Life Teen Interview
This next month www.LifeTeen.com is launching their new website and with it their first feature: A Righteous B interview by Matt Smith. Here's a little sneak peak for ya'lls:
1. Before you got into hip hop, you were an accomplished singer and
songwriter. What caused your shift to hip hop?
I don't know if it's accurate to say I was "an accomplished singer/ songwriter", though I did pen such classics as the "Growing Pains Theme Song" and "Bridge over Troubled Water". Most people don't know about that chapter of my life and so I keep it tucked away in the shadows. But as far as the shift to hip hop and all that - I was working in a real ghetto slice of New York doing youth ministry and rap was all my kids listened to. I mean I always enjoyed listening to hip hop - but these peeps were saturated in it. I would always joke around freestyling with them and they would laugh because I sucked (and still do!). But one day, we were downtown and this guy had a beat machine. He was making his own beats and rapping over them. ...Well I fell in love (not with the guy, but the thought of maki ng my own stuff). My wife bought me a beat machine for Christmas and I spent the next year in my basement till the wee hours of the morning every night dropping beats, rapping, even working with some old 70's turntables. It was more of a fun thing than anything else...but I just kept writing songs - we'd be doing them during homilies and life nights. It was cool using that kind of art to draw kids in.
2. Rap music mentions God more than any other music genre on the radio. And
at the same time, rap music is often violent, materialistic, and
disrespectful towards women. How did this happen?
I think the thing that draws people to hip hop (besides being something you can shake your body to) is it's authenticity. Rap is the opposite of political America. It's not some humble guy kissing babies thanking corporate America for sponsorship. - It's a guy with a mic - saying "look, this is about me - I made the album, I wrote the lyrics, pay me the money - this is my life". Now that's not always a very pretty way to promote yourself - but the rock star who does the occasional "farm aid" concert is not really a whole lot better. The problem comes when mc's start talking about drinking, smoking, shooting peeps up and then singing a song to Jesus on the same album. I think it's hypocritical and it bugs me. But it's really some guy living in major sin and still feeling a need for God that he w ants to respond to. It's luke warm living. But our church is full of people like that - people who lives of crazy sin and then show up to sit in a pew for an hour and feel all better. These people are doing the same thing - they just know how to hide it better (namely not making a rap album about it)
3. Christian music comes in all flavors. There's endless Christian pop,
rock, punk, rap core, and even daeth metal. But still there are two genres
under represented in Christiam music: country and rap. What's your take on
that?
I think it's coming. I don't know about country music (though I love Johnny Cash) - but Hip Hop music is taking over the world. It's influence is everywhere from Mc Donalds commercials to mainstream rock. I think more and more of it is coming up in Christian Music. It's just for so long Christian rap was so corny. Some guy like, "Carmen" would write a "rap song" for his album and moms would buy it for their kids. Meanwhile their kids were listening to Public Enemy and cheeziness of the Christian rap didn't do it for them. But the whole game is changing - hip hop is at a different place and there are amazingly talented mc's all over the place spitting for the church.
4. Music depends on pioneers keep things fresh and exciting. In hip hop
today, who are the pioneers? And who's doing the same old same old?
Like I said, the game is changing - I think people respond in a big way when artists start pushing the envelope of what hip hop is. You got all kinds of ethnic people rapping, you got all kinds of instuments, and all kinds of breeding of other kinds of musical genre's with rap. It's pretty cool. Which is we are seeing 50 year old business men bopping to "Hey Ya!" I think pioneers in hip hop are people being authentic to who they are - not just the gang banger stereotype. People like Outkast, The Roots, Neptunes, Alicia Keys - are doing such innovative new things in the secular world (though not alway in the realm of sound lyrics). But we got some killer Christian artist doing their part in the hip hop world such as John Rueben, Mars Ill, Camp Quest, L.A. Symphony, Pigeon John. I think people do ing the same old stagnant crap is anyone doing song after song about ice, cars, and booty. People have had enough of that. Some hip hop purists say hip hop is changing too much and is loosing it's roots - but they're dumb.
(please mention musical direction as well as lyrics)
5. Inside your liner notes, you have a retro-fitted senior yearbook picture.
Bemeath your mug it reads "Most Likely to be Black." I thought it was funny,
and it brought up an interesting phenomena. What's it like being a white
rapper?
