Many don’t know but the thriving reason behind this is to build a network of young people who want to get to know God and dialogue about spirituality without judgment. A good friend of mine started sending me daily gospel songs that would compliment the daily spiritual message in Pardon me. Her unyielding effort to provide me with inspirational songs has inspired me to share those same songs with everyone who comes into contact with this site. Today’s first installation is Heaven by Mary Mary. I hope you enjoy!

I posted this because I thought this was interesting. We are all victims of being judgmental, when I first read this I was like Bushwick Bill making Gospel. WTF!

If you forgot who Bushwick Bill is, he is the midget dude from legendary rap group Geto Boyz which featured Hop Hop Heavyweight Scarface.

But if dude found God and wants to preach the gospel and feed our minds, I’m down for it. I think it was the young lady Deelishis from Flavor of Love who spoke about artists having the ability to transform and it is our own people who give us the hardest time. So I support this brother and his new endeavor. But Bill I’m going to have to download first, all of this Gospel rap aint my thing. 1

 

By Tai Saint Louis

Rapper Bushwick Bill, a member of the controversial, legendary Southern rap group The Geto Boys, is set to release his sixth solo album, with an unexpected twist.

Testimony of Redemption, which Bushwick hopes to release later this year, will be his first foray into Gospel Rap.
The new album is mostly autobiographical and confessional in nature, with Bushwick apologizing for his past misogynistic lyrics on “Praise of a Good Woman” and owning up to his wild past on “Renewed Mind,” which borrows the same Isaac Hayes sample as the Geto Boys’ classic “Mind Playing Tricks On Me.”

Testimony of Redemption also finds Bushwick Bill blending his own testament of faith with pop culture topics to keep the listener tuned in.

Bushwick even takes aim at the state of Hip-Hop on two separate tracks.

On “Pull The Trigger on the Demon,” he spits “You’re killing the South/rap about something realer than the grill in your mouth,” while “God’s Side Is The Best Side,” features Bill speaking on the unifying power of Christ over all clicks, coasts, and gangs.

While infusing the lyrics of his new opus with Biblical references and praise, Bushwick, born Richard Shaw, makes it clear that his aim is not to convert, but simply to share his own new found vision.

This new direction is not quite as surprising as many would believe.
Bushwick Bill’s career in Hip-Hop, which has spanned over two decades, has been overshadowed by his often troubled personal life.

Aside from his contributions as one third of the Geto Boys, with Scarface and Willie D rounding out the fold, Bill is probably best recognized for the May 1991 mysterious incident which left him missing an eye.

The wound was the result of a gunshot wound suffered by his own hand, or that of his girlfriend, who he persuaded to pull the trigger.

But prior to entering the world of entertainment, the Jamaican-born artist was a student of Theology, fully intent on becoming a minister.

story courtesy of www.allhiphop.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnRS-3AyGUs

Over here at Notes of This Native Son we always like to shout out up and coming artists. Today I want to send a special shout out to the sultry sounds of L. Michele. We have to start supporting real musicians so that we can stop being plagued with trash music. Her work speaks for itself, ENJOY!

Could it be that the world is falling in love with the new sultry sounds of L. Michele? She’s your friend, your neighbor, the girl you knew all your life. Entering the music scene with soulful beats and beautiful vocals, she is rebirthing the movement of rhythm and blues. Her sultry melodies and charismatic personality make it nearly impossible not to fall in love with her Brooklyn bred stylish yet street edge flavor.

Over the years, the borough has been highlighted for its hip-hop artists; however, L. Michele is here to remind the world that her hometown also belts out crooners. At the tender age of 12, L. Michele got her start performing at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. With such a powerful instrument coming from her small body, L Michele captivated her audience and the desires for her dreams were actualized on that fateful night. It was at that moment that her sound caught the ear of record producer True Master, whose credits include Alicia Keys, Busta Rhymes and The Wu Tang Clan, who then put L. Michele under his wing and began to hone her craft through songwriting.

L. Michele has achieved many accomplishments in her pursuits for success. She was a member of the Grammy and Stellar Award winning choir, The Love Fellowship Tabernacle Choir. It was with them she made numerous television appearances including the Bobby Jones Gospel special and the McDonalds Gospel Fest. This opportunity gave her the chance to sing along side such music greats as Fred Hammond, Stevie Wonder, Babyface, Sean Combs and Mario Winans. Along with those performances, she has also performed at the famed venues Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden.

With the release of her first album self-titled L. Michele her unique self-proclaimed sound captivates and soothes your ears but promises to make you two-step with songs such as “Could It Be” and “No One Compares.” For easy listening “1,000 Words” and “Love” will soothe your melodic pleasures.

With a distinct voice, multifaceted talent and intelligent character, L. Michele’s possibilities for success are endless.

L. Michele the Writer
L. Michele the Singer
L. Michele the Performer

Visit www.IamLMichele.com for more info

Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24: 12-14

I wasn’t quite done with yesterday’s message so I am picking up right where i left off. I sat in the house watching the news yesterday and it was just so depressing. If it wasn’t a fire claiming someone’s life, it was a tornado or earthquake. If someone wasn’t being stabbed to death they were being shot in a drive-by. From riots at high schools between blacks and browns to a 9 year old student threatening someone with a knife. All this death and destruction but I manage and we all manage to go on living our day and are sometimes unfazed by all of this chaos.

Am I growing cold as the bible suggests. Is there so much wickedness in the world that it is hard to see light at the end of the tunnel. I hope not, I hope I can stand tall and remain faithful during these times of chaos and retain the word of God in my heart. I guess it was all written and there’s nothing we can do to stop this turn of events but do our part. Raise our families and continue to spread the word of God. Standing tall with those who we love who may become weak because of these trying times. Right this second even though I can recall the dark and dreadful news that I see everyday there is a strong glimmer of hope. I know that we will be blessed and live righteously because he who stands firm in the Lord’s word will be saved. Peace and Grace be unto you.

Thought breaks the heart.

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26: 3-4

I remember being in junior high school and hearing Prodigy of Mobb Deep rap “there’s a war going on outside no man is safe from, you can run but you cant hide forever, from these streets that we done took, you walking wit ya head down scared to look, ya shook!” While I lay in bed this morning, refusing to get up I thought the same lyrics only I said there’s a war going on inside, inside ourselves, our own personal demons. We really can’t run from them even though we attempt to by suppressing our feelings and acting as if things aren’t truly bothering us. Prodigy rapped about the streets that he and his cohorts took; the demons that exist within us, the skeletons in our closet they take over the streets of our lives. Our minds, our hearts; they produce doubt and and low self esteem causing even more pain and strife in our lives.

So what do you do? Well we can keep running until the day it all catches up with us and we’re to fatigued to even fight back. Or we could trust in the Lord; but really trust in the Lord. I mean you can go to church and hear beautiful gospel songs, a mighty word that makes you jump and shout and go home and still feel empty. Trusting in the Lord starts with trusting in yourself and trusting that he made you the way you are supposed to be. Trust that the experiences that he takes you through, he is taking you through because you can handle them and he has a great reward for you when you pass his test with flying colors. I know I’ve been stressed out; went to church, felt good there, came home and was stressed out. Three weeks later, still stressed out until we really hear the words in today’s passage. Trust in the Lord forever for he is our ROCK. Trust in yourself because the Lord breathes within you and face the war going on inside because with his grace you are safe from it and you will prevail. Peace and Grace be unto you.

Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6EsuXCpp6Q&hl=en]

Hmmm, have you ever been in a situation and you are unsure of which way to turn? We all have, but it is during this time that we must seek help. Help from our Lord and Savior, help from our family and friends, just help in any form that help can come in. Well if we need help, why is it that we reject it? Many of us close up when times get hard and attempt to hold everything together on our own. While watching The Passion the other night there was a scene where the devil says no man can hold this burden alone. Never thought I would be quoting the devil but he was wrong because Jesus did hold that burden, in fact he carried the burden of all our sins so that we would not have to carry such a heavy load. How noble of a man to do such a thing, its like saying “here fam, give me all your bricks and I will carry them for you, all I ask is that now that you have a lighter load you act in a more noble way towards other people and you respect our Creator”.

That’s an amazing gift, a gift that has been bestowed upon all of us. So I look to this scripture and it says that we should not look to our own interests, rather the interests of others. You know what it feels like when you are struggling with something, so when you see your fellow human struggling do them a favor and take a brick or two. Don’t do it hoping that you will gain something worldly from it, if anything do it because it has and will continue to be done for you. So do not only ask for help, give help, give help wherever you can. A friend of mine will read this and say, “well Cedric, you don’t ask for help”. My reply is, I know and I am trying, we are all trying to become more perfect beings in our imperfect state. We are a community of brothers and sisters, united under many different shades, let us continue to Help one another for it has already been done for us. Peace and Grace be unto you.

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.