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 other than post it on MySpace.

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: 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.

I love metal music, and I wanted to gather people who were passionate about God's word and making music that glorified Him and reaching people through that. It was then I met the good folks with Souls Awakened. They were a Christian metal band looking for a guitarist and wouldn't ya know.. I was looking for them as well! I love how God has grown us in that band and we're pushing forward to big things!

Throughout all this time I've always been a fan of rap and hip-hop. I love metal and I love rap! 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 old school icons, 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 rap until around early 30's. I learned about Trip Lee and Lacrae, KJ 5-2, K-Drama, and others. I became extremely inspired to write Christian rap in 2021 and the rest is history. Lyrics and flows came to me like a delivery in the mail. I can only attribute that to the Holy Spirit. Since 2021 I've put a lot of energy into my rap music and metal music, 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. I believe 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 is Philippians 1:9-11:

Family first..

well.. God first, and then family!

I have been married over 20 years and have 3 children: 18, 16, and 13. All girls..

yeah.. I'm an out-numbered girl-dad, but I love it! I love my family and they come before music every time.

We live in Cincinnati, Ohio and been there all our lives.

I attend weekly worship at my church where I get to serve in a few different areas (worship, preaching, small group leader).

I love my church family and the faithful service to which they commit. I believe every Christian should be rooted in a local church (Hebrews 10:25). It can be said that not everyone who goes to church is a Christian, but all Christians go to church.

I'm a preacher at heart, so most of my songs will have some element of teaching or exhortation.