I have to admit I don't always see myself as white. I often times look in the mirror and see Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons. Honestly, sometimes being a white rapper - some people automatically assume what I'm doing is "cute" and that the music is going to be lame. And sometimes it is lame - but that's not cause i'm white. To me it's fun though being a white boy in a minority driven genre. I think humor goes a long way to tear down walls of racial tension or prejudice. But honestly racism kills me, I really have a lack patience and Godly virtue when I hear someone make racist remarks. So it blows my mind when someone thinks I have wierd racial issues. 3 of my siblings are adopted - my brother's black, one of my sisters is hispanic and the other is black also - so I got it in me a lil sumpin sumpin through osmosis.
6. I know you are a proud Catholic. Have you always been on fire for your
faith?
I had a conversion pretty young - in like 7th grade. Since then my heart has always in the grasp. And I feel like God really gave me the gift of zeal as a young person. I had my moments of deadness in highschool - but just couldn't ever shake God. And still nothing fires me up like Jesus Christ at work in our church.
7. When you're not making albums, you are a LIFE TEEN Youth Minister. What's
it like doing both? You're a dad too?
It's difficult and at times I really struggle with balance in my life. It's at those times when my wife or someone reminds me that before all the "stuff" I do - my reason for existence is to be a lover of God. After that comes my family and then everything else is the small stuff. Don't get me wrong writing music and doing Life Teen are passions for me - but can't compare to chilling with my wife and kids.
8. Although your album is tight and professional, you make an effort to not
yourself too seriously. Why?
It's just kind of who I am. I like to think I'm really funny - but sometimes I just come across really stupid. Either way I don't really care. I know I'm not Dre or Biggie - I'm just a dude who likes to rap. I just tried to make the album me - authentic
9. In listening to your album, I was impressed because the album seems to be
well thought out. You seem to have a clear vision behind the album. How does
this album play a part in your greater vision?
The Theme I tried to come around is that of Revolution. The Pope has talked over and over again about this "spring time of the church" and I feel like we as a church are aching for it. My thought with the album is that revoultion starts with me - not with our country or even big youth conferences. My heart needs to change. And sometimes that's a violent thing. But who cares - bring it on. I just feel tired of people talking talking and red tape - blah blah blah, I just know I want to be a part of what the Spirit is doing in the church. To me that's not only exciting but fun
10. Any last words?
10% of all my album money goes to urban churches. The other 90% goes directly to the "feed my 3 fat children" fund. So stop by - purchase an album or just say "hey" at www.RighteousB.com
1. Before you got into hip hop, you were an accomplished singer and
songwriter. What caused your shift to hip hop?
I don't know if it's accurate to say I was "an accomplished singer/ songwriter", though I did pen such classics as the "Growing Pains Theme Song" and "Bridge over Troubled Water". Most people don't know about that chapter of my life and so I keep it tucked away in the shadows. But as far as the shift to hip hop and all that - I was working in a real ghetto slice of New York doing youth ministry and rap was all my kids listened to. I mean I always enjoyed listening to hip hop - but these peeps were saturated in it. I would always joke around freestyling with them and they would laugh because I sucked (and still do!). But one day, we were downtown and this guy had a beat machine. He was making his own beats and rapping over them. ...Well I fell in love (not with the guy, but the thought of maki ng my own stuff). My wife bought me a beat machine for Christmas and I spent the next year in my basement till the wee hours of the morning every night dropping beats, rapping, even working with some old 70's turntables. It was more of a fun thing than anything else...but I just kept writing songs - we'd be doing them during homilies and life nights. It was cool using that kind of art to draw kids in.
2. Rap music mentions God more than any other music genre on the radio. And
at the same time, rap music is often violent, materialistic, and
disrespectful towards women. How did this happen?
I think the thing that draws people to hip hop (besides being something you can shake your body to) is it's authenticity. Rap is the opposite of political America. It's not some humble guy kissing babies thanking corporate America for sponsorship. - It's a guy with a mic - saying "look, this is about me - I made the album, I wrote the lyrics, pay me the money - this is my life". Now that's not always a very pretty way to promote yourself - but the rock star who does the occasional "farm aid" concert is not really a whole lot better. The problem comes when mc's start talking about drinking, smoking, shooting peeps up and then singing a song to Jesus on the same album. I think it's hypocritical and it bugs me. But it's really some guy living in major sin and still feeling a need for God that he w ants to respond to. It's luke warm living. But our church is full of people like that - people who lives of crazy sin and then show up to sit in a pew for an hour and feel all better. These people are doing the same thing - they just know how to hide it better (namely not making a rap album about it)
3. Christian music comes in all flavors. There's endless Christian pop,
rock, punk, rap core, and even daeth metal. But still there are two genres
under represented in Christiam music: country and rap. What's your take on
that?
