Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Viktory: Big-Ups in the Secular Realm

I just read a great news item on the Holy Culture Web site. Rapper Viktory has gained attention on popular secular hip-hop sites All Hip-Hop.com and SOHH.com, for his new song, "On Fire."

According to Da South, which also reported on the news a few weeks ago, All Hip-Hop gossip columnist Illseed featured the video for Viktory's new song as an "epic win" for the day. Word from Da South is that Wit from the Frontlynaz gave Viktory the scoop on the good news.

A quick search of SOHH.com showed that the video was just posted there. Comments on the video were positive. "This video is HOT!!!!!!! Music I bob my head to and hear a great message. Good look Vik. We need this out here," said one poster. Others said they liked the song, especially because it brought something different to the game.

Here's the video, below. It reminds me of Johnny Blaze from "Ghost Rider," in a way. The gist of the plot is that sinners are seeing the holy fire in Viktory, and being in his presence makes them change their minds about embarking on various sins. Even Vik's E-class leaves a trail of flames behind when he rides off. Vik as a holy ghost rider is a cool concept.

Extra: A Viktory YouTube channel has clips on the making of this breakthrough video...
Part 1

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Part 2

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Part 3



Part 4

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Atheists Getting More Shine

There's an article on The New York Times Web site right now, about the growing popularity of disbelief in God. Groups such as the Secular Coalition for America, an umbrella group for 10 atheist organizations, are finding their memberships growing exponentially. There are also college campus groups, such as the Secular Student Alliance, which has nearly 150 chapters. And as you're driving down your closest highway, don't be surprised if you see adopt-a-highway signs for atheiest groups--the article says the groups are putting themselves in the public eye by volunteering at food pantries and cleaning trash from the roadsides to gain notoriety.
"They liken their strategy to that of the gay-rights movement, which lifted off when closeted members of a scorned minority decided to go public," the article states. The atheists' strategy of showing their faces appears to be working, as the New York Times article states that among findings on the recently published American Religious Identification Survey, the group of those saying they have no religion is the only one that has increased in all U.S. states in nearly 20 years.
The article says that athiests are not necessarily looking to strip others of their belief in God, but rather that they are attempting to put a more positive spin on athiesim and to shatter stereotypes about athiests.
Atheists are embracing the world and attempting to reach people of today in ways that are meaningful to them. Are we, as Christians, always doing this? Or are we using strategies that worked for the Americans of the 20th century, who were already primed to respect Christianity? We were preaching to the choir in a way back then. Are we still trying to preach to the choir, without realizing the pews are empty?
I hate to be a broken record, but I think we are. I think more Christian groups need to come up with more effective strategies for reaching a public that is looking for more in life. For example, I heard an older Christian woman recently express doubt about starting a blog by saying that the Internet is a dangerous place because it can bring Christians too close to contact with the negative things of the world. Sure, I understand that there are places where you can find pornography, images of graphic violence, and other terrible things, but there are people out there in less sinful places who are hurting and in need of encouragement from the Good News. To me, it makes sense to make outreach in these areas, and not to fear being "in the world" or be disgusted to the point of social paralysis by placing yourself there.
Jesus looked for people to be "fishers of men" in his day. Today, I'd argue that we need to be "Web catchers," drawing people in to our corners of the Internet. There is an audience of millions out there online. Through positive entertainment, encouraging stories, and insightful commentary on scripture as it applies to our daily lives, we can do more to reach them in ways that will appeal to them.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Sho Baraka Mixtape


Haven't listened to it yet, and I'm not sure if this is something else I need a late pass for, but I saw a link for the mixtape, Barakology, on the One21 Web site. Enjoy!

Download here...

A Heavy Learning Experience

I haven't mentioned, but I found out on April 8 that I'm getting laid off from my job. My last day in the office is Thursday this coming week. I wasn't really surprised that this happened, for a variety of reasons, but the news was still surprising.

Though this is not the best news, I have seen God move firsthand in what has happened after that announcement. Most notably is the amount of support I've received from my soon-to-be former coworkers.

I am not an extroverted person by any means, and when I go to work, my cubicle is just about like a fortress of solitude. I go in at 8:30, do my work, grab some lunch to eat at my desk, and leave at 4:00. Because of this loner tendency of mine, I have not had a great wealth of meaningful interaction with my coworkers on a social level.

But despite this, many people have approached me to offer condolences for the loss of the job, as well as to put out feelers for me for work. Others have offered to serve as references for me as I need them. Others still have pledged to connect to me on the business social networking site, LinkedIn. I never imagined that so much help and love was out there for me!

I have thanked each individual, but I want to say another big THANK YOU on this page. God's mercy and love has truly been acted out through my coworkers.

I realize now that I've missed out on a lot by walling myself off away from others. I pray that I will gain more comfort in reaching out to others, so I can begin to repay some of what God has shown me in the past few weeks.

Friday, April 24, 2009

And the Winners Are...

Here are the winners of the urban-leaning Gospel Music Awards last night:
  • Urban Recorded Song of the Year: Mary Mary, "Get Up"
  • Rap/Hip-Hop Recorded Song of the Year: KJ-52, "Do Yo Thang"
  • Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year: Group 1 Crew, Ordinary Dreamers
  • Urban Album of the Year: Kirk Franklin, The Fight of My Life
I don't have cable, so I didn't see the actual show. How was it? Do tell!

My 2 cents, from just looking at the nominees and winners, is that I would've pulled for Lecrae and J.R. to win, for Rebel and "Not a Slave," respectively. Lemme show them some respect here on my page...

Here's one of many faves I have from Rebel, "Identity."

Identity (feat. Da Truth, Jr) - Lecrae

Here's the video for "Not a Slave."

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I liked that Life by Stereo pushed the boundaries on R&B. Hope to hear more from J.R. soon!

As a bonus, another favorite J.R. song of mine is "Tonight." Blame 808s & Heartbreak and those hipster rappers--these days, I'm a sucker for songs with some electronic spice to them.

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