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Gospel Rapper, SOULutions

Hip-hop has always been a part of Mark J's life. While growing up in Jamaica Queens during the '80s, Mark J recalls having classic freestyle battles with friends and bumping shoulders with the neighborhood's rap star, LL Cool J. But after getting into trouble several times as a youth, his family decided that he would have a brighter future in Atlanta. He soon got into the church and developed a passion for ministering. By combining his love for hip-hop and religion, Mark J has become a leading voice in gospel rap.

"At first, all of my raps were for the ladies," Mark J says. "But as I got to realize the importance of preaching the Word, I decided to rap for the Lord." Mark J has since released four albums that include We Wrestle Not, Forever Pregnant, Concept After Concept, City of Pain and the recently released SOULutions. To promote each album, he has performed in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, France, Spain, Hawaii and Kenya.

But while many individuals around the world have been receptive to Mark J's new age way of preaching, a lot of traditional gospel artists have spoken out against gospel rap. "A lot of the older church folk have a problem with gospel rap," Mark J says. "But I often refer to the story 'David and Goliath' when David picked up five rocks and a sling shot. Hip-hop is our sling shot. It still conquers the same thing, but it is the tool for this generation. If the church neglects the No. 1 one music genre in the world, it's going to be like the 'Book of Judges' and we're going to lose the generation of our forefathers." -amir shaw

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