I recently caught up with Serge from the group Authentik via e-mail to ask about prison ministry, putting Bible stories into rap form, and unique band names.

Jin has been making a mark on Christian hip hop the last year and a half. He has put out a lot of quality music. To continue that trend he has put out the Brand New Me EP.  We are going to first look at lyrical quality, album flow, and finally -  lasting impressions.

I remember growing up listening to a narrow selection of music, genres which would be considered part of the “true Black experience”. From Jazz, R&B to Gospel and Rap, the misconception that I was "listening to what I was supposed to" permeated my environment at school, church, and (to a lesser extent) at home. As I grew and matured, I came to an understanding that there are no racial boundaries for music and what can be enjoyed. In the realm of Christian music there have been groups like 4th Avenue Jones, Group 1 Crew, Rhema Soul, and others who have successfully transcended music's imaginary cultural boundaries. Connecticut- based N.U. Life is a newer (to me at least) group that is in that combines Pop, Worship/ CCM, Dance, Rock, and Rap on their album, 1 Way. Let's see if they can reach the multi-genre bar that's been set by the aforementioned musical outfits.

Every week Trackstarz Radio does a segment called Line 4 Line sponsored by DaSouth.com, where they put music from well-known mainstream artists against that of a Christian artist to see who has better music. 

How refreshing it is to hear a NYC born and bred emcee with skills to pay the bills.  The birthplace of the art form seems to produce a  lot of copycats these days. When I was asked to review this mixtape I have to admit I had no idea who this dude was. Shame on me. K. Sparks is a talented emcee from the southside of Queens, an area that produced such greats as A Tribe Called Quest, Organized Konfusion, and many other notables. K. Sparks is relatively new to the CHH side of things but based on his bio, his resume is quite lengthy.

Every week Trackstarz Radio does a segment called Line 4 Line sponsored by DaSouth.com, where they put music from well-known mainstream artists against that of a Christian artist to see who has better music. 

Within the past year we've witnessed a rise in Christian artists engaging the hip hop culture both abroad and at home in the states. It has allowed the Body to impact nearly all major media outlets that have for some time, been seemingly obstinate against the christian culture. For nearly a decade , Atlanta has been known for being a launching pad for a massive amount of artists,that have saturated the airwaves from Lil Jon to Future, and now Trinidad James. An artist by the name of JusThoughtZ has been afforded the opportunity to perform at a concert called Spoiled Milk at Center Stage in Atlanta, however, this is not just a mere concert. A recent write up by Atlanta's largest creative publication Creative Loafing states, "Atlanta's indie hip-hop scene is going through some changes...The Spoiled Milk concert series provides the opportunity for Atlanta's indie artists to get their names out to the public, and to display their talents by taking the concert experience in a different direction, allowing fans to participate in curating the event by voting for the artist they want to see perform."

I recently caught up with theBREAX frontman Ruslan via e-mail to ask about his new Kings Dream brand and mega-conference/concert series that launches this weekend in San Marcos, California.

Ladies and Gents, Uriah Poore is back.  Now if you missed my first go round with Uriah, check out my review of his The Stars and Their Places project.  I have since been following this budding artist. However, Uriah isn’t new, neither to the scene nor to music.  Uriah returns with his latest project entitled Sound Of Light.  

I was able to catch up with S.O before he launched his second album So It Continues.  He really displayed a depth of scriptural understanding and vision during our conversation.

New Orleans, Louisiana. Home of creole food, cajun cuisine, the New Orleans Saints, and a whole lot of culture. New Orleans is also the home of good music, rising stars, and in the midst of the city there is a raspy yet clear voice crying out in the wilderness- native son Corey Hicks. Hicks is a pastor as well as a rapper in the inner city of New Orleans and his latest work "The Whole 9" explores life as a young urban male in the mean city that has pulled so many down.

Back in 2009, I was introduced to M.P.H. aka Man Praisin’ Hard and reviewed his album “Universal Disturbance” for Dasouth. Needless to say I was pretty disappointed with it, yet I saw glimmers of talent in the midst of my disappointment and hoped he would come a lot better the next time I heard him. Literally three years and a couple weeks later, I’m here reviewing a new project, (I’m sure he’s been doing stuff in between of course) a mixtape called “Critical Condition” hosted by DJ Touchscreen and many good things showed forth on this project.

The new Social Club album, Misfits, sounds like:

The night before the Thanksgiving holiday I conducted my first Google Hangout interview with former Christian radio personality/current author Seth Tower Hurd about his new book Hip Hop & Jr. College.

In our conversation, we get into:

- The background of the book
- The hip hop EP he organized to promote the it

• Which contains songs from Manchild of Mars Ill, Wit & Dre Murray, theBREAX & DJ Wade-O, and Heath McNease
• Which you download for FREE here

- How Christians deal with racism and poverty in America
- How hip hop and sports can start to help heal those type of issues
- Whether or not our country is more or less racist after electing a black President

If you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, you can grab Hip Hop and Jr. College from Amazon or Barnes & Noble for $2.99.