Hip-Hop music embraces many different styles, from hardcore to dance. Also known as Gospel rap and Holy Hip-Hop, the more specific term Christian Hip-Hop started to be used in the 1990s. Generally, the audience of this specific music genre is Christian, as the singers are also assumed to be.
Kirk Franklin is one of the best Christian rappers. He is known for being the leader of important and successful choirs. However, he has also been under the spotlight for his pornography addiction that came as a shock to many.
Kirk Franklin’s Life and Early Career
Born January 26, 1970, Kirk was raised in Texas by his great aunt, because his mother abandoned him. He was an enfant prodige and at the age of 7 received his first contract offer but his aunt refused it. Although Kirk was raised in a very strict religious environment, he was not immune to rebelling behaviour as a teenager and he was expelled from school when his girlfriend got pregnant.
During his childhood and throughout his teen years, Kirk became member of important choirs. In 1990, at the age of 20, he was given the leadership of the DFW Mass Choir at the Gospel Music Workshop of America Convention.
Kirk Franklin and The Family
In 1992, Kirk Franklin organized a seventeen-voice choir. A year later, they released an album, Kirk Franklin & The Family, which spent 42 weeks at number one of the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart, becoming the first gospel album to sell over a million copies.
In 1994, the album Kirk Franklin & The Family Christmas was released. The album Whatcha Looking At (1995) went platinum for two times and Kirk won his first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.
In 1997 Kirk Franklin released God’s Property from Kirk Franklin’s Nu Nation Project that brought the singer another Grammy for the same category as his first one. In 1998, the new album Nu Nation Project reached the top of the Billboard Gospel Albums and it stayed at the top for 49 weeks, bringing Kirk Franklin his third Grammy Award.
The successful collaboration between the singer and The Family ended in 2000 because of a multi-million dollar lawsuit the group filed against their leader.
Kirk Franklin’s Solo Career
After the split with his gospel choir, Kirk Franklin had his big break with a solo career that saw him reaching number one and platinum with his first solo album The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin (2002).
In 2005 Kirk released Hero, an album that brought the singer other two Grammy Awards. In 2007, his tenth album The Fight of My Life was another incredible success.
Franklin’s Pornography Addiction
Kirk Franklin shocked his fans when in 2006, while being on the Oprah Winfrey Show, he declared and admitted to suffer from a serious addiction to porn (The Oprah Winfrey Show, Famous Gospel Singer Admits His Addiction to Porn, 30 November 2005.) The singer also said he tried to quit many times but did not succeed and for this matter he sought Christian counseling.
Franklin appeared on the show with his wife, Tammy Collins. The singer admitted that his addiction began when he was just a child and that he looked for counseling at the age of 15 but he was told by the priest that he would have grown out of it.
He also believed that his marriage would have helped him freeing himself from the porn addiction but it made it worse. As of the interview, Kirk Franklin got clean of his addiction to pornography and his relapses have become fewer over time.
Christian Lyrics by Gangsta Rappers
Christian performers use Hip-Hop music to spread a Christian message to those who do not believe in Jesus Christ, thus trying to reach a wider audience, mostly young people who do not attend Church often. Although they cannot considered to be members of Christian Hip-Hop, rap icons like Tupac, DMX and Kanye West have dedicated songs or entire albums to their faith.
Here is a list of Christian rap songs and albums by these artists:
Kanye West, “Jesus Walks.” College Dropout Album, 2004.
Tupac Shakur, “Hail Mary.” The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory Album, 1996.
DMX, You’ll Fly With Me Later Album, 2010.
Kirk Franklin, an Icon of Gospel Rap
Kirk Franklin, a baby star, reached success at a very young age. He won five Grammy Awards and his songs broke all records on the top charts of gospel music. When the popular singer took off his mask and showed his fans the darker side of him, admitting to the public that he had an addiction to porn, his sincerity made his audience love him even more.
Brunella Irma Costagliola - Brunella Irma Costagliola is a full-time writer and a published author. Her book is titled "Gangster Movies in Gangsta Rap"
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