The Cross Movement
Encyclopedia
Ministry
The Cross Movement has three separate and distinct eponymous components which comprise its ministry. The first component is the Christian hip hopHip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
group known as The Cross Movement (CM) which was most recently composed of four solo rappers: The Ambassador (William Branch)
The Ambassador (William Branch)
William “Duce” Branch a.k.a. “The Ambassador” or “Ambassador” is a Christian hip-hop artist who has recorded both independently and as a founding member of the group The Cross Movement. Branch is the former president of Cross Movement Ministries...
, The Tonic (John Wells), Phanatik
Phanatik
Brady Goodwin Jr. a.k.a. “Phanatik” is an author and Christian hip-hop artist who has recorded both independently and as a founding member of the two time Grammy nominated group The Cross Movement. Phanatik is signed to Cross Movement Records. His debut album entitled The Incredible Walk, was...
(Brady Goodwin), and T.R.U.-L.I.F.E, (Virgil Byrd). The CM also frequently collaborates with the Christian disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
, DJ Official. The CM’s niche has been to translate biblical and Christian theology
Christian theology
- Divisions of Christian theology :There are many methods of categorizing different approaches to Christian theology. For a historical analysis, see the main article on the History of Christian theology.- Sub-disciplines :...
into rap music by using the same hyper-aggressive lyrics, sampled orchestral riffs, alliteration, and virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
delivery of many underground rappers without the self-aggrandizing and violent lyrics, or the materialistic imagery stereotypically associated with many rappers. The second component to the Cross Movement is the record label, Cross Movement Records
Cross Movement Records
Cross Movement Records is an American based Christian hip hop record label, founded by and based on the Christian hip hop group, The Cross Movement. CMR, founded in 1997, had an agreement with BEC Recordings. In 2005 they made a license agreement with Reach Records' Lecrae. CMR are to release his...
(CMR), which is responsible for producing and marketing the albums of the CM, its individual members' solo albums, and other Christian hip hop artists such as Da' T.R.U.T.H. and FLAME
FLAME
Flame is a Christian hip hop recording artist with Clear Sight Music. He has released five albums including: Flame, Rewind, Our World: Fallen, Our World: Redeemed, and Captured. Our World: Redeemed was nominated for a Grammy Award...
. The third aspect of the Cross Movement is the incorporated, non-profit group called Cross Movement Ministries (CMM), which aims to use creative ways to spread the Christian gospel message within hip hop culture.
Nomenclature
Since its inception, the CM has chosen to define itself as the Christian or holy division of hip hop culture as opposed to the hip hopHip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
or rap division of Christian culture. Within the genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
of rap music, there are various subgenres such as gangsta rap
Gangsta rap
Gangsta Rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that evolved from hardcore hip hop and purports to reflect urban crime and the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths. Lyrics in gangsta rap have varied from accurate reflections to fictionalized accounts. Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word...
, Conscious rap, old school rap
Old school hip hop
Old school hip hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music , and the music in the period preceding it from which it was directly descended . Old school hip hop is said to end around 1983 or 1984 with the emergence of Run–D.M.C., the first new school hip hop group...
, crunk
Crunk
Crunk is a music style that originated in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-to-late 1990s and gained mainstream success around 2003–2004. Performers of crunk music are sometimes referred to as crunksters. An archetypal crunk track most frequently uses a drum machine rhythm, heavy bassline, and...
