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  The Voice of an Innovator After over a decade in the game, major names like Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri have traded their mics for executive suits and key positions within the record industry. So, finding an artist and an innovator still in the game after 13 years is noteworthy.  Enter holy hip-hop pioneer T-Bone, who drops his seventh solo release titled Bone-a-Fide, his first project in the last three years. The esteemed emcee spent some time with GOSPELflava.com to talk about his career and his latest release."I’ve just been staying in the lab and trying to take what I do to the next level," says T-Bone. "After the last record, I had pretty much made up in my mind that, unless I was going to be able to make the type of record that I really wanted to make and get A-list producers involved, I was almost ready to step away. I feel like if we’re doing music for God, we shouldn’t be following the world, we should be leading the world. I’ve always felt that my skills and what I do is not only just as good as 90% of the rap artists out there, but I believe I can rhyme better than most of them. After the exposure and the response from The Fighting Temptations, I felt like if we’re going to do this again, we’ve got to make it on a huge scale that’s going to be able to reach past the four walls of the church and reach this generation." Though on a three-year solo recording hiatus, T-Bone did manage to stay very busy, landing a prominent role in the feature length film that starred Beyonce Knowles and Cuba Gooding Jr.. "It was amazing. The original role of Bee-Z Briggs in The Fighting Temptations was actually written for Nelly," admits T-Bone. "They couldn’t work out whatever situation they had with him. So they ended up taking auditions with a lot of different people. I had just finished working with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on the Yolanda Adams’ record that we did together. So they knew who I was and they were blown away by the stuff I had been doing. They were doing the soundtrack and the score for the movie. They brought up my name to the people handling the audition. So I went in to audition up against guys like LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Petey Pablo, Redman, Method Man, and Keith Murray and ended up winning the part. It was a huge honor just to be able to do that. I really wanted to get [the part] so bad. I was memorizing lines and studying like crazy. Being in the movie was something that I felt was a part of God’s plan for my life. I’ve never just wanted to be known as a rapper. I’ve always been multi-talented and diverse." "I was blessed to be able to get the part. As soon as I was in there, most of the people there had already heard of me, which always surprises me," confesses T-Bone. "Obviously doing full-time Gospel music, you don’t ever think that a lot of these people have ever heard of you. I remember being at Beyonce’s birthday party and having cats like Killer Mike, Outkast, and others telling me that they have love for me. Mack 10 has a lot of my albums. It’s amazing. So, I said ‘God let me shine for you’ and I started putting my touch on the role and people were really impressed. During the whole process, I was able to build great relationships with Beyonce and her father, who was actually trying to sign me. Her family flew me out there for different things. I’ve been to church with them and we’ve done a lot of really cool things. I was able to minister to Cuba Gooding, Jr. every day. We shed tears together in prayer. I was able to actually lead Lil’ Zane to the Lord and lead one of the O’Jays back to the Lord. Everywhere I go, I’m a walking billboard for Christ and I try to make sure that that light is represented in darkness." Fast forward to 2005, and the California native is back with a brand new release. While the album is a welcomed return for the pioneer, it is not without controversy. The first element of controversy? That would be the album cover.
"When we were done with the record, me and Buster sat down and were like ‘we need a cover now that explains everything that we have on this record.’ We need a picture that represents revolution. This was actually an album cover that I had in my mind for about two years. This was the perfect opportunity because we wanted something that represented militancy and the struggle. We wanted something that represented a person who was loved by the people. Most of all, we wanted something that represented revolution. Most people know that Che Guevara was a Latin revolutionist. I figured that since I’m Hispanic and I could put my hair down now, I could put the beret on and we could make this thing look real. Plus, it’s an icon shot that everybody will be able to relate with." "In no way is this album about communism," continues T-Bone. "We’re not trying to portray murder or who Che Guevara was. This record is a lot of metaphors and parables pointing people towards Christ. This is just a way to represent revolution. We’re here to