SPEAKER_02 0:15

Welcome back to Testimony Tracks where we talk about five hip hop and the testimonies behind the tracks. I'm Evan, this is my co-host Jason, and today we have a very important reason aware that he is an upcoming new astute and exciting rising Christian hip hop analyst of the new generation. We are sure that he will continue to grow his catalogue of songs and inspire others who have his same calling. He has great songs, albeit he is very underrated. So please do check him out on Spotify or whatever music streaming app you use. But he does have a very strong voice in the game. Everyone, please welcome our first guest from the wonderful world of Christian Rap. Please welcome Just Mike to the show.

SPEAKER_04 1:06

Thanks for being with us today.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Yeah, thank you all for having me, man. Thank you for such a great introduction, also. I appreciate it. But hey, we we forgot one thing, fellas. What's up? We forgot to pray. So let's pray real quick. Yeah, I pray. So dear just merciful, holy father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Father God, thank you for this day. Thank you for this time. Um, thank you for bringing good brothers together to uh glorify you, Lord, and uh have some good laughs and a good time. Thank you for Everett's heart for wanting to host uh host this pod. And thank thank you, uh Father, for Everett, for E Money, for wanting to reach out and just uh let me be his first Christian artist as his guest. And I pray that you bless this pod, and I pray that you bring uh somebody comes to you, you bring the right people to this pod, not just for uh our our own selfless ambition, but for your will and their life and uh your son, our savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

SPEAKER_04 2:07

Amen. Amen. Yeah, well, yeah, let's uh let's get to know you a little bit. It's our first time talking. Um well, maybe start with kind of your faith story. Did you grow up in a Christian home? Did you start with faith early? What did that look like for you?

SPEAKER_00 2:22

No, I I didn't uh I didn't grow up in the church, actually. I grew up, I mean, I didn't grow up with like a horrible trauma-filled childhood or nothing like that. I just grew up in Tennessee, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to be exact. Shout out to the city.

SPEAKER_02 2:37

That's how the Indy Chibe is based now.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

Yup, yup, yeah, man. I I had no idea about any of them growing up whatsoever. So it's cool to see Tennessee taking off with Christian hip hop. But yeah, man, I I grew up in Tennessee, Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Didn't grow up in the church. Uh I had I had a hard-working parents that just, you know, worked up worked a lot. So it left me and my sister at home to kind of get into all the bad things we can get into. And, you know, I mean, from everywhere, from drugs to alcohol to just any anything that you can think of. And so um started truck driving at an early age, you know, uh had a child when I was uh 19. And so, you know, my life kind of turned around for the better. I wasn't trying to be so heavy in the streets and everything like that, but I still didn't know God. And so uh fast forward, you know, my testimony. I've always had little bits and pieces of the Lord in my life and times I can look back on and know that the Lord was protecting me or shielding me, but I really never was conscious of how the Lord was working and moving. So fast forward 2020s, the pandemic, the world is completely shut down. And me and my girlfriend, who's my she's my wife now, but at the time, my girlfriend, we was just, I don't know, every the things, every you're a young man. So the things I'm about to say, please don't think I'm saying them to be cool. And this is not anything. I bet not ever hear you doing this stuff, bruh. Ever, man. But we was in our one bedroom apartment, and we was, we was getting high, smoking weed, and something told me to pick up the Bible. Because the drugs was not, you know, giving us any security, making us feel safe, anything like that. And so me and her, we picked up the Bible, we started reading, we started watching YouTube videos to help us understand what we were reading. And ever since then, since that moment in time, the Lord has not let us go. And so that's, you know, very much the beginning of uh, you know, how all of this has happened now, you know, going on these last few years. It was we picked up the Bible and just started to get to know God, like the like the Bible verse says, you know, he is the door. And so we was knocking and he let us he let us right on there.

SPEAKER_04 5:19

And so that's how that's amazing. So the spirit just kind of reaching out to you directly then.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We wasn't going to a church, uh, it wasn't some pastor, it wasn't some like big monk, it was just we were scared and we picked up the Bible, you know? And so yeah, man. Church and all that stuff, that came way later because all the churches was all the churches was closed.

SPEAKER_04 5:45

So Oh, yeah, the pandemic. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 5:49

And you were a truck, were you still a truck driver at that time?