, and reggaeton
Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
, but all of it falls under the rubric of rap and, by extension, hip hop. In choosing to define their music as simply being another subgenre — i.e., the Christian rap subgenre — of hip hop culture, the CM attempts to "keep it real" in order to maintain the validity needed to influence members of hip hop culture who may or may not be Christians. In their 2003 release, Holy Culture, the CM stated their reasoning is based on a passage from the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, John 17:15-19 in which Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
said to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
:
“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
As the word sanctified means "to set apart", the interpretation maintained by the CM is that they are instructed by Jesus to remain a part of hip hop culture while being set apart from the majority of the followers of hip hop culture in order to influence it from within to conform to the mores
Mores
Mores, in sociology, are any given society's particular norms, virtues, or values. The word mores is a plurale tantum term borrowed from Latin, which has been used in the English language since the 1890s....
and moral code preached by followers of Christ. The acceptance of this interpretation has been mixed, however. Despite their claim to be a part of hip hop culture, the CM has slowly found more acceptance, though not total acceptance, in the Christian community than in the secular hip hop community as the majority of their concerts are held at churches or church
Church Body
A local church is a Christian religious organization that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by pastors or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek seek non-profit corporate status...
-sponsored events as opposed to secular venues. In 2006, the CM received a Grammy nomination for “Best Rock Gospel Album,” as opposed to any of the traditional hip hop or rap categories. Additionally, the CM has generally only been recognized at Christian and Gospel awards shows such as the Dove Awards or Stellar Awards
Stellar Awards
The Stellar Awards is the first Gospel Music Awards show in the country, honoring Gospel Music Artists, writers, and industry professionals for their contributions to the Gospel Music Industry. The Stellar Awards ranks high in status as the only Gospel Music television awards program syndicated in...
as opposed to hip hop-only award shows such as the Source Awards or the Vibe Awards.
The Ambassador
A graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, William “Duce” Branch a.k.a The Ambassador is the co-planter of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia, PA. He has toured globally as a solo artist and with The Cross Movement and been covered by media outlets as diverse as Time Magazine, CCM Magazine, VIBE, The Source, Billboard and The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer and more. He has also served as the president of the non-profit organization Cross Movement Ministries and ministered the gospel through rap and preaching for nearly 15 years. With a passionate commitment to the kingdom of Christ as well as a firm belief that faith must integrate with culture, The Ambassador has become known for his devotion to proclaiming Jesus Christ to urban contexts, and through urban mediums.Building on the success of his sophomore solo project "The Thesis" and his Grammy- and Stellar-nominated release HIStory with group The Cross Movement, The Ambassador follows with The Chop Chop—an album with production by J.R., Official, Tony Stone and HOTHANDZ topped with an uncompromising message that will challenge listeners, while exposing the authenticity and supremacy of God.
“The Chop Chop: From Milk to Meat” is both an invitation and an exhortation from the Grammy, GMA Dove and Stellar nominated artist to rally those who are hungry for truth and determined to mature. “The current trend in our culture—and sadly in the church—is to ‘dumb down’ almost everything. Some things require a little more intensity, commitment and grind, and our faith is certainly one of those jewels,” states The Ambassador.
With special guest appearances by Lecrae, Trip Lee, Da’ T.R.U.T.H. and Stephen the Levite, The Chop Chop calls all hearers to take the meat of God’s weighty truth and “chop it up,” chew it until it becomes a part of them.
Following the single “Gimme Dat!,” The Chop Chop has been called “a project that fires on all cylinders.” Already embraced by broadcast Gospel outlets, The Ambassador most recently performed “Gimme Dat!” on TBN’s “Praise The Lord,” and is set to appear on TV1’s “The Gospel of Music with Jeff Majors” and INSP’s “Mixx Masters Lounge.
External links
- Cross Movement Records
- Cross Movement Solo interviews on RapzillaRapzillaRapzilla is a Christian hip hop online magazine, one of the top Christian Hip Hop websites. The website contains many sections such as latest news, album reviews, articles, interviews, mp3's, videos, release dates, columns, and more...
http://www.rapzilla.com - Cross Movement Videos on RapzillaRapzillaRapzilla is a Christian hip hop online magazine, one of the top Christian Hip Hop websites. The website contains many sections such as latest news, album reviews, articles, interviews, mp3's, videos, release dates, columns, and more...
http://www.rapzilla.com - Video Showcasing Cross Movement