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  Hip hop artist Sean Slaughter writes regularly-appearing column for Gospelflava.com on the wide-ranging topic of Gospel hip hop. February 29, 2004 Welcome to Hip-Hop as I see it. When I first got saved, the group I was first introduced to was The Cross Movement and their CD, Heaven's Mentality. Little did I know then that holy hip hop had been doing its thing for a minute; and doing it well. In the days of hip hop where Tribe Called Quest, Kane, Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, De la Soul, Public Enemy and so on were the big dogs on the court, holy hip hop was quietly sneaking into the game and trying to score points. This brings us to the Dynamic Twins —innovators in this holy rap game who have made a huge impact on the globalization of holy hip hop, whether you know it not. Let me son you real quick.  I had a chance to holla at Noel, one half of the Dynamic Twins. His partner Robbie is also his brother. They grew up in the Bronx but moved to Cali in the mid 80's. These dudes were doing this music since 88'! Yes, holy hip hop was around in 1988. Their first group was called JT and the Boys and they released their first album around 89'. They got their break when they went from being dancers for Crystal Lewis (who is a huge Christian Contemporary Artist), to spittin' in her concerts and recording on her album. They traveled with Lewis across the nation doing about 100 concerts a year, spittin' the gospel.But even though they had national exposure, the acceptance of HHH wasn't close to what it is now. In order for them to be accepted in certain venues, they had to do shows with pop artists. This is back in the days and when DC Talk and Carman were considered gully Christian hip hop. They must have thought these guys were the N.W.A of Gospel rap! Eventually they slowed up to get the biz side of things correct and in 97' they dropped Above the Ground. They next time they released something was an EP in September of 2003, and now they're back ready to bring that heat. The new album is entitled It's Not Done, and the few times I spoke to Noel, he was busy writing for the new joint. They call the album It's Not Done because a lot of dudes who were in there era of HHH have bowed out or retired. Noel says "if God ain't told you to stop, don't stop. Your calling ain't over yet". And these cats feel like they still got more to son you on. And not in a prideful way, but Noel says he wants this album to "teach" more than just tearin' you down with words. The Twins place their life in the album through stories and situations and allow you to learn lessons from their mistakes. They want you walking away from the album seeing God in everything. And oh yeah, they are Playstation fanatics! They take the holy grail of machines with them everywhere and hold crazy tournaments. They also love going to the arcade, finding the best players and teaching them a lesson for putting a quarter in the same machine they're playing. Their favorite games are NFL Blitz, Madden 2k3, Def Jam Vendetta and Socom Navy Seals. Speaking to Noel gave me the impression that he's a real chill dude; the type cat you just kick it with and cool out. So look out for It's Not Done by the Dynamic Twins and support the cats that made you want to Gospel rap. Sean Editor's Note: Also look for the Dynamic Twins in an upcoming gospel rap project from Dallas Cowboys' receiver Raghib "Rocket"Ismail later this year.
February 29, 2004 June 2003, July 2003, September 2003, October 2003, January 2004 |
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