Music Style Rap, Hip-Hop, Gospel Rap, Gospel Hip-Hop, Spiritual Rap

Musical Influences Too many to list!

Similar Artists Too many to list!

Artist History What is Rap Fest 2000? Salem Coffee House’s Rap Fest events began in August of 1995. An increase in the number of young people attending the Coffee Houses drove the staff to develop something specifically for the youth. Bert Bocachica, assistant director of the Coffee House, brought the idea of a Rap Fest to the table. The idea of getting a bunch of Christian Rap ministries together to participate on one stage, on one day, with one purpose was extremely challenging and exciting. Being involved in the underground Christian Hip-Hop scene as well, Bert already had established a few good contacts with others in the scene. Groups like Above See Level, Brothers Proclaiming the Truth, Disciple, and more were introduced to us by Mathew Abraham over at CMN Distribution (now known as CMN Records). We prayed about holding an event that would impact the lives of youth in the streets of the South Bronx without charging them a penny for listening to good hip-hop music. The Bronx, being the home of hip-hop, sure seemed like the appropriate place to hold this event. Piggy-backing off of the now 22 years old Salem Coffee House, we selected a hot summer month like August to hold our first ever Salem Coffee House Rap Fest under the direction of Mike and Bert Bocachica. At the time we simply thought it was a great idea. We had no clue it would turn out to be a yearly event and draw so much attention and ultimately Glory to God through Hip-Hop. The first ever Rap Fest had a list of artists on it that had never before ministered together. Here we had something else special going on. A chance for the underground Christian Hip-Hop scene to peek it’s head out at the world. Here is a list of some of the ministries that participated in the first Rap Fest at Salem. The Cross Movement, Brothers Inc. 4 Da’ Lord, Power and Dominion, God’s Creation, Disciple, Above See Level, The Lord’s Ambassador and more…. Special things occurred that day. Above all, the Spirit of The Lord was in the house. (Actually in the yard the event was held.) From that day forward, the excitement of a free, outdoor, high energy, good quality, Christian Hip-Hop event, became the talk of the town. People were calling from all over the New York area to find out when we were doing it again. So much interest in the Rap Fest lead us to a decision of holding the event yearly, outdoors, free for the community. Throughout the years we have had rap ministries from all over the US and abroad. (Ex: New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, Philadelphia, Ohio, Athens - Greece, Florida, Tennessee, Washington, and more.) With this in mind, we will continue to offer these events yearly, as long as God gives us the strength. What we thought was just going to evangelize to our church neighborhood has become a global event. Thanks to the wide interest, and of course, the Internet. Our goal and desire is to continue to bring God’s Word to the youth in the Urban Communities in their language…Hip-Hop. Want to be a part of this event? Sign up today as a participant or sponsor? The harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few.

Albums Rap Fest '99 - Volume 1; Rap Fest '99 - Volume 2; Live Sounds - Volume 1; Get Inspired - The Bristrous Brothers; They Didn't Rise - Brother E; Real Loco - Brothers Inc.

Press Reviews http://www.urbanweblink.com; http://www.wtwmagazine.com

Location Bronx, NY - USA

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).