SPEAKER_00 5:52

Yeah. Well, yeah, yeah. I I was uh I'm a local truck driver now. So at that time, yeah. So at that time, I was a local driver. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:01

Because I imagine the pandemic had a pretty big impact on that industry, too.

SPEAKER_00 6:06

Actually, it had a big impact on us as we we were essential workers. We was working like crazy.

SPEAKER_04 6:13

I mean everybody started ordering everything online because they couldn't go out.

SPEAKER_00 6:17

Exactly, man. Like that pandemic, a lot of truckers made a lot of money, man. A lot of trucking companies had a lot of business. Like mask, any all the PPE stuff, they was ordering it in bulks. So, I mean, just that alone, on top of all the other things people was ordering online, it was it, it the pandemic helped the trucking industry, actually. So it's really crazy how that worked.

SPEAKER_04 6:47

Yeah, yeah. Okay. And then, so did y'all find your way to a local church? Do you just start trying different? I mean, if you didn't grow up in a certain like denomination, you just start looking around and if you're not going to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

Yeah, man, we literally first, okay, so as we probably for about a few months, we put the, you know, started putting the weed down. I wasn't drink, I wasn't, I used to drink beer every day. I used to, you know, drink liquor every weekend. And then I noticed we was, you know, we weren't doing those things anymore. But it was just like we needed to have like-minded people. That's what we knew. We needed like-minded people in our life. All the people that we knew at that time, that's what they did. They stayed getting high, they stayed drinking, and that's what they did. That's how they got together. Well, we wasn't doing those things. And so it was like we need like-minded people around us. So we literally got on Google and Googled the churches around us, and all of them was like the Sunday we were trying to go to them, they would be closed, or it was just weird. It was just like we couldn't, we couldn't find one close to us. So I started a new job, and even that, the Lord brought me to this job for this reason. But I I was at this bad trucking company. My truck, it was an old rundown truck. The truck had no AC. And so, yeah, and it's summertime, and I'm burning up. I'm burning up. And so I look over at this, at this other truck driver. We both in the dock at the at the warehouse, and I look over, and he's in this nice new truck. He has his hair blowing in the wind from the AC and everything. And so I'm just, I just sent up a prayer for the Lord to send me a I just say I had some specific things in this prayer. And um, three days later, the Lord uh company hit me up, and everything that was in my prayer was in this woman's uh description of the job. Everything. And so I was like, man, the Lord really answered my prayers. And so I went to this new company and the and my trainer. Um, as he started opening up, you know, he was listening to worship music actually. So we started talking about God. So then we started talking about the Bible, and so then he invited me to his church picnic that was in two weeks. And so I said, Man, we'll love to come. Thanks for the invite. So we went to the uh the church uh picnic, and uh it was where we was living at was about a 50-minute drive to to the their church. But we was excited, so we went and um, yeah, man, and we talked to the pastor, and he was so honest and genuine and just was inviting us to come on Sunday, and so we started making that 50-minute drive every Sunday. And then next thing you know, we went from a one-bedroom apartment to a three-bedroom house, and uh we moved from Cleveland Heights out to Lorraine. And so, like, you know, just to just to be closer to the church and be closer to be in the community that the Lord, you know, had moved us to. So that's how we here, you know. So yeah. The Lord literally just took us out of everything that we knew and gave us a a new, gave us a just a new life, like he does, you know, a new city, new church. First time I've ever been a member of a church. I didn't even know church had members. I didn't even know that, you know. So, you know, the Lord just really just gave us a new life completely. So that's how it happened for us. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

My next question did you grow up rapping? And if so, who did you listen to growing up?

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Yeah, man, I I grew up rapping like I grew up like in rap culture. Like from a child, I was, you know, rap was always around me. And like when I was younger, it was everybody it was the Easy E, Dr. Dre, Heavy D, uh, who else? I mean, just you name it, it was, it was, it was on the radio.

SPEAKER_04 11:24

I mean I was in middle school and high school in the 90s, and I remember Snoop Dogg and DMX were two of the big names.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Yeah. Snoop Dog. Tupac. Tupac, yeah, Tupac, yeah, all of those cats. Yeah. Actually, Snoop Dogg's first album, the Doggy Style, that was the first album. That was the first CD that really made me want to start writing raps.

SPEAKER_04 11:48

That's the way that I remember kids bringing that CD to school. I was in middle school, I think, because yeah, you would have to buy the actual CD and you had the album artwork and all that stuff. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:57

Yeah, it was it was night, it came out in 1992. Yeah. I was eight years old. And uh, yeah, man, that's when I first started like writing raps. But then growing up, it was, you know, uh, as I got into my teenage years and stuff, uh, yeah, I tried, I tried rapping a little bit, but didn't take it serious. And then like in my 20s, you know, uh, I tried to I tried to take it a little bit more serious, but that was still just that was still just to be able to like get into clubs for free and do all the bad things I shouldn't have been doing, you know. But yeah, man, but you know, on this side of life with the Lord, he's he's really sent me out to to do it, to proclaim and glorify his name. And he's the whole reason I'm even trying to rap right now.

SPEAKER_04 12:47

So yeah, your new album, Spirit Bread, starts out with an intro where several people are encouraging you to make more music. So what was that decision like for you? How much you were gonna focus? I mean, you've got another job, and I know you're involved in prison ministry, you do a lot of things. So has it been hard to keep making music? What's that journey been like?

SPEAKER_00 13:07

No, it actually is it hasn't been hard at all. Is because the thing with Spirit Bread is I actually worked on that album for three years, and you know, that's that's where that intro comes from, is where I guess like people like Everett, who was listening to all the few singles I was putting out every now and again. So, you know, I would just keep, I would just stay in the, you know, I would just work, do my ministry stuff, and then go to the studio and just make a song here, make a song there, go back to the studio, take a verse out, put a different verse in. And and so like just making that album, it was it was really just just all on the Lord's time. And and um I think uh it really just took the confidence that I needed and uh from the Lord, really, like, and just everybody around it around me just, you know, giving me that confidence to just go ahead and do it. So, you know, uh ministry is one of those things where it's like, you know, seek the Father first. Seek ye first the kingdom and all these things to be added to you. So, you know, if you if you're seeking the Lord first, he'll let you know the season that you're in, you know, he'll let you know. So yeah, it could be prison ministry, it could be a season where I'm in prison ministry real heavy. Then it's the next season I'm doing the music thing real heavy, and then one season, you know, he's just got me uh tending to my wife and being a better husband real heavy, and you know, just seeking the kingdom first and letting him guide my path, you know.

SPEAKER_02 14:51

So you're talking about this prison ministry. What's it like in the prison ministry?

SPEAKER_00 15:22

It's a blessing. It's a blessing, you know. Um really never thought about that verse, um, Matthew uh 25, 36, you know, until uh my my homeboy, you know, introduced me to he tricked me actually. He tricked me and he told me uh he told me come have breakfast with him and a couple of other fellas one Saturday. And so I, you know, me being a big boy, I'm like, oh yeah, I'll yeah, we can go have breakfast. Yeah, I love to eat, you know. And and uh, and so that was the introduction to prison ministry. And so, yeah, man, I just started going into prison and um really just started serving, you know. Like the Lord, the Lord will be um intentional in what he wants you to do. Some people are out here to preach, some people are out here to teach, some people are out here to, you know, rap, some people are out here, but me in prison ministry, I I go and serve. I could just be in there, literally just serving plates, showing them the love of the church, you know. It's not always uh something where I'm going in there and I'm preaching or I'm rapping. I'm just I'm just going inside the prisons and serving. And and a lot of times, you know, most inmates, you know, they're really educated people. They a lot of them know the Bible better than us, you know, churchgoers, because they have, you know, they're in prison. They have so much time in the word, in these books, with the Lord. And so there's been a bunch of times where I've had deep spiritual moments and have learned deep, deep lessons from my life and from my marriage from these guys that are doing life, you know. So prison ministry has been a blessing for me, man. So that's why I stay in it. That's why the Lord keeps me in it, because it's been a blessing. So yeah, man. It's been good.

SPEAKER_04 17:28

Yeah, what what's something you feel like the Lord has shown you through prison ministry? Or what's like one uh maybe an example of one of those lessons you've learned from the guys in there?

