Columns & Editorials

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'The Life of Pablo' - Is Kanye West's New Album Title Referencing The Bible?

Today is the long-awaited release date of Kanye West’s new album The Life of Pablo. Mr. West has been touting the record as being a gospel album with “a lot of cursing.” The name of the album has gone from So Help Me God, to Swish to Waves and finally to The Life of Pablo.

The 3 most likely record labels to sign Swoope after Collision departure

Swoope and Collision Records told Rapzilla on Friday that they had agreed to separate (on very good terms). The departure has made him one of the most valuable, unsigned artists in Christian hip hop.

Christian Hip Hop's Best of 2015 Nominees

Christian Hip Hop's Best of awards are back again! If we would’ve told you that Reach, Humble Beast and Lamp Mode would only release a combined six albums in 2015, you probably would’ve thought it’d be a slow year for Christian hip hop.

Top 25 Christian hip-hop songs of 2015 according to Chris Chicago

The host of Rapzilla.com Live with Chris Chicago recently counted down the Christian hip-hop songs that he believed were the top 25 of 2015.

Datin and Bizzle 'Had Enough' of judgement toward their aggressive approach to music

The vast majority of the responses to “Off the Leash,” the lead single of Datin’s upcoming album, The Roar, were positive. But a few of negative responses took aim not at his delivery, but instead the heart behind the delivery.

Corey Paul raps for the same reason he runs into burning buildings

Rapper Corey Paul hasn’t gone out of his way to tell listeners about his day job, but when fellow Collision Records artist Alex Faith learned that Paul was a firefighter, Faith wasn’t surprised. Neither was Houston juvenile probation supervisor Dan Hicks, who runs a Christian-based mentorship program where Paul regularly volunteers.

The history, struggles, and controversy of Christians in battle rap

In the early days of Christian hip hop, it was hard for any church to fully accept the biblical validity of such new and “pagan” sounding music. In many cases, it was just too much for traditionalists to swallow.

5 More Moments Christian Hip-Hop Would Like to Pretend Never Happened

Many of the Rapzilla readers enjoyed our previous article titled “5 Moments Christian Hip-Hop Would Like to Pretend Never Happened” and after receiving an overwhelming amount of submissions for choices that were worse, we decided to give you all five more.

PyRexx freed from jail, watch his son jump into his arms for first time after release

Jailed in December for allegedly assaulting a SeaWorld haunted house employee, PyRexx is back. The Houston-based Christian rapper's case has been dismissed after he spent 30 days behind bars.

Grammy-winning production team COBRA adds 18-year-old producer to roster

Somewhere in the small town of Brandon, Mississippi, an 18-year-old freshman at a local community college is making beats with the aid of cheap desktop speakers, Beats headphones and a basic keyboard.

Rapzilla.com's 15 Freshmen of 2016

Andy Mineo, KB, Bizzle, Swoope, Canon, Eshon Burgundy and S.O. are some of the most important artists in Christian hip hop, and they all were members of Rapzilla’s inaugural Freshman class in 2011.

Artists share the Christmas present they wanted as a kid but never got

You don't get everything you want, and this injustice is most glaring on Christmas, thanks to the tradition of giving presents.

Andy Mineo and the uncomfortable redefinition of an ‘unashamed’ artist

Illmind, a music producer employed by some of hip hop’s most influential voices — Kanye West, Drake and J. Cole — believes Andy Mineo’s new album, Uncomfortable, is evidence that Mineo also deserves hip hop’s ear.

5 Moments Christian Hip-Hop Would Like to Pretend Never Happened

Hip-Hop music is a major force in today’s music and culture, and it is hard to imagine a time without it. However, in the late 80s and early 90s it was still in its infancy which caused many moments that can be perceived as “Not so Hip-Hop.”

PyRexx pens open letter to Rapzilla from Houston jail

Christian rapper PyRexx wrote a letter this past weekend to Rapzilla from the Harris County Jail, where last week he was locked up for allegedly assaulting a SeaWorld haunted house employee, which violated his parole, according to his mentor Tre9.

