The K-Love fan awards are coming up very soon. Sunday to be exact. However, I won't be able to drive there for the awards...and I'll be in church during the actual awards occurring on the radio so, due to that, I'm going to report about it but, won't be able to give a full, detailed recap until probably Monday. Sorry about that. So, on other news, Blanca Callahan from the band Group 1 crew, had a baby on July 25th!!! Good news, right?? Weeell, yes. But it's bittersweet. She left the band shortly after, leaving Manwell...the ONLY member in GROUP 1 crew. Yeah, that was interesting. For about couple months, it was just him...seeking out what God wanted him to do. But now, he's found out what that actually is. Yup. He's got a new band. It's still Group 1 Crew...or at least that's what they're calling it. But let's be honest guys...will it ever be the same without Blanca?? NOOO!!!!!! They used to be compared to Rhianna but...now they don't have a female in the band. That's a little weird. I think they need to update their Bio on the website. Seriously. It hasn't been updated since she left. Here's the link so you can see what I mean - http://www.group1crew.com/about Anyway, she left for good reasons but, that doesn't mean we have to like it. It will NEVER be the same again but, they DO have talent....The new band, that is. They're pretty fresh in style and classic in presentation. Kind of different. They went from pop to a rap/R&B genre. It's really good actually. But I'll go ahead and let you give your own opinion on it. Here's the first sample Manwell put out of their awesome,
new album. Facts Of Life Feat. Classic You can find more info on the G1C official Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/group1crew Yes, bands will move on...and so will solo artists. Speaking of which, Derrick Minor "Pro," from reach Records moved on. He didn't leave the music industry. He just switched labels. He's no longer under the same label with Lecrae and Andy Mineo Ect. He's branched off to make his own Christian record label called "RMG records." He left, however, on friendly terms. The Reach Records guys are still cool with him and respect his decision. So, of course, that means we most likely will still be seeing some tight collaborations from them. #yes!!! So, I'm going to leave you the link here.
The Reach Records take on the news and also a Derrick Minor interview where he talks about him leaving and why he chose to do that...and he even says we'll expect some new music from him this year! #stoked #DerrickMinor Rapzilla - Derek Minor is no longer with reach records. We'll see what new stuff he brings to the table. Hopefully something tight. The Christian rappers are stepping it up, in my opinion. -K.J.
Yeah, in August, 2012, TobyMac came out with his latest album, "Eye On It." Yes, that was two years ago but apparently, it hasn't faded yet. K-Love has him up as a nominee for both Artist of the year and male artist of the year. We won't know until June but, last year, he won an artist of the year award. So, I wouldn't be surprised if he got it again. Granted, he has talent. And, quite frankly, he's been an extremely influential person in my life. However, I think his view on things has changed since, oh, I don't know....The Dc Talk days back in '89 when he worked with his college friend, Micheal Tait from the Newsboys)and Kevin Max(From Audio Adrenaline) It was also during this time that he met his wife, Amanda Levy, who is if you didn't know a Jamaican. Toby is now 49 years old as of October 22. Meaning, he is was born in 1964. Well, it's true. He's pretty smart in the industry. Has a lot of experience and knowledge to offer. He's taken many artists under his wing. And not only produces but also has his own record label called, "Gotee Records." He's signed people like, Jamie Grace, Capital Kings and Ryan Stevenson. He's getting more famous as the time passes, but...that's not necessarily always good. He seems to have changed his view on things as this interview seems to suggest. http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/meet-tobymac-one-of-christian-musics-biggest-stars/2013/10/31/ab620922-40ab-11e3-9c8b-e8deeb3c755b_story.html
Not only does he no longer look at his job as a ministry but, a business, he's not as deep as he used to be. I'm not saying he's compromising. Like I said, Toby is an amazing artist. I'm just a little uneasy about all of it. I noticed...he plays secular music at his concerts now. Just briefly but, is that something that should happen at a concert that's trying to reach out to people in a positive way? TobyMac Dancing to Justin Timberlake at his show Now don't get me wrong. Justin has a good voice. But should you really be mixing secular music in with a Christian concert?? Just some food for thought. Here's another one....DJ Maj playing a FUN song at the TobyMac concert Just not sure what I think about all this suggestive stuff in the midst of a God-honoring concert. Like I said, maybe nobody else has an issue with that. And if you don't, that's okay. I'm just addressing all the angles here. Not judging (How could I if I used to be like...his biggest fan?!). I'm still expecting him to come out with a new album! Readily waiting!!! He definitely has talent! Here's a really good (and funny) interview from when the album first came out. He hints that it could be 3 years before he comes out with a new album. That was almost two years ago so...in about a year...we may be in for a surprise! ~KJ
Family Force 5 band members-(Left to right)
Nadaddy , Crouton, Soul Glow Activator, Phatty and Chapstique
. Family Force 5. They are the craziest (A.K.A. awesomest) band probably in existence. Their genre - Christian pop/rock. They started out as "The Brothers" back in '94. At the time, there were only three band members. Consisting of Soul Glow Activator (Solomon Olds), Crouton (Jacob Olds) and Phatty (Joshua Olds). Then, after The Brothers, they later became The Family. Then, due to circumstances, they later changed the name to "Family Force 5." They added two more to their band. Nadaddy (Nathan Currin) and Chapstique(Derrick Mount).
Okay, So now you know about Family Force 5. This is the new stuff that's been going on with them.
I'm sure, If you've seen the Really Real Show, you're probably in love with the band...especially Soul Glow. Here's the first episode of their wonderful podcasts: Now that you've seen every episode and are totally addicted (or maybe, you just missed out and ignored the video[s]), here's the sad news. On September 23rd, Soul Glow Activator left the band. He decided to continue his radio program he had started on Christian "NGEN Radio," An online radio station. It's really disappointing but, we respect his decision. He felt like he needed to spend more time with his family . Family Force 5 decided to continue the band without Soul Glow Activator. The last video they did with Soul Glow was from their Remix project - Reanimated. The song is called Chainsaw featuring Christian rapper, Tedashii.
While we all miss Soul Glow, their new song with lead singer, Crouton, and new band member Hollywood (Teddy Boldt) was surprisingly amazing as they continued their trend of featuring a famous, Christian rapper. This time with 116 clique's KB. The song is called "BZRK". They had several thousand views in the double digits by the end of the first day. Honestly, I wish them all the best. -KJ.
Well, I guess this is it! My first blog post for the Christian Paparazzi. This is exciting! I guess I'll start by saying what to expect from this blog. It's just what it sounds like: The number one place fr Christian music news.
I always thought somebody should start a Christian paparazzi...so why not me? That's another thing. I want to become a Christian music artist myself so, I might as well know everything about the people that ARE already artists, don't you think?
Let's just make something clear - I'm not genre prejudice. So, I'm going to post about whoever has new(and not so new) music on the table in the Christian industry. (TobyMac, Mandisa, Lecrae, Mercy Me, Family Force Five, Chris Tomlin, Crowder, ect.) If you're the kind of person who loves Christian music (like me) then this is the website for you. :) I'm going to try posting pretty frequently so, we'll see how things turn out(I'm still new to this)! So, yeah. :)
