' HOLY HIP HOP ' TRYING TO BREAK INTO THE MAINSTREAM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Terverius Black believes in hip-hop gospel so much he sold his first home to get the money needed to start his Christian-themed entertainment company.
It was a risky move, but the 34-year-old entrepreneur believes the company's diversity, which is producing music, a film, a reality television show and a gospel cruise, will help boost a struggling genre of Christian music.
Secular hip-hop used radio as a launching pad, but holy hip-hop gets little play on regular hip-hop stations and nearly none on gospel or Christian radio.
"It's tough, but we've got to get a little more creative," said Black, who started Huntsville, Ala.-based Xist (pronounced "exist") Worldwide Record Label three years ago with partner Sean Simmonds.
Both men point to hip-hop moguls like Sean "Diddy" Combs, Jay-Z and Russell Simmons, who succeeded branching outside the music industry. Even though their message is faith-based, Black and Simmonds believe they can find the same success.

"We're trying to create our own blueprint for gospel, but at the same time, make it so that it's respected across the board, and can be followed," said Simmonds, 32.
Hip-hop gospel has been around nearly two decades, but many followers say it didn't start getting recognized until a few years ago. So far this year, there have been more than 500,000 CD and digital sales of hip-hop gospel, according to the Christian Music Trade Association, which operates Christian SoundScan.
Supporters also point to an increasing number of hip-hop gospel fan Web sites.
"I think holy hip-hop music is starting to make a move," said Danny Wilson, a former road manager for rapper-actor LL Cool J and the main organizer of the Holy Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta. "Look how long it took regular hip hop to take. You're talking about 25 to 30 years for it to really make an impact to the point that it's a driving culture that's known all over the world."
Wilson said better air play of hip-hop gospel would make it a more effective tool in reaching the unchurched. He cites a syndicated two-hour radio show sponsored by Holy Hip Hop Awards that airs once a week in about 100 cities.
"We get letters from prison all the time," Wilson said. "One man wrote, 'I wish I had this music when I was out on the street, it might have saved my life.'"
Joey Elwood, president of Gotee Records, a small independent label, agrees hip-hop gospel would benefit from more air play on both gospel and secular outlets, but he believes "a lot of the outlets are afraid of offending people."
"If there's any genre where I think that would not be an issue, it would be in hip-hop," Elwood said. "I think hip-hop listeners are less likely to complain about a gospel message in their song. The radio stations have got to get a little bit braver."
Xist could create more awareness and demand for its music with its other ventures, said Kymberlee Norsworthy, director of publicity for Verity Gospel Music Group, a subsidiary of Sony.
"I think only time will tell, but I have faith and confidence that it will be successful," she said of the company.
Xist's film, "Stand," and its reality TV show focus on three young hip-hop gospel artists struggling in the industry who refuse to trade their beliefs for fame.
Black said the gospel cruise, which allows fans to mingle with their favorite artists, is also an opportunity for people to enjoy themselves "and not ... worry about compromising what they believe in."
"We Christians, but we party, too," he said.
The key will be staying true to a Christian message, said Vassal Benford, a top California-based record and movie producer who is working on his first gospel album. Xist needs to clearly distinguish the music from secular hip hop, whose reputation and lyrics are often "centered around a lot of darkness," such as robbing and killing.
"Gospel music has a certain wholesomeness to it," he said. "And whether it's a hip-hop beat or whatever it is under it, the underlying cause of it should always be about God and ... creating a positive influence."
Trey Williams, also known as Andale, is a Nashville gospel rapper starring in Xist Worldwide's film. He said his lyrics focus on humility and encouragement, rather than negativity.
On a track from his latest CD, "White Flag," Williams says: "I'm surrendering ... sick of lying, sick of stealing ... I'm taking my life back the devil he don't really like that but Christ glad I'm waving this here bright white flag."
Williams said he believes the movie will provide valuable exposure for hip-hop gospel.
"If people know we're here and they know the level of quality we're presenting then they'll pay attention to it, but the trick is getting them to pay attention," said the 27-year-old Williams. "We have to get in their face, and a lot of times they just don't know we exist. I think this film will help with that."
Hip-hop gospel pioneer Vicki Mack-Lataillade, whose discoveries include gospel star Kirk Franklin and a group called The Gospel Gangstaz, said she understands the challenges of "doing radical music" and applauds companies like Xist Worldwide for thinking outside the box.
"It's healthy for the industry to have ... new visions," she said. "It's the lifeblood."