SPEAKER_00 17:37

The main thing is that really serving is a gift, you know, to be considerate of others. That's a gift that everybody doesn't have. And when you have a and when you have a passion for it, to never like water that down. Serve, be considerate, think of others, you know. Don't always let it be about you, your platform, or what you think, you know, you or your platform needs, you know. First, first be be a servant. And then the other thing, just really don't don't take life for granted. The things, no matter how small things might be, you know, don't take them for granted, you know, because the things that we have, there's there's men that that's that's never seen it, you know. They've been in prison so long, they've they've never seen it. So the things that that we have or that that sometimes we think everybody has, there's there's some men in our country, and as good as America is, their past mistakes are just where life has has led them, you know, they've never even seen it. So, you know, don't take don't take what we have, don't take what the Lord has given you and what you have, don't take it for granted, because you know, it's a blessing. It is. That's what I've gotten the most, man.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

A lot of those brothers, they, you know, they want, you know, they want love and they want to give love. It's just a lot of times their environments, they they don't know how genuine the love is. So as a Christian, if if you're going in, be genuine. You don't have to be super spiritual, you don't have to, you know, know the whole Bible back and forth. Just be yourself. And they are and and they respect and accept that way more than somebody who's trying to come in and rattle off all the verses they'd memorize. Just be yourself, you know. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:46

We started this podcast, or I started with the idea of to explore and to like what Christian rappers do and for me to like learn on how I want to start my career. But I have like two questions. They're both about Christian hip hop. The first one is who are you looking to collaborate with in the future? And then my second question is what advice would you have for others just starting out in the industry or others that want to get into the industry?

SPEAKER_00 20:24

Well, to answer your first question, who I'm looking to collab with, I just met this awesome, awesome singer. This her name was uh Myra Leon. Awesome, awesome singer, and uh great, powerful voice. So I'm her and some other brothers here in Cleveland that we've been doing shows together. We've been fellowshipping together. One is named Guy's Child, dope artist, dope artist. Yeah, and uh another brother named DFG Saul, he's actually up for a uh Stellar Gospel Award this year for Album of the Year. Yeah, so you know, those are uh those are a couple of brothers. Another brother named Corey Bates, out of all he's from Cleveland, but he's in Columbus. He, yeah, man, dope, dope artist. He got a dope song. I remember all the time, yang yang yang yang yang yang yang yang yinks. Yeah, he's dope, bro. He's dope. You should check him out, man. It's a dope song. I think you'll like him for real. Yeah, and just really whoever anybody else that the Lord really places in front of me that's you know, places on my heart to do a song with, you know, no matter how big they might be or whatever, you know. If I feel that move from the Lord, then I definitely want to be uh obedient to that. And um the the other question, my advice for anybody who wants to get into the music industry is specifically. Christian hip hop, I would say first, I would say for me, my advice wholeheartedly, make sure that's what the Lord wants you to do. Make sure that's what the you know what the Lord's will is for you. You know, if you just want to make some songs to have fun and put it out there, great, do that. But if you want to get in the industry, man, make sure you have the protection of the Lord, and that's what the will is for your life. Because I don't really consider myself in the industry. I consider myself somebody that's just, you know, moving, being guided by the Lord, and he's really allowed me and blessed me to uh have the resources to make the music, first off. The people, the encouragement when I, you know, from my community when I when I've needed it, you know, he's brought people my way to encourage me and uplift me. And just and so I just literally just putting the music out and uh doing it with so much fun and so much love and just it's not anything that I'm looking for, any type of material gain back from. So it's it's been it's been fun doing it that way. Not being industry or business minded. I'm it's more ministry based and just having fun, man. So I mean, bro, if you just want to make some songs and just have fun doing it and just put it on your YouTube and just glorifying the Lord, do it, dog. Do it. But if you do it like where it's like, I want to get in the industry, I want to make money, and I'm and all of that, man, seek the Lord first and see if that's truly what he wants you to do, you know? So, yeah, dog. That's that's what I'll say.

