' 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."

CHURCH OF ENGLAND TRIES TO BROADEN APPEAL WITH SONGS BY U2 AND PRAYERS FOR GOOGLE

The ideas for alternative-style worship are part of an initiative launched by Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to appeal to the younger generation.
They are set out in a new book compiled by the Church's Fresh Expressions programme, which aims to boost church attendance with more relevant and exciting services.

However, traditionalists have criticised the unorthodox services as "pointless" and "shallow", and have warned that experimenting with Church tradition would do more harm than good.
One Holy Communion service promoted in the book, called Ancient Faith, Future Mission, begins with the congregation being shown a video clip from the YouTube website about a United Nations anti-poverty campaign.
Worshippers are told that "our planet is messed up" and that "things are not right".
They are then asked to approach the altar and rub sea salt on their fingers to represent tears, before walking around and meditating at eight "prayer stations" representing themes such as "gender equality" and "environmental sustainability".
A psalm is recited in "beat poetry" style to the accompaniment of African Djembe drums, and prayers are said "for the corporate world, for influential CEOs who oversee billion-dollar industries".
The prayers continue: "We pray for John Chambers of Cisco Systems, Bill Gates of Microsoft, Dr Eric Schmidt of Google Inc, H Lee Scott Jr of Wal-Mart Stores and others who have already made commitments to justice."
Among the alternative services explored in the book, which is co-edited by the Rt Rev Steven Croft, the new Bishop of Sheffield, are so-called "U2charists", services in which the congregation receives communion but sings the songs of the Irish rock band U2 instead of traditional hymns.
The services, which include such songs as "Mysterious Ways", "One", and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", have been pioneered at St Swithin's church in Lincoln.
The book also features Transcendence, an event held in York Minister in which traditional Latin chant is set by DJs to hip hop or ambient dance music and video images are projected onto the walls.
The Rev Sue Wallace, who has pioneered the event by blending modern technology with ancient prayers, says that the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
Many of the services promoted in the book feature physical activity and symbols alongside traditional sermons.
In chapter of the book, Archbishop Williams says: "The Bible is full of stories about God communicating through act and sign as well as language ... Far from being bound to communication through clear information economically expressed in words, our society is still deeply sensitive to symbols and inclined to express important feelings and perceptions in this way."
The Fresh Expressions initiative was launched by the Archbishop in 2004 to combat the significant drop in churchgoing that has been seen in Britian over recent decades. In the past few years the decline appears to have steadied.
Church leaders are particularly concerned about the loss of younger people, who are abandoning the pews at a greater rate than their older counterparts.
The Rt Rev Graham Cray, who heads the Fresh Expressions initiative, said that it was vital that the Church explored new ways of engaging with modern culture.
"We have to reconnect with a very large percentage of the population that has no contact or interest in traditional church," he said.
"It is important to offer spirituality to people who are offered a multi-choice lifestyle and who think that the last place they'll find it is in church."
He said that the new services were carefully designed for specific communities and stressed they was not supposed to challenge traditional worship.
However, the Rev David Houlding, prebendary at St Paul's Cathedral, bemoaned the Church's attempt to widen its appeal.
"All this is tosh. It's just a passing fad, irrelevant, shallow and pointless," he said.
"There's no depth to it and it's embarrassing because it'll make people think that we're eccentric and silly."
The Fresh Expressions initiative has spawned churches for surfers as well as commissioning priests to work in night clubs and skateboard parks.

COUNSELLOR SUSPENDED AFTER TEENS HEAR ' CHRISTIAN MUSIC ' IN CALIFORNIA; ACCUSED OF EXPOSING CHILDREN TO UNAPPROVED RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES

A Southern California counselor with nearly two decades of experience with foster children is challenging a decision that she be punished after four teens she took on an approved day-long outing encountered a beach festival – and heard Christian music.
The 18-year employee, according to the lawsuit, took four teen girls from the Orangewood Children's Home, which was launched as a private facility but now is owned and run by Orange County. "What happened to this counselor was insane and unjust," said Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, who is defending the counselor.
"Allowing teenagers to overhear a few minutes of Christian music while at the beach should not result in a six-week suspension," insisted Dacus, who said the counselor's name is not being released.
A county spokeswoman said officials had not seen the complaint. But it was a personnel issue, they said, so there would be no comment.
Pacific Justice said the lawsuit was filed after an extensive course of "administrative remedies" proved fruitless.
The complaint explains the counselor took the four teen girls on the field trip during the summer of 2006, first to a 5 kilometer run and then to the beach.
"At the beach, the group encountered a 'Surf Jam' taking place at the Huntington Beach Pier. The group also overheard Christian music for about 10 minutes while they were eating," the institute said.
After the outing, the counselor was ordered into a "disciplinary meeting" that focused on the inappropriateness of Christian music.
No punishment was imposed immediately, but weeks later after another meeting at which the same subject was reviewed, the counselor was suspended six weeks for "exposing children to unapproved religious activities."
The lawsuit was filed in Orange County Superior Court seeking to recover the financial losses from the suspension and vindicate her constitutional rights, the institute said.
Dacus told WND the circumstances were disturbing.
"It just goes to show how anti-faith some [people] are," he said.