When Christian artist Mike Teezy released his single "Communion" in 2020, he didn’t expect his song to influence a listener in New York to stop practicing witchcraft.
The catchy rap track, which details the importance of the Christian sacrament, was pouncing through a taxi's radio speakers when it dawned on the listener that she needed to take her faith more seriously.
The North Carolina rapper spits: "Before you even take a bite of the bread / And proceed to drink up all the juice / Better make sure that your soul is clean / And I ain't talking bout no shoes."
After hearing the lyrics the listener immediately reached out to the rapper with her testimony. "From that moment on she threw away her tarot cards and made a decision to actually try to follow Christ," Teezy, born Michael E.J. Tyree, tells GRAMMY.com.
While this experience might be unique, Teezy is one of many gospel artists whose trap tributes to Christ are resonating with listeners both in and outside of the faith by speaking to their own experiences.
Christian artists have "crossed over" for decades, though GRAMMY-winning rapper Lecrae may be the earliest example in hip-hop. In 2014, Lecrae secured a No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and gospel charts with his religiously-influenced Anomaly. His success would influence a generation of artists, including labelmate Wande, whose songs have appeared in commercials and TV.
Gospel Across Borders
As the son of a preacher, Teezy grew up listening to church elders using rap as a way of appealing to the younger congregation. Their failed attempts (along with Teezy wanting good non-secular music to dance to in church) is why the 32-year-old became a musician. "I was like this is corny…if I ever do [music], I would do it a different way," he says.
Teezy believes wholeheartedly in the healing power of God. The rapper was involved in two freak accidents as a child and was told that he would never be able to walk, let alone dance, again. But within minutes of the diagnosis, the rapper was doing flips out of the hospital.
"Miracles are real, that's why I try to share [the gospel], as much as I can — even through my music," he says.
Pulling inspiration from musical artists like Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, Busta Rhymes, and even fellow North Carolina rapper DaBaby, Teezy creates Christian remixes to popular songs, as well as make original music such as "Forgive ‘em" which gained traction when Christian podcast Know For Sure shouted it out, and of course, "Communion."
"I feel like a lot of [Christian rappers] now are approaching [music] that way too," he says, adding, "we're preaching the same message about Jesus Christ but approaching it differently to reach different people, areas, and cities."
Two-time GRAMMY-nominated Christian artist Yewande Dees, known as Wande, has had her faith-based rhymes reach the likes of people at Apple and Netflix. One of her top three most Shazamed songs, "Blessed Up," even found its way onto Michelle Obama’s 2020 playlist.
"What I hope to do is provide people who like rap music with something they can listen to without sacrificing their values."
Wande’s music led her to being cast on Oprah Winfrey’s unaired reality series "Young & Gospel" as well as TBNx "Girl Talk," a YouTube series featuring prominent young women influencing the faith. The 27-year-old says her music helps those making a transition and seeking to change their life.
Likewise, Atlanta-based rapper Markel Stenson, known as BigBreeze, uses trap sounds like "ratchet drums" and distorted 808s to rap about Jesus.
"When it comes to where I came from and spreading the gospel to people [living] in poverty, the trenches, or just low-income family housing," BigBreeze who’s big on relatability and has accumulated a following of believers searching for a sound similar to trap artists like Future and Young Thug. "I know what type of music attracts their ears and I know what they like to hear."\
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Trap music originated in the southern U.S. and many of its pioneers hail from Atlanta. Artists like BigBreeze are taking that influence and using trap's familiar beats to replace the often negative messaging in secular hip-hop with words and messages of hope.
Read more: A Guide To Southern Hip-Hop: Definitive Releases, Artists & Subgenres From The Dirty South
"People are tired of hearing about [sex and violence]," says BigBreeze, who was raised in hopeless conditions before finding God. "If I can push this sound and get [the word] to them, then maybe it'd be a stepping stone to them wanting to open the [Bible], step in church, or wanting to just see who Jesus is."
BigBreeze and his cohort both know their audience and are reflective of larger trends. The American Bible Society’s "State of the Bible 2023" study found that 64 percent of Black people were "far more likely to be committed to Christ than any other racial or ethnic group."
