Word Rat

Music has been part of my life straight from birth.

I grew up with a family of musicians who were rockers and classic rock fans. I learned guitar at 10 and have played ever since with blocks of my life where I didn't play, but I always loved music.

I've written music since I was 13, but it was always something I kept to myself, family, and close friends. I played in a few bands, but nothing ever came to life - nothing serious ever happened. When I was in my mid 20's I wrote a 5-song EP that I promoted on a podcast I started, but never really did anything with it.

It wasn't until I realized my passion for ministry and reaching people with the gospel that I really did anything useful with music. I began helping lead worship in different church ministries and eventually became a worship leader. Around that time I was heavily involved in ministry of preaching, leading groups, leading outreaches, and pastoring.

Time went on and I ended up getting a BA degree with a focus in Leadership in Ministry. I helped start a few churches, learned a lot about leadership and theology, maintained a couple websites where I wrote consistently about theology and practice, all while staying involved with preaching and leading worship. It wasn't until recently that music really became a focal point in my life.

Throughout all this time I've always been a fan of rap and hip-hop. I actually love metal and I love rap and play guitar for Souls Awakened! I've written a lot of work in both genres, as well as acoustic and bluesy material. But rap has always been part of my life ever since I was a kid. I grew up listening to all the secular old school heads, such as Biggie, 2 Pac, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Snoop, Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Bone, etc. And I really loved older stuff than that, such as DJ Magic Mike, Freestyle Express, Newcleus, Grandmaster Flash, Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, and of course Sugar Hill Gang. There's tons I haven't listed, but those were most of what I listened to.

I never knew about Christian Hip Hop (CHH) until around early 30's. I learned about Trip Lee and Lacrae, KJ 5-2, K-Drama, and others. My first live Christian rap experience was seeing K-Drama the Rapper and was inspired to get back to writing something I've always wanted to write: rap. I finally wrote my first official Christian rap album in early 2021 and released it in November of the same year. The rest is history. Lyrics and flows came to me like a delivery in the mail, and I thank God for that! 

Since 2021 I've put a lot of energy into my music to be faithful to scripture, glorify God, and speak into people's lives through my lyrics. I recording everything from my home studio with analog vocal chains, full mic booth, and professional Studio One digital audio workstation.

I'm a preacher at heart, and it comes out in my music. My gifts and talents are fueled by a desire to see people come to Jesus and grow abundantly in Him. The bible verse that really resonates with me and my calling as a Christian minister is Philippians 1:9-11: