4 CHRISTIAN RAPPERS for FANS of KANYE WEST
If you are reading this, you are probably a fan of Kanye West.
You probably loved College Dropout with its honest commentary on college life and early 20-something ambition. You may like 808s and Heartbreak with its futurism-infused pop and R&B laments while still maintaining a cheeky sense of humor. You may sincerely appreciate what many consider his magnum opus, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Let us skip my opinion on that record. What about the more jarring era of his most recent work including everything from the brilliant yet conceptually sacrilegious YEEZUS to its reverential younger sibling, DONDA?
West’s influence touches a lot of what we have come to engage with aesthetically as a culture including Christian hip-hop. Here are 4 artists to listen to if You like Kanye West
*Disclaimer. These are not Christian knockoffs of Kanye West. These are actual artists who may draw inspiration from the aforementioned artist. This is similar to how can hear the influence of West in the work of Childish Gambino, Tyler the Creator, Kid Cudi, and many others.
1. Swoope
When I see Reddit posts where users ask for Christian artists like Kanye West, I notice that Alanta-based rapper, producer, and songwriter, Swoope, is never mentioned. That is odd considering much of his career has been plagued with people’s comparisons to West. Especially when you consider his breakout 2012 release, Wake Up, which is a blatant homage to Ye’s sound from College Dropout to MBDTF. The next decade saw Swoope find his voice through the latter half of his commercial discography. His 2017 release, Sonshine, blended his skills as a seasoned music producer, catchy songwriter, and veteran church musician, and his love for the Midwest coast sound. Over time, he has cultivated a sound that satisfies ears looking for Atlanta trap and backpack fans who want A Tribe Called Quest.
His new album, We Go On, takes all of his skills from the complex storytelling, church melodies, and harmonies, distorted boom bap drum cadences, and soulful yet high-brow lyricism, which culminate into a record that is a beautiful and elegant statement on the process of grief. It feels like Life of Pablo meets Ye.
Listen to “Hold On” from the album We Go On by Swoope.
2. Andy Mineo
Andy Mineo has long gone from the golden child of Reach Records to making his significant stamp in the genre. While he could have easily leaned into his audience and continued to make college dorm rap for Christians, it’s been invigorating to see him venture into his more auteur side while paying the bills with songs like “Coming in Hot”. You can hear this at points of his first album Heroes for Sale, but if you fast forward to his most recent offering, Never Land II, he’s gone very experimental by many standards. Mineo has trained his audience to expect an adventure when it comes to his music.
3. Whatuprg
It has been a gradual ascension from his first record Pleasant Hill to his most recent New Hollywood, but with each record, he has shown a sharpening sensibility for crafting a distinct sound palette when it comes to his work. There are always cool Easter eggs and nuggets within his music you may get a four-bar verse from your favorite rapper or some random background vocals from one of his peers. This artist resembles Kanye in process, creativity, and also in irritability, promising to drop albums but then reset release dates at a moment’s notice. Though his sounds are more overtly trendy in New Hollywood, his most ambitious project to date, has some innovative flares that do speak to his desire to pay homage to Ye.
New Hollywood is like if Kid Cudi made Graduation.
4. Sho Baraka
This is more of a “grown-man rap” recommendation, so not a lot of “bops”. But a lot of “hmm… that’s deep.”
Sho Baraka demonstrated an early aptitude for espousing his challenging ideas while crafting more provocative sounds and being an overall iconoclast amongst his artistic community. This was first idealized in his group effort with the High Society Collective and their only record, Circa MMXI. Only further cultivating his ideas, was his follow-up solo record, Talented 10th, mixing the different avenues of black music with new earth hip-hop sounds. He has a unique “black professor dad” sense of humor that is pungent throughout all his music. There is much perspective and wisdom found in it.
