly, Lauren Jauregui (formerly of Fifth Harmony) & more.
RoundUp
Here’s a quick roundup of some other news. nobigdyl. announced that he’ll be appearing on some dates with Futuristic on the “I Am” tour.
Tobe Nwigwe performed a 15 minute medley on NPR’s Tiny Desk with his wife and baby in tow.
We also did some great interviews with S.O. as he broke down the meaning of the song “White Jesus,” and 2019 Rapzilla Freshmen Jon Keith spoke about new album Olympus and its reception.
Outro
In conclusion, don’t forget to check out all of our playlists featuring the top tracks that dropped on Friday. Start with the Rapzilla Playlist and work your way down. Remember to check out the Christian Rap Mix and Pandora and the best indie artists and tips on NewH2O.com.
This video was made in partnership with Fenix Studios in Staten Island, NY. Fenix is a one-stop-shop for any creative looking to rehearse, record, mix, shoot a music video, or even receive audio & technical training. Get more info here.
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Justin is the Editor-in-Chief of Rapzilla.com and co-owner of NewH2O.com. He has been a journalist for 9 years and has written or edited for Relevant, Christian Post, BREATHEcast, CCM, Broken Records Magazine, & more. When not writing he's on stage rhyming as the frontman of Process of Fusion. He also likes to work with indie artists to develop their brands & marketing strategies. Catch him interviewing artists on Survival of the Artist Podcast.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the most electrifying man in Hollywood, shocked the world today, revealing the release date for his first superhero movie, Black Adam. Releasing on December 21, 2021, this will film in the DCEU will highlight one of the DC Universe’s most popular villains. The news came with a film poster created by comic book legend Jim Lee and the incredibly talented digital artist, Bosslogic. In the comics, Black Adam was originally chosen by the wizard Shazam to be his champion, however, he became corrupted by power and was banished from Earth. He was replaced by Billy Batson, […]
Thi’sl just released a music video for his song “This Is Not The End” featuring V.Rose from his newest album SSTAG (Small Thing To A Giant). The visual depicts the tragic shooting that almost took his life last year. Stream or Buy the album, click here
KJ-52 and Christian Rap will always be synonymous. After nearly 25 years rapping believers, non-believers, and the youth of tomorrow, “Five-Tweezy” hanging up the mic…kind of. The rapper said he’s retiring the KJ-52 moniker when it comes to touring and creating albums. He hinted that he could never quite quit making songs here and there, but his days as a full-time artist are finished. In the early, to mid-2000s KJ was killing it while signed to BEC, an offshoot label of Tooth & Nail Records. He was touring with all the huge rock bands before it became cool to give […]
Canon & Aaron Cole were two of the performers at Rapzilla’s Light Work Event at A3C in Atlanta. The two of them controlled the crowd with their great stage energy and performed back to back. Our photographer for the week, Barry E. Daly took some of these amazing photos.
According to TMZ, Joel Osteen will be hosting Kanye West and his Sunday Service this weekend at Lakewood Church in Houston, TX. Kanye is supposed to have a public conversation with Osteen for the 11 am service on stage and then the Sunday Service choir is expected to perform during the night service. TMZ’s sources say, “Ye and Joel have been talking fairly regularly recently … they’ve become friends, especially since Kanye has doubled down in his devotion to God.” and that “Joel wants his congregation — which stands 45,000 strong — and his TV audience — which stands at […]
On August 23, Andy Mineo released a musical-podcast hybrid called Work in Progress. The project is unlike any released by the artist before, compiling several unreleased tracks into a single release with a podcast series used to create additional conversation. Whereas Mineo’s earlier releases accounted for a single season, Work in Progress gives listeners a more complete display of Mineo’s artistic evolution. Whether it be the fear of aging, a celebration of marriage, or musical experimentation, the album is a thematic feast and might be Mineo’s most powerful project yet. Perhaps the most crucial element of Work in Progress is […]
NF recently sat down for a conversation with Ill Will at NME.com this week. Being someone who tends to be pretty vulnerable on the mic, NF found some space here in front of a camera to be real. Considering himself to be a quite negative person and preparing for the worst, NF says he finds it thrilling that he outsold Chance The Rapper’s debut album ‘The Big Day’ in the first week of sales with his new album The Search. Nate also shares how his perception changes the older he gets. He looks back on the song How Could You Leave Us […]
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the most electrifying man in Hollywood, shocked the world today, revealing the release date for his first superhero movie, Black Adam. Releasing on December 21, 2021, this will film in the DCEU will highlight one of the DC Universe’s most popular villains. The news came with a film poster created by comic book legend Jim Lee and the incredibly talented digital artist, Bosslogic. In the comics, Black Adam was originally chosen by the wizard Shazam to be his champion, however, he became corrupted by power and was banished from Earth. He was replaced by Billy Batson, […]
Thi’sl just released a music video for his song “This Is Not The End” featuring V.Rose from his newest album SSTAG (Small Thing To A Giant). The visual depicts the tragic shooting that almost took his life last year. Stream or Buy the album, click here
KJ-52 and Christian Rap will always be synonymous. After nearly 25 years rapping believers, non-believers, and the youth of tomorrow, “Five-Tweezy” hanging up the mic…kind of. The rapper said he’s retiring the KJ-52 moniker when it comes to touring and creating albums. He hinted that he could never quite quit making songs here and there, but his days as a full-time artist are finished. In the early, to mid-2000s KJ was killing it while signed to BEC, an offshoot label of Tooth & Nail Records. He was touring with all the huge rock bands before it became cool to give […]
Everyone has problems in life. Sometimes those problems are a result of friendships that have turned sour. Other times those problems are a result of internal struggles. Most of the time, it’s a combo of the two. Nato Poppins and Scaasi teamed up with seni. to tell you about their problems and how they are fighting to overcome them every day. “Problems” is a song for the happy-sad person. Listen to Nato Poppins & Scaasi Below:
Canon & Aaron Cole were two of the performers at Rapzilla’s Light Work Event at A3C in Atlanta. The two of them controlled the crowd with their great stage energy and performed back to back. Our photographer for the week, Barry E. Daly took some of these amazing photos.