make change. Everyone who sees the cover right away thinks militancy and that’s what it’s about. We’re here to fight for what we believe in and change this pop culture, the way that they think, the way that we’re looked at, and the way that things are done. We’re trying to be relevant to this generation and represent revolution." "The controversy is not even so much amongst people in America. It’s among my people," states T-Bone. "Half of Latinos love Che and half of them hate him. The part of Che that I identify with is that he’s Latino. I identify with the part of Che when he was that young 18-year old kid that got on the motorcycle and traveled across Latin America to see what his country was like. As he traveled, he began to see the needs of the people. He began to see the injustice that was going on and how people were being treated badly. He wanted to make a change. He became a revolutionist and ended up hooking up with Fidel Castro, which is the reason that a lot of people don’t like him, because they feel like he became a dictator. What people don’t realize is that he left Fidel because once they started getting the power; he wasn’t about having the money associated with it. He’s one of the few guys in communism that actually reverted around from what most of them turn into. He went a separate way and went back into the fields working with the people, fighting for, and eventually dying for, what he believed was right. Those are the comparison between he and I. I’m ready to die for what I believe in and I’m about my people." Perhaps, the other noticeable flair from this project is its target audience.  "This is a 100% crossover album," say the rapper/actor. "People know that T-Bone before was in your face with the gospel and with Jesus and all that and I’m still the same way. If you come see me in concert, I’m going to preach the house down. I’m all about leading people to Christ. I feel like you can’t really question where my heart is because I’m one of the pioneers of the game. It’s not like I’m some dude that just jumped in and I started doing gospel hip-hop for a year or two and now I’m trying to cross over. I’ve tried to cross gospel hip-hop over every imaginable way that I know how. The bottom line is, as long as you’re shouting Jesus, Jesus, Jesus on every song, it’s going to be impossible. Yeah, they may play one or two songs but even Kanye [West] didn’t come out with ‘Jesus Walks’ first. Kanye had to win the love and respect of the people. Then once you’ve got that respect, [the radio] will play what anything you want to play.""When Christians hear the word ‘crossover’, they freak out and wonder what does it mean? Does it mean that I’m no longer going to represent what I’m about? Does that mean that I’m going to have girls in my videos half-naked and shaking their booty? Does it mean that my beliefs have changed? No, my beliefs are still the same." "Here’s how I explain it. For fifteen years, I was in my ministry. Now, God has called me to my evangelistic ministry, which is stepping outside the four walls of the church and reaching this generation. Hip-hop is the number one selling form of music. What hurts me is that right now, 50 Cent is leading more kids to hell than we are leading kids to Christ. So something has got to be done. I’m not the kind of guy to sit around and just twirl my fingers. If no one else is going to step up to the plate and lead a revolution, I’m going to do it." "The question is do you have the skills to lead the revolution?" questions the artist. "A lot people say, ‘T, you’re the chosen one. You’re the one that’s supposed to go carry the torch. God’s opened up all of these doors for you in the mainstream...’ So, I feel an obligation to do this and that God has given me a mantle to do this. I’m not just crossing over. I’m taking the Cross over into the mainstream. Everything that I do is pointing people towards Christ. I may not put it directly in your face but at that end of the day, everyone is going to know what I’m talking about. We still say Jesus on the album. We may not say it as much as we did [in the past] but we still represent. The bottom line is that we’re trying to be a light in dark places."  After thirteen years in the game, T-Bone readily recognizes the anomaly of still being a vibrant force in the industry."Normally your pioneers are gone at this point in the game. I’ve suffered through all of the stuff that pioneers go through. We’re the ones that get ridiculed. We’re the ones that get talked about. I was kicked out of many churches when I started. If you do Gospel hip-hop today, you’re welcomed with open arms. I come from a time where they would stop everything. They would stop the cassette and say ‘Get out of my church. This isn’t from God. This is demonic music.’ And I count it a privilege to have been able to be a pioneer and open up the doors and go through all of that hell and that craziness so that kids nowadays can just walk through the doors. Now you can go into a Christian bookstore or a church and see a gospel hip-hop section. I count it even more of a blessing that God has allowed me to be around for this long. We all know that pioneers and careers, in general, just don’t last this long. I’ve been doing this full-time for thirteen years." "People ask me ‘what is your key to success? Why do you think you’re still here?’ The bottom line is that I’m far from perfect. I screw up every single day. I commit adultery on God. I cheat on Him and I do bad. But at the end of the day, God knows my heart and He knows that I love Him. There’s a scripture that says ‘Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all of His righteousness and all of these things will be added unto you.’ That’s what I do. My mentality isn’t to look for a big Mercedes, a big house, a record deal, or stardom. My whole thing since day one has just been about my Father’s business. I’m imperfect but I just want to try and be as perfect as I can for Him. I just want to be a mouthpiece for Him. That’s been the key for me. I’ve just been focused on that and God knows when you’re for real about that." "I think that this is why God has blessed me because He knows that I don’t do this for any other reason," continues T-Bone. "I’ve performed in front of a million people on the steps of the White House. I may do 30,000 people in a stadium with Acquire the Fire and the next day I’m at a place that may have like 200 kids because I’m that type of dude. I’m not the kind of person to forget where he came from and say that I’m too big for this and too big for that. I remember where I came from. I remember coming from a small church. I try to take the mentality and ask how blessed would I have been if a rapper that was at my status now would’ve come and blessed my little 200-seat church? What would that have done for me? How would that have encouraged me? So I try to do what nobody else will do. I try to be the exception." As one of the trendsetters in holy hip-hop, T-Bone is still concerned regarding the state of the genre. "There’s not a lot of a talent period," admits T-Bone. "I’ll be the first to say it. A lot of gospel & Christian hip-hop is garbage. That’s why for years I’ve been like, ‘Don’t even associate me with that.’ As soon as you say [Christian hip-hop], the first thing people think is if they heard Joe Schmo do a show or saw him on TV and he sounds horrible, a lot of times you only get one chance to make a first impression. If that was horrible and then you come in saying there’s this gospel rapper named T-Bone, I already know what that stuff sounds like. When you say ‘Gospel Hip-Hop", it’s almost like an oxymoron. People already  have their guards up and they’re thinking this guy’s gonna say ‘Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’ If we ever want to go somewhere as Gospel Hip-Hop and do something for God, we’ve got to stop being mediocre. If you can just put a few words together and you’re average, do it for your neighborhood or for your church. But don’t go out and try to get a record deal if you’re not ready to do it. If you’re not ready to compete with the best, then don’t step to it. The Bible doesn’t just say play. It says play skillfully. I think that’s something that’s lacking but I think it’s getting better in Gospel music as a whole but I think in Gospel Hip-Hop, it’s still lacking a lot."Throughout his career, T-Bone has worked with a number of secular artists, which has caused controversy in the eyes of many. One of the most noteworthy of these collaborations was his partnership with KRS-One in 2002. "Most people would be scared to be with him," says T-Bone. "My mentality is the exact opposite. When I get into the studio with guys like that, I want to show them how God’s people can do it. I’m not intimidated and I’m not scared. I’m ready to step to the plate and get to business. A lot of people would have been really intimidated to do stuff with KRS-One, Mack 10, Mista Grimm, and the different people that I’ve done stuff with. That was definitely a highlight of my career to step to the mic with a pioneer of the hip-hop game period who I grew up listening to. For him to give me props and to be able to hold my own with him, that says a lot to me." "I don’t really care what people think," admits the California native. "I’m used to getting talked about. When you’re in the limelight and you’re doing big things, there are a lot haters and blockers out there. There are a lot of jealous people. It’s pretty sad that even amongst Christians, there are a lot of people that get joy out of your misery. At a young age, I used to cry every day. I love people. When my ministry first started years ago, I was wondering why all of these people hating on me? The worst thing was that I didn’t even know them. I would read articles about me. I would hear different pastors or people saying things about me behind the pulpit. My pastor once told me that when you’re in the limelight, you open yourself up for criticism. I just had to learn that people are going to be people and not everyone is going to be the way you are. When you know that God has ordained you and called you to do