I think it's coming. I don't know about country music (though I love Johnny Cash) - but Hip Hop music is taking over the world. It's influence is everywhere from Mc Donalds commercials to mainstream rock. I think more and more of it is coming up in Christian Music. It's just for so long Christian rap was so corny. Some guy like, "Carmen" would write a "rap song" for his album and moms would buy it for their kids. Meanwhile their kids were listening to Public Enemy and cheeziness of the Christian rap didn't do it for them. But the whole game is changing - hip hop is at a different place and there are amazingly talented mc's all over the place spitting for the church.
4. Music depends on pioneers keep things fresh and exciting. In hip hop
today, who are the pioneers? And who's doing the same old same old?
Like I said, the game is changing - I think people respond in a big way when artists start pushing the envelope of what hip hop is. You got all kinds of ethnic people rapping, you got all kinds of instuments, and all kinds of breeding of other kinds of musical genre's with rap. It's pretty cool. Which is we are seeing 50 year old business men bopping to "Hey Ya!" I think pioneers in hip hop are people being authentic to who they are - not just the gang banger stereotype. People like Outkast, The Roots, Neptunes, Alicia Keys - are doing such innovative new things in the secular world (though not alway in the realm of sound lyrics). But we got some killer Christian artist doing their part in the hip hop world such as John Rueben, Mars Ill, Camp Quest, L.A. Symphony, Pigeon John. I think people do ing the same old stagnant crap is anyone doing song after song about ice, cars, and booty. People have had enough of that. Some hip hop purists say hip hop is changing too much and is loosing it's roots - but they're dumb.
(please mention musical direction as well as lyrics)
5. Inside your liner notes, you have a retro-fitted senior yearbook picture.
Bemeath your mug it reads "Most Likely to be Black." I thought it was funny,
and it brought up an interesting phenomena. What's it like being a white
rapper?
I have to admit I don't always see myself as white. I often times look in the mirror and see Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons. Honestly, sometimes being a white rapper - some people automatically assume what I'm doing is "cute" and that the music is going to be lame. And sometimes it is lame - but that's not cause i'm white. To me it's fun though being a white boy in a minority driven genre. I think humor goes a long way to tear down walls of racial tension or prejudice. But honestly racism kills me, I really have a lack patience and Godly virtue when I hear someone make racist remarks. So it blows my mind when someone thinks I have wierd racial issues. 3 of my siblings are adopted - my brother's black, one of my sisters is hispanic and the other is black also - so I got it in me a lil sumpin sumpin through osmosis.
6. I know you are a proud Catholic. Have you always been on fire for your
faith?
I had a conversion pretty young - in like 7th grade. Since then my heart has always in the grasp. And I feel like God really gave me the gift of zeal as a young person. I had my moments of deadness in highschool - but just couldn't ever shake God. And still nothing fires me up like Jesus Christ at work in our church.
7. When you're not making albums, you are a LIFE TEEN Youth Minister. What's
it like doing both? You're a dad too?
It's difficult and at times I really struggle with balance in my life. It's at those times when my wife or someone reminds me that before all the "stuff" I do - my reason for existence is to be a lover of God. After that comes my family and then everything else is the small stuff. Don't get me wrong writing music and doing Life Teen are passions for me - but can't compare to chilling with my wife and kids.
8. Although your album is tight and professional, you make an effort to not
yourself too seriously. Why?
It's just kind of who I am. I like to think I'm really funny - but sometimes I just come across really stupid. Either way I don't really care. I know I'm not Dre or Biggie - I'm just a dude who likes to rap. I just tried to make the album me - authentic
9. In listening to your album, I was impressed because the album seems to be
well thought out. You seem to have a clear vision behind the album. How does
this album play a part in your greater vision?
The Theme I tried to come around is that of Revolution. The Pope has talked over and over again about this "spring time of the church" and I feel like we as a church are aching for it. My thought with the album is that revoultion starts with me - not with our country or even big youth conferences. My heart needs to change. And sometimes that's a violent thing. But who cares - bring it on. I just feel tired of people talking talking and red tape - blah blah blah, I just know I want to be a part of what the Spirit is doing in the church. To me that's not only exciting but fun
10. Any last words?
10% of all my album money goes to urban churches. The other 90% goes directly to the "feed my 3 fat children" fund. So stop by - purchase an album or just say "hey" at www.RighteousB.com
posted by Righteous B at 8:11 PM
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