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.
3 comments:
Has Rap gone down hill in the last few years? I have completely tuned out.
Can rap be non-violent? Records do not usually sell when they are too peaceful. I remember Will Smith got a lot of heat for the song Just The Two of Us.
It's good that positive messages are being spread, but to survive in the rap industry, is it even possible?
I didn't know Christ could be so gangsta. Is Christian rap like Christian rock or is it worth listening to? I've only heard Christian Rock through those paid commercials and it doesn't make me want to run out and buy any albums -- to put it politely.
BTW - Will Smith got heat for Just the Two of Us because it sucks. C'mon. Listen to Public Enemy's song Here I Go. "I'm the reverse of Jiggy!"
It's refreshing to hear hip-hop lyrics that aren't about violence, money, women, or cars. It's also nice knowing that the Cross Movement aren't trying to be controversial in order to sell albums, as the more offensive lyrics of Eminem, 50 Cent, and the rest usually do.
I hope those days of hip-hop are over and we start showing appreciation to more creative forms of hip-hop, such as the music coming right out of Oakland by the Anticon label.
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