GOD'S WORD GOES PUBLIC FOR 90 STRAIGHT HOURS ; 5 DAY BIBLE READING MARATHON TRUMPETS EVERY VERSE FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION

STUART, – "In the beginning was the Word."
And beginning tonight in this small city on Florida's Treasure Coast, those who love the Word of God commenced a nonstop, Bible-reading marathon that will take them from the first verse in Genesis to the last line of Revelation, lasting some 90 hours and finishing up Sunday afternoon.
The outdoor event features people of all ages and beliefs reading the King James Version of the Good Book at a public park owned by the city of Stuart which, for the first time this year, is joining Martin County in endorsing the project.
"Here we are on government property, and we have the Ten Commandments right there in front of the pulpit," said Donna Healton, a pastor with Spirit of Prophecy Ministries who organized the event along with her husband and fellow pastor, Gene Healton. "Our vision is that every county in Florida will be doing a Bible marathon."
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The Christian couple began their first marathon in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
They said God had prompted them to start the event as a "protection of our nation against terrorism." They originally thought it was just going to be a one-year project, but the reading has blossomed over the past years, popular with not only ministers, but just ordinary folk who wish to read Scripture publicly.
Bible-reader-wannabes either sign up in advance for a 15-minute time slot of their choosing, or just show up off the street to jump in whenever there's an availability.

A handful of volunteers actually camp through the night at the park, ready to take over the duties if someone from the public is not at the podium.
At times, reading the Bible can be difficult when it comes to mouthing some of the names found in the Old Testament. For instance, Genesis 10:26 states, "And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah."
When one woman had trouble making it through that list, she ad-libbed a bit, saying, "Lord, you know who they are!"
And why do people come from all over the Sunshine State just to read the Bible out loud?
"We're here basically to pronounce the Word of God," said Father John Bower of the Church of the Holy Comforter in Stuart. "The Word of God is to be pronounced at all times and in all places for the salvation of mankind."
"We're not the minority," stressed Michele Mazone of Jensen Beach, Fla. "We are the majority and we have to put a voice to that majority. We have to let people know that we're not going to go away, we're not going to go away quietly, that we're still going to come out and voice our opinions about the Lord and our commitment to Him and that we commit our lives to him. He is with us and He will always be with us to the end."
In years past, unseasonably cold weather made it uncomfortable for some readers and listeners, as they wore parkas, hats and gloves to stay warm through the overnight hours. This year's forecast has low temperatures expected to remain in the upper 60s.
Gene Healton was sporting a T-shirt with a Christian cross and a message stating, "This shirt is illegal in 52 countries," which he says is a reference to Islamic nations that have little or no tolerance when it comes to promoting Jesus Christ. He says it's important to be public in proclaiming God's truth, and feels there's a growing threat in America that's diminishing freedoms of speech and religion.
"That's for sure," he said. "They're trying to pass the hate bill and taking God out of more and more things all the time. We have to stand in that place and continue to pray. The Bible says there's always going to be a remnant [of those faithful to God], and a remnant is going to do a great work."

POLICE ARREST WOMAN FOR WEARING PRAYER SHAWL AT WESTERN WALL, JERUSALEM

Police on Wednesday arrested a woman who was praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, due to the fact that she was wrapped in a prayer shawl (tallit).

The woman was visiting the site with the religious women's group "Women of the Wall" to take part in the monthly Rosh Hodesh prayer. Police were called to the area after the group asked to read aloud from a Torah scroll.
Police said they arrested the women in the wake of a High Court ruling, which states that the public visiting the Western Wall is obligated to dress in accordance with the site's dress code. Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz said the act was a provocation meant to turn the wall into a fighting ground.

"We must distance politics and disagreement from this sacred place," Rabinowitz said. Chairman of the women's group, Anat Hoffman, said that this is the first time in the history of Israel that a woman has been arrested because she wrapped herself in a tallit and read from the Torah. Rabbi Gilad Kariv, associate director of Israel's reform movement, said that all over the world women are entitled to wear the tallit, and only in the land of the Jews are they excluded from the social custom and even arrested for praying.

"Israeli police should be ashamed of themselves," Kariv said. Last week Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the Shas party's spiritual leader, said during his weekly sermon that the women in the feminist movement are "stupid" and act the way they do out of a selfish desire for equality, not "for heavens' sake." Rabbi Ovadia also said about the groups' custom to pray at the Western Wall that "there are stupid women who come to the Western Wall, put on a tallit (prayer shawl), and pray," and added that they should be condemned.