something, you could care less what anybody else thinks, as long as He’s happy. I went through a phase where I wanted to preach about what I feel is right. Then people would start saying things. I think that anyone that has been in ministry for a while has gone through this. Then I started preaching what the people wanted to hear. When you do that and they still talk about you, you get to the place where you just do what God calls you to do and if they don’t like it, good." "I’ve always loved people. I’ve never been the kind of person to judge because God has had a lot of grace on me. When I screw up, He still loves me. When I make a mistake, He’s still there. I’m like Jesus was. I love the sinner but I hate the sin. I look at when KRS-One asked me to do a song with him. He said that there are a lot of people that wouldn’t work with him because he’s not a Christian. I asked myself what would Jesus do? We are all walking around with these bracelets but what would He do? I started thinking about how Jesus went to the tax collectors and the murderers and the prostitutes and He touched the people who were prohibited to be touched. He touched the people who had leprosy who had to walk around screaming ‘Unclean, Unclean’. He loved the unlovable. I was where KRS was one day. I wasn’t born saved. I was a sinner too. I used to curse God. I hated God because I was raised amongst the streets and within a family that tried to force me to go to church because they wanted me to do good and I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to go to the parties. I wanted to hang with the homies and do all of that. So I was where he was. But what would God do in this situation? Would he turn around because I’m not a believer or would he continue to chase after me? So I said, ‘Kris, it would be an honor to do a song with you.’ Especially when the guy is calling out trying to do something right in the name of God. He’s saying ‘I’m trying to make a gospel record. I’m trying to do something right.’ I’ve got to encourage my brother when he’s doing that. So when I get with guys like KRS, Mack 10, Mista Grimm, even with Chino XL, it’s not about just me doing the music. It’s about what can I offer them while I’m there with them." T-Bone looks to regularly impact these major players with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. "I remember Kris and I would have multiple Bible studies," recalls T-Bone. "Before we stepped out of the booth, he said, ‘T, I just want to tell you that you’ve been a huge blessing in my life and you’re a giver man. There’s something different about you, man.’ I told him that the difference is Jesus. I wrapped my arms around him. God told me that this brother just needs a hug and I began to pray for him. When we got ready to step out of the booth and I let him go, there were tears running all down his eyes. He just wiped the tears. He was trying to just walk out of the booth and look like nothing had happened. The same thing happened with Mack 10. People know him from Westside Connection. People know him from being a gangsta. At the same time, when we talked, I started realizing that there are a lot of similarities between us. We’re both from the streets. He was like ‘I’m trying to go to church. I want to start doing good.’ So here I was encouraging him. I said to him, ‘we should do a song together. Maybe we can use our gifts to reach more people together. This could be a way that God could also use you in my ministry to give me the street credibility that I need.’ When a lot of the gang members see Mack 10 on the record that puts a stamp of approval on me. He was going through a lot of stuff in his relationship, his workplace, and in his music. I was able to just come and be a light in his life. Three weeks later, as the result normally is, I was able to lead Mack 10 to the feet of Jesus. We went to a restaurant to eat Cuban food. He was going through a lot of stuff. I had been ministering to him for weeks. I asked him if he was ready to do this. After about an hour of talking, he said, ‘Yeah’. We walked outside and there were fans going crazy in Hollywood. We moved over to the side. I wrapped my arms around him and I said, ‘Man, the Bible says if you confess with your mouth Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead you’ll be saved. Do you want to do it, Mack?’ He said, ‘Yeah’. I put my arms around him, led him through the sinner’s prayer, and tears came down his eyes. That was another highlight of my career and my ministry to be able to lead people like this to the feet of Christ. That’s what the end result is about for me and how can you argue with that?" In addition to working with Mack 10 on Bone-a-Fide, T-Bone works with the controversial figure, L.A.-based rapper, Chino XL. "I met Chino through Sway and Tech from the world famous Wake Up Show," says T-Bone. "Chino actually signed to Sway and Tech about a year and a half ago. He’s been making huge waves out in L.A.. He’s one of the most respected L.A. rappers now. He’s one of the best-kept secrets and most underrated rappers out there. Eminem himself said, ‘That’s the one dude I wouldn’t battle.’ He’s known as the lyrical MC that will come and crush you. He’s known for doing that and for talking about people and that kind of stuff. Chino and I have a great relationship going. Then I started realizing that this guy has a lot of love for God too. A lot of them just don’t know how to use their talents towards God. He told me, ‘Man, I love God. My baby daughter was diagnosed with cancer and she had a tumor the size of a grapefruit in her head or her stomach. When that happened, I prayed to God and told him that if He would just heal my daughter, I will never doubt you and I will know that you are real and will always give you praise for everything that I do.’ Guess what? God healed his daughter, so when we got together, it was easy for him to agree to do a song together. Now, it wasn’t easy as he is so used to cursing. He was amazed that with this, as it sounds like regular hip-hop. I told him that it is and that this is just conversational music. There’s no right or wrong way to talk to God. So many times we make it difficult by saying ‘Oh Lord, you are so great. Lord we worship thy name.’ If you’re from the streets, you can just say, ‘What’s crackin’ God. I love you Lord.’ He understands that. If there was only one language to speak to Him in, how can God hear the prayers of America and yet hear the prayers of those in Latin America who speak Spanish? How will understand the Chinese when they pray in Chinese? God speaks all languages. He speaks the language of love. I shared all of that with Chino and He was like ‘Let’s do it man’. We’re talking about doing another song where he’s like this guy going out and the devil is trying to make him do bad and I’m like an angel trying to pull him back to the other side. It’s like a spiritual warfare song. This ain’t the end of Bone and Chino XL. You’ll be hearing more from us." The lead single from the new album is a song that expresses T-Bone’s feelings about haters and the future. "The single that we have out now, ‘Can I Live?’ is about us learning to get along with each other," says T-Bone. "If you can’t get along with me, then at least let me do what God has called me to do. Let me fulfill my destiny and my purpose. It’s also about not judging a book by its cover. There’s a lot of people that see us and they say, ‘How could God use him? Look, he’s got his hair braided. He sags his pants. He’s riding around in a low-low with 22-inch rims spinning. Look at the way he talks.’ All that I’m doing is giving back the only way I know how. I wasn’t raised in the South where I did country music. I wasn’t raised in Detroit where I learned how to sing and do R&B music. I’m a street kid and this is the only language that I know how to speak. This is the only way I know how to give back and you can’t hate me for that."  T-Bone has also filmed a video for this single. It has no shortage of star power in it, as is becoming trademark for the emcee also known as "Boney Bone Corleone"."We just did a new movie called ‘Rumble’. That’s where I met Leila Ali, on the set of the movie," confesses T-Bone. "She and I hit it off instantly. We became really good friends. We were having lunch one day. I mentioned to her that I was shooting a video and wanted her to play the mom in the video. The first thing she said was, ‘Yeah, that’s cool. I just don’t want to be a video ho.’ And I laughed but then I realized that it was sad because that is the truth of what we think of when we think of women in music videos. So I started explaining to her that this is a positive record. We still have to put the images out there that people are familiar with. We still have to put the cars, the rims, the bling, and all of that out there. But we don’t have the different things that those videos have. We’re not glorifying money or any of that. We’re trying to point people towards God. When she read the script, she really felt what we were doing. She heard "Can I Live?" and found out that it was produced by Darkchild, she said ‘This is amazing!! Where can I sign to get this thing done?!’ We’ve got her in the video. Ron Artest is in the video. I just finished a song with him for his new album. We’re trying to keep it crackin’ like pistachios." Making big waves in the secular hip-hop community is certainly news with the holy hip-hop community. Some could draw comparisons between T-Bone’s Bone-a-fide effort and Ma$e’s Welcome Back project, which launched his return to the hip-hop industry. However, T-Bone, sees very few parallels. "There’s a big difference. Ma$e didn’t come from a history of the church and pioneering and being involved with gospel music. When he got saved, it was a different thing. He got saved out of the secular world. I think that Ma$e, to be honest with you, just lacked a lot of education. At first, he came out saying ‘I’m a Christian now and I don’t’ believe that rap is good. I believe that all rap is evil, including gospel rap.’ As a matter of fact, we were slated to do a show together and he ended up saying, ‘If this guy T-Bone shows up, I can’t be a part of it because that’s gospel rap and I don’t endorse it.’ I thought that was cool. The guy maybe needs time to change. When you come from such a horrid background and you associate rap with the orgies you’ve had with all of these women, or the money that you made and it gave you evil things, then I can understand how he may have needed a season to separate himself completely and then God was going to speak to him. Then, at the same time, he started condemning a lot of the people that were in the industry with him. He was going around saying what they were doing was wrong and they were going to hell and all of that. Then, the next thing you know, Ma$e is back in the game doing what? Rapping. So, that’s where a lot of the secular artists were writing about him in Vibe. People had a lot of bad things to say about him, calling him a hypocrite because he started off saying one thing and ended up doing another. That’s where it’s a little bit different between he and I. I’ve been on the same page of representin’ Christ and have never veered from that. That would be almost like me saying I’m a Christian and then all of a sudden, I come out with a Muslim record. I’ve pretty much stayed consistent in what I do. I think that’s why people don’t have a problem with me crossing over because they’re not worried about where my heart is and where I’m going. They know I’ve been consistent with this thing the whole way, so they know what I’m about."  Though T-Bone has met and established camaraderie with numerous secular artists, he is fully aware of the difficult nature of taking the gospel into the secular hip-hop culture."I think it’s going to be really difficult," states T-Bone. "It won’t be difficult as far as the music goes because the music is undeniable. That’s why it was so important for me to make a great record. That’s why I couldn’t just work with Joe Schmo. In order to be the best, you’ve got to go get the best. So we went and got Darkchild, Fred & Rodney Jerkins. They’ve done Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Destiny’s Child, Mary J. Blige... they’ve worked with everybody." Then we went out and got my man Bosko, who actually worked with Kanye [West] on his new record. He’s worked with Lil’ Jon and produced everyone from E-40 to 2Pac. We got Fredwreck, who did the Mack 10 joint. A lot of people may not know that Fredwreck is Dr. Dre’s right hand man. A lot of those hits that you heard from Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, Xzhibit, and Eminem, he’s done a lot of those. We got Buster and Shavoni on there. They are my people and my family. God has used them to break gospel urban acts into the mainstream. They were a part of Kirk Franklin, Trin-I-tee 5:7, and Yolanda Adams; major people who have crossed over. They also did The Prince of Egypt soundtracks. We’ve got Hallway Productions. They just did the new Ice Cube song for the latest XXX movie. Then you’ve got Warryn Campbell. He’s got Snoop Dogg’s single on the radio. He produced all of the Mary Mary stuff. He’s got two songs on Missy Elliott’s joint. We wanted to get people who understood what we were trying to do." "I had to make a record that was undeniable, so that when the world would here it, they would say that this was great. One of the things I’ve learned is that people don’t really care what you’re talking about, as long as it’s good. A lot of people said that Kanye couldn’t be big because he’s not rapping about dealing, hustling, and all of that other stuff. Kanye proved everybody wrong. His music could sell and he didn’t have to talk about what everybody else talked about because it was good. That’s the key. It’ll be tough to infiltrate. Anytime you’re talking about Jesus and positivity, especially in hjp-hop, we’re definitely the underdog. I feel like hip-hop is looking for that hero. Parents are sick and tired of all of the parental advisory stickers. Radio is sick of having to get all of these edits and all of the evilness that it represents. Clubs are tired of having artists where there ends up being a shoot out. So, promoting this music the right way will be the key. If people start catching on and it starts selling, people will say, ‘well I want to do what he’s doing’. Kanye made certain things popular. Snoop made Crypt walking popular. When everybody’s doing it and it’s selling, everybody jumps on the bandwagon. It’s just about making stuff that everybody’s going to want to be a part of and doing it in a way that’s not cheesy." As a trendsetter and an innovator, T-Bone makes another bold step with launching this crossover effort. It’s bold. It’s real. It’s relevant and it’s effective. In a word, it’s Bone-a-Fide. Email This To A Friend
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The strong collabos continue as LaShawn 'Big Shiz' Daniels sings the hook for the album’s smoothest cut "Can I Live". With Fred Jerkins of the famous Darkchild production family handling production duties, it’s another hit in the making. The Darkchild team laces "Follow T" with a party-infused track that....