At the Mic Drop Movie event and premiere, we had the chance to interview all of the pioneers of Christian rap. After asking Stephen Wiley and Michael Peace about who the first Christian rapper was, the next question was – “Who was the first group?”

Some of the artists shouted out P.I.D., some said S.F.C., but ultimately they all pointed to Soup the Chemist and said “J.C. & the Boyz.”

J.C. & the Boyz were Soup’s first group even before S.F.C. who he’d become more well known for.

Soup explained that the group’s founder David Guzman was hosting a radio show and kept mentioning God. Soup had just got saved and kept calling in and told Guzman that he did “conscious rap” that talked about God. At the time, the term Christian rap wasn’t really a thing.

“That night after his show, he came to my house, and I cut a four-track with him,” said Soup.

After that demo was cut, other members joined the group including brothers Robby and Noel Arthurton who would later become the Dynamic Twins. Poetic Lee, M.C. Peace, and M.C. Scroller (Guzman) were the others.

Fred Lynch of P.I.D. said the time frame of the group was around 86 or 87. He then referenced their album from 1989 Never Give Up. He remembers seeing the promo for it as P.I.D. was starting to form.