The Cross Movement is one of the most recognized acts from the "holy division" of hip hop culture. The group is made of four rappers: William Branch, (“The Ambassador”), Brady Goodwin Jr. (“Phanatik”), John K. Wells (“The Tonic”), and Virgil Byrd (“T.R.U.-L.I.F.E.”). Their first album, Heaven’s Mentality, dropped in 1997. They’ve since released five more, including Holy Culture, which debuted # 5 on Billboard’s Heatseeker’s Chart in 2003.
Through dope beats and clever wordplay, Cross Movement raps about the gospel, or good news, that Jesus Christ died for people’s sins; his resurrection giving the chance to be forgiven and reconciled with God. As Phanatik says in All Day, “From pulpit to ghetto, projects to golden meadows, the bread of life brings men back like Hansel and Gretl.” You can watch their videos on Youtube.
Lowell beat Mission in overtime last Friday night to win the San Francisco (AAA) high school basketball championship. The game was a contrast of styles: Lowell entered the playoffs as the top seed, thanks to a 28-4 regular season record. Mission came in the #5 seed, with a less impressive 13-11 mark.
The Cardinal’s started four seniors, including guard Jordan Wong and forward Arthur Johnson, two of the league’s best players. Mission had no seniors in its starting line-up.
Lowell’s disciplined offense led to most of its 71 points. The Cardinal’s passed the basketball quickly and often, creating open shots from the outside (Wong hit 6 three-pointers, none of them with a hand in his face) and easy baskets for post players. Mission’s half-court offense was not as good, but did manage 69 points off steals and streaky three-point shooting from guards Harry Howard and Damaree Hampton.
It looked at the beginning that Lowell would blow Mission out of Kezar Pavilion. The Cardinals were up by eleven when Jones, going in for a lay-up from the left hand side of the court, was undercut and came down awkwardly. Jones strained his groin on the fall and badly bruised his shooting hand. Lowell went into halftime up 36-22, but the injury to Jones left it vulnerable to a Mission comeback.
Down 45-35 in the third quarter, Howard and Hampton took over for Mission. The duo scored 21 of Mission’s next 23 points, putting Mission ahead by one with 4:15 left in the game. Lowell got a boost when Johnson limped back into the game. The teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter, keeping the crowd in suspense as to who would win the game. At the end of regulation the score was tied at 61.
In the end, Lowell’s experience and execution were too much for Mission to overcome. The Cardinal’s pulled away with clutch foul shooting and tough defense. Guard Alex Hampton hit a crucial three-pointer to put Lowell ahead by five. Forward Jordan Pusung’s rebounding and free-throw shooting kept the Bears alive, though, giving Howard a chance to win the game with a shot at the buzzer…that missed right and gave Lowell the championship.
