Stephen Wiley (born 1958) is an American rapper and minister, who is often credited as the first artist to release a Christian rap album.[1]

Biography

Wiley was born in 1958 and grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma. A University of Oklahoma graduate, Wiley began a career as a jazz drummer in 1979. By 1982, Wiley was performing rap music with Christian lyrics, and in 1984 he took a job as chaplain at a juvenile detention center.[2] In 1985, Wiley released the album Bible Break, the title track of which received airplay on Christian radio.[3] A 1988 article in Spin magazine nicknamed Wiley the "Grandmaster of God".[2][4] Bible Break was later acknowledged as the first Christian rap album by T-Bone in his 2002 song "Our History".[1]

Wiley would later serve as assistant pastor/youth minister at the predominantly-black Crenshaw Christian Center in Los Angeles, CA under televangelist Frederick K.C. Price.[1] He eventually released a total of six albums, with Rhapsody in 1991 including a guest appearance by the gospel group Witness.[2] Wiley later founded the Praise Center Family Church in Muskogee and Tulsa, Oklahoma where he serves as pastor.[5] He is also the Assistant Vice President, Director of Christian Ministries, and Assistant Professor of Religion at Bacone College in Muskogee where he teaches full-time.[6]

Discography

  • Bible Break (Brentwood Music, 1985)
  • Rappin for Jesus (Brentwood Music, 1986)
  • Rap it Up (Brentwood Music, 1987)
  • Get Real (Brentwood Music, 1989)
  • Rhythm and Poetry (StarSong Records, 1990)
  • Rhapsody (StarSong Records, 1991)

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Page 3
  2. 1 2 3 Powell, Mark Allan (2002). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. p. 1037. ISBN 1-56563-679-1.
  3. ↑ Moody, David L. (2012). Political Melodies in the Pews? The Voice of the Black Christian Rapper in the Twenty-first-century Church. Lexington Books. pp. 4–5. ISBN 9780739172360.
  4. ↑ Francis, Bill (November 1988). "Rappin' for Jesus". Spin Magazine. p. 22.
  5. ↑ "Pastor's Corner". Praise Center Family Church. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Center for Christian Ministry Staff". Bacone College. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
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