SPEAKER_04 23:59

Yeah, that's good. Is there a like a strong Christian hip-hop community in the Cleveland area? I tried to look up some of the people on some of your songs that are named collaborators, and a lot of them don't have big Spotify presences, but I figured it was probably people you knew locally. And you said you did like three shows this weekend, so that's a lot of a lot of stuff going on.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Yeah, I I'm I'm just now meeting other people that that have been honestly making uh Christian music longer than I have. So I'm just now meeting those guys. The people I collabed with on the album, they're all people from my church. Yeah, yeah, they're all people from the worship team that I just asked to say, you know, help uh help either write the song with me and sing it. And so, you know, and they did just to help me out. So, but as far as like the Christian music community here, it's it's kind of scattered, you know, it's kind of scattered. Everybody is so into their platform and to get their selves out there that it kind of is not a strong community, you know. So, and then me being me originally being from Tennessee and not the Cleveland area, it really puts me like on the outskirts of, you know, things. But here recently, since I put the album out, really, you know, they're starting to get to know me more. They're starting to see like, no, Mike is a real man of guy. So starting to build a little bit more community and build relationships with some of them. So yeah. Yeah. I think I think they just gotta see that you are a genuine person, you know, genuine person that really um that really is really has love uh for the Lord and from the Lord, and you know, and so that that plays the part, you know.

SPEAKER_02 26:03

You have a recent collaboration where you're a featured artist at the song Fifth Flow by Main of God. So how was that experience?

SPEAKER_00 26:14

Man, that was that was dope. That was dope, bruh, for real. Like, you know, that was my first feature. That was the first time somebody reached out to me to jump on their songs, you know. And um, when I found when I found Maine the God, and he in Texas with y'all.

SPEAKER_03 26:33

So I didn't know didn't know that.

SPEAKER_00 26:35

Yeah, yeah, man. Y'all see and see Main the God, his sound is so Southern, and there's so many all those Southern rappers I grew up on, the UGK, the Eight Ball MJG, the Masterpiece, the all of them cats, is rooted in his music. So it was like, man, I can't believe this brother, you know, doing it for the Lord, reached out to me and wants me to get on this song. So it was, it was, it was fun. It was dope. I was real happy to, you know, talk to a another man, a guy from the south, trying to make southern, you know, hip hop. So it was really, really cool, man. Really, really cool. Did you did you like did you uh like the verse?

SPEAKER_02 27:22

Yeah, I I like I like this song in particular.

SPEAKER_00 27:25

That's what's up, bro. I'm glad that you liked it, man, for real. Straight up. Yeah, man. You got any pointers for me?

SPEAKER_02 27:33

For whoever you have like a feature with, or whoever you like have collaborated with in the past, I I feel like because McCray and Tadashi were roommates, and they've ha have a lot of collaborations throughout the years. Yes. And so whoever you collaborated with in your first album, even with Man of God, I I recommend you can stick with them, have them on other collaborations. Even Zay Hill, he's a biggest artist, and he has collaborated with Tadashi and a couple of other names that I know. And if you can collaborate with him more and uh love to see the songs because Flexen was a very dope experience when I heard it for the first time. Right. And maybe because Spotify has you can either make them a feature artist or a main artist, and if they're a main artist, then what that does is when when you post with them as a main artist and they're following him, they can see that he dropped a new song, but he's like more a feature, and you're the more main artist, but he's still a main artist. So if that Spotify is great for reaching yourself out there and trying to create a bigger space where like LeCray, he started off with just his friends, and then like he started touring, and that's when he eventually met Tripoli. Like he he performed at night church for soul in 2004. Unfortunately, I was not born. And if I was I would still be too young to know who LeQ was. So but he started touring, doing all the small stuff, like what Miles Minnesota's doing with the Glowfest, and what he did uh when he first started out with like all these small events, like at youth groups, and that really puts yourself out there, gets yourself a bunch more fans, a bunch more listeners, uh, a bunch more people who know your music, and like w when the cray started tuning, he that's when he met Triple, and so the three of them LeCray Tadash and Triple together, they started 106, and that's like how the Christian hip-hop scene started out with Le Cray, especially.

SPEAKER_01 30:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:17

But like if you can like a bunch of people following their footsteps because that's how they got features and got known.

