“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
- Colossians 3:23 (NIV)

I can put Corey Red, Precise, the Ambassador, Zion, Shekinah, J Silas, Todd Bangz, Ethicz and many more up against any secular mc and I’d know the outcome. However, there are only a few Christian DJ’s that I would put up against Qbert, Babu of Dilated Peoples or DJ Lord of Public Enemy. Is it because the Christian Dee Jay isn’t encouraged? I don’t know, but if there’s no platform for the Dee Jays to display their skills, how do they get better? I remember when Dee Jays would create scratches, tricks, and innovate! They still do that on the “Dark Side” but as far as on the “Light Side” I rarely see or hear it. The DJ to the Mc, is like the choir to the preacher. When you are ministering live, you need to be as effective as possible!

“I can see more Holy Hip Hop groups getting Dee Jays for their sets, cause it’s kinda hard for a group to perform when they have to tell the sound man when to play a track and when to shut it off.”
- DJ Official / Cross Movement

“If the DJ has an anointing, his presence can also be a tool in reaching lost souls.”
J. Rippa / Holy Hitmakers

Why should we encourage the Christian DJ?

Being a DJ has lead to many successful careers in producing hip-hop. Knowing this, we need to encourage new styles, more cuts, showmanship and creativity. Since the Christian DJ may be a future producer in this Holy Hip Hop movement, we need to encourage them. Here’s a list of 20 DJ’s who developed into bangin’ producers. Note: This list is NOT in order of prominence or skill.

“Dee Jay’in helped me understand what people liked hearing. It taught me how to bring a beat in and when to drop it out.“ – J.Rippa / Holy Hitmakers

Do ya Homework!
“Diligent hands will rule…” – Proverbs 12:24

Research: Know your craft and study new equipment. Example: CD turntables! Before now, the big excuse for no scratching on Holy Hip Hop tracks was because the lack of wax available to the Christian Dee Jay. This is true, but most Christian Dee Jays don’t even have the limited amount of vinyl that IS available. Vessel knows a brother who is NOT a DJ who was compelled to buy vinyl by The Ambassador, Grits, Tunnelrats, and Verbs on GP, because it was Christian and it is RARE! The DJs should have multiple copies of what IS out there that’s Christian.

Ever heard the concept of diggin’ through the crates? The DJ has to know what’s out there. We’re in a position where we have to GROW our audience, so the DJ has to do the legwork and be the one bringin’ the new hotness to the party and not waiting for someone else to tell them or give it to them. For us this means ordering online, visiting artist websites, holy hip-hop sites, and emailing cats directly. Now that there is a way to effectively scratch CD’s, the Dee Jay is without excuse and they should now be more prevalent in Holy Hip Hop songs.

“We ought not be like the world, Christ died that we could be way doper than them.”
-Tonic / Cross Movement

Train: Practice makes perfect! Back in the day we use to practice until we were drenched in sweat. Fellowship with other Christian Dee Jays, iron sharpens iron! More tracks and “real time” gatherings like “Four Way Stop” from DJ Maj’s Full Plates CD. Given the “distribution issues” most artists face, we have to keep each other informed about who’s out there. Who else can we add to this list of brothers who are out there doin’ their thang? DJ Morphiziz (1 Way), DJ Skillspinz, DJ Official (CM), DJ Form (Grits), DJ Essence (Timothy Brindle), J.Rippa and many more. Do I see a DJ Summit in the making?

“…there should be a place where brothers in Christ can grow, learn from each spiritually and skill wise on a turntable.” – DJ Official / Cross Movement

I remember a Christian Dee Jay challenged me to a friendly skill check. I reminded him that I haven’t Dee Jayed in years, so if I was sharper than he was, he needed to repent for taking the ministry lightly! I was amazed that this brother couldn’t transform, swipe, beat juggle or crab! He couldn’t even hold a mix of two records. I asked him, “Do you practice?” He smiled and said, “When I can.” What’s deep is that I told him to repent, when I was the one who was wrong. This brother goes to my church and I have yet to make time to show him proper training techniques that will develop him into a solid D.J. My encouragement should come through words and action! Instead of just giving constructive criticism, we have to give a constructive solution. Christian Dee Jay’s, please seek each other out and come together. You must encourage each other. Christian Mc’s and producers, we must encourage the Christian Dee Jay!

Let’s not let this artist die before his work is appreciated.