Jackie Hill Perry has always had a passion for words: as a child she would lie in bed writing songs, in high school she tried her hand at rapping, in college she wrote poetry, and as an adult she began writing books and giving speeches.
“Even if it’s Scrabble, I’ll play Scrabble all day, because there are words in it,” she said with a laugh.
In June, Perry’s unique talent for words led to her signing a record deal with Reach Records, the label founded and signed by Grammy Award-winning artist Lecrae.
It’s a return to Christian hip-hop. PerryIn 2014, he released an album on a different label (The art of joy) and 2018 (crescendoAfter releasing “I Am Yours,” he took a long break from music.
“I crescendo“I had a conversation with God about my future, my life, what I was going to do with my talents,” Perry told Crosswalk Headlines, “and I felt a sense from God that I needed to make a decision about what I was going to do with my time, because I had limited bandwidth. [and] Our family was growing.”
After her 2018 album, she Selected She puts most of her energy into teaching because “I feel that opening the Bible and teaching people is what makes me happy and gives me joy.”
“So I put music on the back burner.“ She said:
Then last year, Perry decided to take a two-year break from writing songs, “which made me think, ‘Hmm, maybe I still have some breathing room and maybe I still have some breathing room to get back into music.'”“
Lasanna Ace Harris of Reach Records, who attended Perry’s church, encouraged her to return to music.
“So I prayed, and I felt like the Lord opened all the doors for me.“ She said:
Perry’s debut single “Reach” First DraftThe video quickly racked up 150,000 views on YouTube, and she is currently in the studio working on her first album, which she hopes to release later this year.
In mainstream culture, hip hop is well known for its explicit lyrics and sexual content, but Perry said Christian hip hop is trying to reclaim the genre for Christ.
She acknowledges that the church she attended decades ago “didn’t think highly of Christian rap.”“ But that has changed.
“I think it’s been going well for a long time.“ She said of CHH, “Whether it’s Cross Movement, The Swoop of Our World, Propaganda, Odd Thomas, Hulbey, Aha, One Death. Who else is there? Novigdill, KB, Andy Maineo, Lecrae, etc.”
According to her, these hip-hop artists brought musical excellence to the genre and contributed to the upliftment of CHH.
“Because excellence is not a generational or age-specific thing. Excellence is a gift from God. We are all made in the image of God.“ She said, “So if we use the talents that God has given us and work hard to create something beautiful, the It’s going to be amazing.”
She said Christians should embrace hip hop as another way to spread the truth.
“Each genre is useful and meaningful and beautiful in its own way. So I think more about how can I take something that’s been mistreated and use that same medium and that same vehicle to glorify the Lord and speak to human suffering? What if a hip-hop song felt like a psalm and was honest about humanity and inspiring hope at the same time? That’s what music should be about.”
Perry is currently recording her debut album, “Reach,” while also hosting the podcast with her husband. With the Perry familyand promoting a recently published prayer book. AwakeShe said she doesn’t normally like religious sermons because “they seem a bit shallow.”“
“[But] I wanted to know what it would be like to create a prayer book that was written the way I would want to read it – something like a Spurgeon prayer book or an Oswald Chambers prayer book, with depth, Scripture and Christ at the center. [and] It was not sentimental in a way,“ “And Awake It gives people a way to get interested in reading the Bible. Awake For example, these are chips and guacamole. This is an appetizer. This is calamari with marinara sauce. This is not a meal. The meal is Christ Jesus as seen through the Word. So let me prepare the meal so that you have what you need, which is Jesus.”
Watch: Jackie Hill Perry – First Draft (Official Music Video)
Photo credit: ©Record-breaking
Michael Faust He has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years, and his work has appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, Christian Post, Leaf Chronicle, Toronto Star and Knoxville News Sentinel.
