From the Dome Christian Hip Hop Timeline, pt 1

When I first had the idea to make this list for my friend, I thought I’d try to organize it chronologically. What was the first Christian hip hop I remember? How has CHH changed over the years?

I put together a timeline off the top of my head and then did just a little research to verify dates and the like. Today is the first half of that timeline. It encompasses what I conceive of as the first two ‘movements’ of Christian hip hop.

The Old School: Just like mainstream hip hop, Christian hip hop started in a place that is pretty unrecognizable by today’s hip hop standards. These are the albums that represent that time best.

D-Boy - Plantin’ a Seed (1989) and The Lyrical Strength (1990) - This is one of the first Christian Hip Hop artists I ever heard. It’s the most equivalent to something like Erik B and Rakim. I don’t even know if anyone else ever made music like this, that’s how rare it was. D-Boy came out around the same time as dc Talk, but dude was waaaaaaaay better at hip hop. Like a ‘legit’ rapper. Unfortunately, he died shortly after his second album came out.

dc Talk -  dc Talk (1989) – The only reason to include this album at all is not because it’s good. Rather, this album shows a more typical response to the hip-hop craze that was the late 80s. Listening to these show us exactly how far Christian hip hop has come through the years. It’s like a parody of the genre with Jesus littered through. To me, this feels more like George Michael or Prince ‘hip hop’. 

The OGs: These guys make hip hop that actually resembles modern hip hop. They also really set the table for everything that comes after. It’s lovely to look back and see.

Gospel Gangstaz - Gang Affiliated (1994) - Maybe these folks might’ve belonged in the Old School category, but they definitely exist on the cusp of two eras. They’re West Coast for sure, former Blood and Crip. Kinda Ice Cube, Ice T vibes. I love that they’re from the streets. They word ‘n***a’ shows up in their work, which is awesome. It shows us that they’re from the streets and their music isn’t from the church for the streets. The next time I heard that word in Christian hip hop wasn’t until earlier this year (Not entirely sure that is an accurate statistic, but I feel in my gut that it’s true). Also, they sample Snoop. So that’s cool.

GRITS - Mental Releases (1995) - These dudes came along after dc Talk had long departed the hip hop stream. These guys are from Nashville and have more of an old school Outkast feel to their style. They are really rapping. Folks in the culture and from the culture. They’re the first people since D-Boy that I felt genuinely understood hip hop and theology.

Cross Movement - Heaven’s Mentality (1997) – These guys are from Philly and their music has strong East Coast vibes. They’re skilled rappers and theologians. While they position themselves as evangelists, I feel like their music is more for people who already know Jesus and have some theologic understanding. They use big theology words that never show up in Christian hip hop before. This isn't a bad thing, but I think it shows that hip hop is finding a home in the church and people are feeling better about making good/popular music to support discipleship of folks on the margins or who don’t identify with dominant culture. They reference SWV and ‘who’s world is this’ they’re clearly in tune with hip hop culture.

The Ambassador - Christology (2000) - The Cross Movement was kind of the Wu Tang Clan of Christian hip hop. Nearly all of their original members had at least one independent studio album. The best of them by far was The Ambassador. His debut Christology is still one of my favorite albums in this genre. At 21 tracks it’s kinda long. But I also respect that Ambassador has so many features. He’s keen to point to others who are doing work in the genre. I particularly love ‘Cypha International’ for including voices from the church globally.

Come back next week for part 2 of the timeline. In the meantime, who’d I leave out? Who do you love from this list?