Skrip displays vast skill set on ‘Show and Tell’ EP

Artists who are able to write, record, produce, mix and master entire projects by themselves are in the minority.

Cataphant’s students think her music’s weird, Humble Beast doesn’t

Multidisciplinary artist Catalina Bellizzi goes by the stage name Cataphant, but she expects to be called “different,” mainly because of how she thinks when she makes music.

Courtney Orlando survived 2 near-death experiences to live through 2 deaths which inspired 1st song in 5 years

Courtney Orlando released a music video on Friday for the first song he recorded in nearly five years, “Brother,” which was birthed out of the most painful eight months of his life this past year.

PyRexx arrested for allegedly assaulting SeaWorld haunted house employee, Tre9 clarifies

PyRexx, a Houston-based Christian rapper who had served six-and-a-half years behind bars before he turned his life around, is back in jail. But according to his mentor, Tre9, PyRexx’s faith remains strong — he just experienced a series of unfortunate events.

Dre Murray explains intent behind each song on new album '34'

Dre Murray's sophomore album on Collision Records, 34, released on Nov. 27, and the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based artist has given listeners a behind-the-music look at each track.

Serge flexes versatility on ‘Return of the Rookie’

Well into the creation of Return of the Rookie, the free EP that Serge released on Tuesday, the South Florida-based rapper and his producer, Mashell Leroy, came to an agreement about the concept of the project.

The People of Christian Hip Hop vs. Lecrae & Reach Records: Part 2

In the earliest days of Reach Records, it seemed that they were unapologetically standing on the side of Christian music that had to be preachy and overtly religious or it was deemed not “Christian” enough. I’ve never heard anyone from Reach Records say this, but the tone of their music and general conversation was that if your music wasn’t Christian “on the surface,” then you just might be ashamed of the Gospel.

Artists Share Their Top 3 Thanksgiving Food Items

With Thanksgiving Day tomorrow Rapzilla decided to poll some of the artists we cover and see what some of their favorite food items are for the holiday. From corn bread to sweet potato pie, see if these artists share the same tastebuds as you the fans, and most importantly, Happy Thanksgiving.

It's time to grow up, Christian hip hop

A few weeks ago, I tweeted thoughts I’ve been working through regarding the potential impact CHH (Christian hip hop) can achieve. Since CHH is arguably 30 years old now, I’m wrestling through our lack of impact, organized leadership, strategy, togetherness with churches and vision. It's not that we don’t possess the attributes in part, rather, in my limited assessment, what we lack is an organized philosophy of mission bringing all these attributes together in order to mobilizes masses into action.

Top 20 Most Popular Christian Rappers on Social Media

There is no better way for an artist to communicate with their fans than through social media. Rapzilla has compiled a list of the Top 20 Christian Rap artists who have figured out how to best reach their fans on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

How a life-threatening accident led Benjah to pursue music

Concordia University defensive end Benjamin Thom dreamed of playing professional football.

Kirk Franklin Keeps it 100 on 'The Breakfast Club'

Gospel legend Kirk Franklin was recently on Power 105.1's "The Breakfast Club" where he kept it real about sexuality, pornography, his conversion to Christ as a teen, and new album Losing My Religion.

The People of Christian Hip Hop vs. Lecrae & Reach Records: Part 1

Reach Records is the most successful Christian hip-hop label in the history of the genre. They earned that status before they began to change their approach to their calling as artists.

Death threats, growing up in South shaped nobigdyl.’s views of racism, confederate flag

Before Dylan Phillips went by the stage name nobigdyl., he was one of a few black teens at his high school in the small, rural town of Bell Buckle, Tenn.; facing common struggles of adolescence, as well as some more unique.

J. Monty explains concept of new album ‘Second Born’

J. Monty likes surprises. On Friday, the Atlanta-based rapper released his debut album, Second Born, a title which fans are left to assume refers to J. Monty, given that a photograph of a baby is on his album cover.