Crucifying The Messenger
The use of familiar or "worldly" beats and samples in the Christian music world isn’t a new practice. In fact, a handful of Christian artists have long explored the concept of meeting listeners at a relatable place.
Notably, Kirk Franklin and gospel group God's Property, along with Salt-N-Pepa’s Cheryl James, made "Stomp," which sampled Funkadelic’s "One Nation Under a Groove." The song snagged them two GRAMMY Awards in 1998: Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal and Best Rhythm & Blues Song. That same year, Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation also received a GRAMMY Award for Best Gospel Choir Or Chorus Album.
Franklin later revealed that he was ridiculed by the church about "Stomp." He also confessed to purposely missing out on attending the ceremony (where he’d win his first GRAMMY) in the previous year, out of fear of being judged or seeming too worldly. "There was a time that anything that didn’t look like church was the devil," Franklin shared on Shannon Sharpe’s podcast "Club Shay Shay."
Although intellectually outdated, this is a plight the new generation of Christian artists still grapples with today.
For these reasons, BigBreeze was advised to switch up his sound early in his career. "When I first started [making music], it was so different from [typical Christian music]," he recalls, adding,"If God is behind it, people are going to realize where your heart is at."
Florida-based Christian artist Alex Jean has similarly faced detractors. The 24-year-old has dealt with everything from devout Christians attempting to shut down his shows, to his comment sections being flooded with shady religious remarks.
"If they truly knew what God's will was, then they would understand what I do and actually know why music exists," Jean says.
A New Wave Of Followers
Many Christians believe the original purpose of music was intended to minister healing, peace, and inspiration to believers. Like most Christian artists, Jean samples popular rap songs and beats while using lyrics that glorify God. His heavy-bass voice recalling the late drill rapper Pop Smoke initially grabbed the attention of people; the message is what made them stay around.
"Music started in heaven, God created music and then it became twisted," Jean tells GRAMMY.com, adding "whenever I hop on a song or a sample, that's me introducing [listeners] to how music started and what music is."
In a little over a year, Jean’s songs "Walking In Peace" and "Forever In Faith" accumulated over 1.5 million views on TikTok. Jean even became the first Christian artist to perform for On The Radar Radio, a hip-hop platform notorious for viral freestyles from Drake, Central Cee, Ice Spice, and other influential rappers.
Jean believes the world is craving this type of "kingdom music."
"It fulfills human needs, it gives purpose, kills worry, adds real confidence, keeps you secure, strong — all the stuff everybody wants," says Jean, adding that spiritual music " gives you control over your life."
With over 130,000 posts with the hashtag Christian rap on TikTok, this genre continues to grow as listeners spread the holy versions of their favorite sounds. Yet, artists like Wande say none of these achievements surpass the moment when her Muslim father put aside his own religious beliefs to support her career.
"I feel like God used my gift of music to get me closer with my father who’s not with that Christian stuff," she says. "Now he comes to my shows that are at churches…it's been cool seeing how music can even transcend that barrier with us."
Wande has not only broken barriers within her family but she’s also breaking barriers within the predominantly male space, as she was the first female Christian rapper to perform on the main stage in 2022 at the Stellar Awards Gospel Music Show in Atlanta.
Though it hasn’t been easy for the Nigerian-born Christian rapper to break into this space, she says it's beautiful to see how much Christian rap has "grown and expanded."
"I think TikTok has been helping the genre tremendously, with so many different Christian artists going viral now," says Wande.
As far as representing her female Christian audience, Wande makes empowering songs such as, "Don’t Worry Bout It" that include stand-out lines like: "It's no division in the buildin', got the same goal / We on some different, we flowin' to save souls" and "if He said it, then it's done / Called it holy girl summer 'cause we chillin' with the Son."
Wande and her peers encourage people who aren't fans of trap or rap to focus on the message and how it’s changing the lives of believers and non-believers.
"I always say look at the fruit and how many people are being uplifted by the songs," she says.
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