SPEAKER_00 30:26

Alright, I got you. Nah, I'm I'm I'm I'm trying, bro. I'm trying, but you know, I just gotta I just gotta keep one, I have to keep making sure that I'm doing what the Lord is placing placing me to do. And then I would say, um, that was all good advice that I really do appreciate. And it's with the collaborations, if the like, like with Zay Hill, man, I'm glad that you love flexing, because that was that was pure accident how that happened. That literally, I put a song, you know, my song Never Alone. I put that song out, and Zay Hill heard that, and he said that he really liked it, and he had just reached out to me, and uh he was trying to help like undiscovered artists. And so he, yeah, he he said, if you send me a song, I'll jump on the hook, and um, yeah, and let's see what we can do. And so, yeah, man, that was purely by accident right there. Me and Zay, we we've talked a little bit after that, some and everything. He just he just had a child and everything. So, but yeah, man, I'm just gonna take that with you, the advice that you gave me, and I'm gonna try to put it in play, bro. I'm gonna try my best to put it in play. Thanks for the advice, dog, for real.

SPEAKER_02 31:42

Okay, so we're about the end of the podcast. This uh we've kept this a surprise for you because right now we're gonna have to go into the track record, which is basically a lightning round where you uh short answers say the first thing that comes up to mind. Okay. Um we our questions are short. So the first one, uh I really wanted to ask this one. Who do you listen to that is in the Christian hip-hop community?

SPEAKER_00 32:13

Oh man, there's so many cats. Honestly, I have to say uh right now, Korean the Light. You know him? Korean The Light? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:24

All right.

SPEAKER_00 32:24

Loving, loving his, loving his the newest album he just put out. Love all his old stuff, love, love his flow. Like, yeah, man. He's yeah, he he makes me want to step step my bar, step my bar game up, you know? So, yeah, career in the light.

SPEAKER_04 32:42

All right, I'll be the one to pull us out of music a little bit. What's uh like a hobby or interest of yours that would surprise people?

SPEAKER_00 32:50

Oh, a hobby or interest that would surprise people. Honestly, podcasts. I think I'm in this weird space where I listen to podcasts more than music throughout the week. Really?

SPEAKER_04 33:09

Okay. What's some of your favorite?

SPEAKER_00 33:11

Some of my favorite podcasts. Yeah, man, anything involving history, anything like Greek mythology, yeah, man. Uh like I'm excited about the Odyssey. We're gonna go see that next weekend. So I seen the Odyssey was coming out, and I was like, okay, I'm gonna bone up on my on my uh on my Greek mythology. So yeah, but yeah, I like I like uh history, period. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:38

Okay. What's one of the craziest comments you received when you dropped a song in like a social media post?

SPEAKER_00 33:46

One of the craziest comments I received, why are you following that white guy? That's yeah, that was yeah, that right there. But but it it left it left room open, it left room open for songs like We All Chosen, you know, where I got to, where I got to write a little bit about, you know, all of us are chosen. It's not about a white, black thing. And it left me, it left the opening so that I could, you know, kind of give them the gospel song, you know, tell them.

SPEAKER_04 34:20

Yeah, that's good.

SPEAKER_00 34:21

So it started dialogue. So yeah, but that was that was a crazy comment to me, you know. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:29

If you could ask any historical figure one question, who would you want to ask? What would you ask them?

SPEAKER_00 34:36

That's a great question. I mean, of course, I want to ask Jesus. Wanna ask Jesus.

SPEAKER_04 34:44

What's the biggest question? What would you ask him first?

SPEAKER_00 34:50

That's the hard one. What would I ask him first?

SPEAKER_05 34:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:56

It feels wrong to say it, but I right now I I'll probably ask him if he loved me, honestly.

SPEAKER_03 35:04

You know, no, that's a good one.

SPEAKER_04 35:06

Yeah, like some of our prior episodes we've talked about whether that feels real, even if you know it is. I mean, there's a difference in in believing the theology and like really trusting it.

SPEAKER_00 35:18

Exactly. Exactly. So if I had Jesus, I mean, I I in all honesty, I I I, you know, this kind of came up a little bit with that clip from Salah LaBeouf. But honestly, I think if Jesus Christ was right here in front of me, one, you would know, you would know, like this is Jesus. He's Jesus. You would know. Unless he didn't want you to know. Like the like the two men walking, but you would know. And so just that awe and power and and everything that he is, you might not say nothing. Or whatever, whatever you was thinking, he already knew, you know? So might not say nothing, but historical figure, definitely Jesus. Definitely.

SPEAKER_02 36:10

If you could collaborate with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?

