The ministry of Hip Hop

Jet, August 28, 2006 by Scotty Ballard, Javonne Stewart

Apostle of rap Curtis "Kurtis Blow" Walker has become the founder of a contemporary church style in his hometown of Harlem and tells JET a religious renaissance is happening among next generation of Christians across the nation.

It's called Hip Hop Church, tradition al Christian themes-served with a hip-hop flavor-for teens and young adults.

"When the Bible says 'Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel' that means the world of hip-hop as well," states Blow, who holds weekly services in New York at Greater Hood Memorial AME Zion Church. "It's like a traditional church service; we have a processional, we have scripture readings, responsive reading, sermons, altar calls, offerings, benediction ... and a whole lot of gospel rap."

Blow says their Christian services are open to anyone. "There are no racial lines, color, age limits, dress codes, no denominational difference or restrictions."

A former DJ and break dancer during the infancy of hip-hop, Blow is one of the first rappers to achieve megasuccess with the mainstream breakthrough hit The Breaks in the '80s. It brought him worldwide acclaim, film roles, a book deal and commercial endorsements, but he admits that it didn't make him feel complete.

"What would it take for you to be happy in your life? Success? A career? A lot of money? Drugs? Sex? What is it?

"I've had all those things. It made me greedy. The more money I got, the more money I wanted," admits Blow, one of rap's first millionaires. "The more women I got, the more I wanted. The more drugs I got, the more I wanted ... you keep trying to rise to what you think is the top, but when you get to that top, then what?'

"As I look back and reflect, the only thing in my life that had a major impact on me was when I found Jesus."

Blow says Christianity and the revelation of a hip-hop church just seems natural. "I've always noticed there is a spirituality in hip-hop," he confesses.

On the West Side of Chicago the floor vibrates to a bass beat as teens throw their hands in the air while bobbing their heads to the music; on stage a young man full of energy and rapid-fire rap lyrics hypes up the crowd. Is it a rave party? Believe it or not, this is a church service.

Wanting to draw a young crowd, "Tha House," led by Pastor Phil Jackson, shies away from traditional church formats, replacing it with finger-snapping poetry, fast-paced rap, and slang-laced sermons. And because the service is done in a style and language the young audience can relate to without feeling excluded or judged, they eagerly fill services held the first and second Saturday of every month. Not only are there rappers, but also bands perform, poets rhyme, and dancers entertain, all in the name of God.

The tactics are working. The congregation prays for one another, gives testimony, and jams to praise and worship music geared to get them moving.

"Pluggers" resembling flashy party flyers left in places teens frequent attract new members. Word of mouth also fills the seats, because once a teen has a great time there, they invite their friends.

When asked what prompted him to spearhead Tha House, Jackson, coauthor of The Hip Hop Church, tells JET that it was "the need to create a way in which young people, influenced by the hip-hop culture and yet have a commitment to the Lord, can experience a worship service that embraces both.

"You find God using music and genres of music to catch the ears and the hearts of a remnant of people who are saying, 'Man, I'm tired of the traditional church' ... in this way He can say 'I love you, I've got a word for you, WALK with me.'"

The direction of the hip-hop church parallels another movement of the cross: Holy hip-hop.

"There is a distinction between Hip Hop Church and Holy hip-hop," explains Blow. "Holy hip-hop involves hip-hop music, but is not necessarily a church, while the hip-hop Church holds traditional services in a hip-hop fashion.

"I support the Holy hip-hop movement ... they are doing their thing ... we are all trying to spread the Word ... we are all fighting the good fight," he says.

At Way of the Cross church in Norfolk, VA, 23 year-old Pastor Christian L. Hines says hip-hop services are bringing more youth into the Christian faith.

"Being that I'm more youthful and more in tune with what's going on [in the hip-hop] society, we've created a couple of services where we allow young people to express themselves in that way."

"When young people express themselves and how they feel about God, and how they feel about society, they express through the culture that they're in, which just happens to be hip-hop right now.

"It's just a wonderful blend of the contemporary culture of hip-hop and some of the traditional pieces of church," says Hines.

Holy hip-hop has been telling people in the street about Jesus for over 10 years, according to Danny Wilson, chairman and CE0 of holyhiphop.com, who says, "the ministry of Jesus Christ is first and the music is second."

"[Holy hip-hop] is a tool to help our youth understand the language of Jesus Christ, who used parables to break down the gospels for people to understand. Holy hip-hop is the language of this generation to help them understand," Wilson explains. "Music tells stories ... to filter the gospel in a form of parable to music. Isaiah said God was going to do a new thing."