Holy Hip Hop Awards Celebrations Return to Atlanta

This year's holy hip hop awards celebration featured numerous artists intent on spreading the powerful word of the gospel. From electrifying emcees to the artists showcasing their ministry onstage, Holy Hip Hop awards night was one to remember. The events during Holy Hip Hop week took place at Center Stage Arena in midtown Atlanta. Holy Hip Hop fans filled the venue, despite the chilly weather, enjoying the numerous booths, side performances by up and coming urban ministers of music and an overall laid-back atmosphere that kept everyone up past the midnight hour.

The 9th annual celebration honored LG Wise, Young Prayzr, IROCC, S.O.M., D-M.A.U.B., Gospel Gangstaz, The Great Commission, Danny (D-Boy) Rodriguez (posthumous), Legacy , XROSS, Dice Gamble, and Christafari. Ambassador Award honorees included Kurtis Blow Walker and Josh Niemyjski. Honorees are recognized every year for their service and contribution to the community by uplifting the souls and hearts of children, youth and adults through hip hop ministry.

During the awards night, musical acts included Urban D, K-Drama, Blss Jones and many more. The stage lit up, as Urban D told the audience to reflect on their experience, as he performed with other artists on stage. The fans that stood in front of the stage never missed a beat as one performer after another ministered on stage. Young people stood, some with their friends, others with family members to jump and join in the worship during each performance. Mid way through the show, Blss Jones shared his story of victory with the crowd. The artist gave his heart to the Lord in 2001, after living a life of crime and rapping for the devil. Having made the decision to follow the Lord, deciding to do a holy hip hop album was a natural decision for him.

Gospelcity got a few moments to chat with K-Drama, who is currently experiencing considerable success with the release of his recent album, Boom Baptism. "Now that I'm independent, because of the exposure that holy hip hop was able to give me and just the grace of God, my album, Boom Baptism was ranked 16th on the Christian Gospel charts on iTunes," says K-Drama. The release of his 2006 release Behind The Glory did not receive as much attention, but K-Drama says he is still thankful. "I really thank God for what it did," he says, "[The album, Behind the Glory] really set the platform for Boom Baptism." K-Drama is also heavily involved in community work in his Cincinnati neighborhood.