SPEAKER_00 36:15

Collaborate, living or dead, who would it be? Off the top of my head, I don't know if y'all know who they are, but uh egg ball and MJG, uh, southern rappers from Tennessee, grew up listening to so much of their music. They got one album. They're not they're not a Christian artist, but you know, they still they're still not artists that was just like, you know, they still got they still have some conscious music, you know? And um, yeah, they're they're still alive, but yeah, that's yeah, a ball of MJG for sure.

SPEAKER_01 36:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:54

What's the uh first C D you can remember ever buying?

SPEAKER_00 36:59

Snoop Dogg Doggy Style.

SPEAKER_04 37:01

Yeah, okay. We talked about that a little bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's a common misconception about the Christian rap or CH industry?

SPEAKER_00 37:14

I I think that we're preachers. Like, I I mean, I get it, I understand. We, you know, what we rap and the music that you know we write is is is the majority of it really is from the Lord, you know. But I think I think it's a difference between preachers and rappers. You know, it's almost like I think preachers are have a very much higher standard than, you know, as far as they're protecting a flock, you know. There's like they're you know, they're shepherds for real. Whereas a rapper could be the one sheep in the corner that's just got everybody laughing or have got everybody feeling good, but the rappers need that pastor to, you know, to protect them, you know. I think, you know, I I don't think every rapper is a is a pastor or a preacher. I think there's a I think there's a huge difference in them, you know. So I but a lot of times some people feel like we're ministering when we're rapping, and I do agree with that, but that doesn't that does not mean I'm a pastor. That does not mean I'm a preacher, you know. So that's yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:28

Okay. Any final word you have for those listening to this episode?

SPEAKER_00 38:33

Uh my final word is that Everett is dope for listening to my music. E Money is my my dude now. Make sure you show him love. Seems like he's somebody who wants to uh make some music, so can't wait to hear his music. His dad, Jason, pretty dope guy himself, very professional people. They and when they hit me up, they were real humble about it, and it brightened up my day. It's an honor, such an honor that y'all hit me up to do this pod with y'all. And any other artists out there, show these, show these people some love because this is who they're fans, you know. So, yeah, man. That's my we appreciate it.

SPEAKER_04 39:20

Yeah, we're a new little podcast, and we really appreciate you responding so quickly and spending some time with us. But yeah, Everett's a super fan. He's uh I'm not sure there's a bigger, bigger ch fan out there than Everett.

SPEAKER_00 39:34

So uh Man, we we appreciate you, man. We appreciate you.

SPEAKER_04 39:38

Where can people follow you, support your work? I mean, obviously Spotify, but I know you're involved. I don't think we even talked about the bookkeeper, but you're involved in some stuff like the bookkeeper. I will if people want to look for you or support you, where else should they go?

SPEAKER_00 39:51

Yeah, uh follow me on Instagram at just mic. That's J-U-S-T-M-I-C 216. Um, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube. I'm trying to keep those three as like my main that I post on and stuff. So you can follow me on those three under that right there, just Mike216. As far as the music, I'm on all streaming platforms, all of it, and all of it is free. If any of them are trying to charge you for anything that has my name on it, go to YouTube. It's gonna be on my YouTube for free. All of it's free. So, um, yeah, and as far as the bookkeeper, uh TBK247.com, that is really it's my big bro, Daryl. He's the CEO of it. But, you know, we've built a strong relationship. I am a team member slash podcaster on there. Yeah, it's for and other independent artists, it's for other people like y'all. You know, if you guys would like uh for us to do uh an article and help promote y'all's podcast, go to the go to TBK247, look for the submissions, push your submission in. We'll try to help push you and off our website and the network that we have. And we're just really trying to, you know, our say our saying is change the culture for God. You know, we're trying to impact the culture and let the world know that all of us Christians ain't corny. We got some swag about us. We love the Lord, we like to have fun, and you know, we want y'all to come have fun with us and change our lives like I how the Lord just changed ours. So that's TBK247.com. Check us out. There's a lot of good artists, a lot of good podcasts. We dipping into books, you know, authors and all types of cool stuff. So check us out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 41:56

All right, we'll do that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:58

Well, I think that's a wrap for today. That's a wrap on this episode of Testimony Tracks. If today's conversation meant something to you, follow the show wherever you listen, and find us on Instagram at RealtestimonyTracks, or by email at show at testimony tracks.com. Show notes and more episodes at testimonytracks.com. Follow us, telephone, and we'll catch you up on the next show.