Support |
albums
See all-
-
- Yearbook
- Released 2007
-
-
-
- Behind The Musik (A Boy Named Jonah)
- Released 2005
-
-
-
- It's Pronounced "Five Two"
- Released 2003
-
-
-
- Kj-52 Remixed
- Released 2006
-
biography
Raised in a rough-and-tumble suburb of Tampa, FL, KJ-52 (real name: Jonah Sorrentino) was the product of a broken home, and eventually found himself mixed up in drugs, drinking, and chasing skirts. At 15 a family member challenged him to take up Christ, and being born again gave him the strength to move on. But rather than give up hip-hop and its tacit endorsement of sin, KJ poured his faith into his hip-hop. Even his name was a devotional. "KJ" was an abbreviation of his old rap name, but "52" (pronounced "five-two") represented the miracle of the five loaves and two fish. KJ-52 believed he was spreading the word of the Lord in much the same way Jesus shared the food in the story. But his road to Christian hip-hop heaven wasn't easy. While still a teenager, KJ began working in youth ministry at a Florida inner-city church. He also recorded a demo, but it was largely ignored. Christian or not, getting your music noticed is tough. It wasn't until KJ met a young, likeminded rapper named Golden Child that things began to move forward. The two young men formed Sons of Intellect and began performing throughout Florida. Soon Golden Child moved on and the Sons dissolved. But that brief bit of success in the Christian rap game had whet KJ's appetite, and in the summer of 1998 he stepped down from his youth minister position to pursue his Christian rap dream full-time.
A relationship with Gotee Records' Todd Collins led to a deal with Nashville CCM label Essential, and the label released the debut KJ-52 full-length, Seventh Avenue, in April of 2000. The LP featured collaborations with such Christian heavyweights as Cross Movement and Knowdaverbs. Extensive touring followed the release, and KJ-52 found he'd finally established himself as the Christian rapper he always felt he could be. In 2002, KJ-52 dropped Collaborations. The album's title referred to the numerous contributions made to the album by guest artists, including Ill Harmonics, Pillar, and Thousand Foot Krutch. The most interesting track on Collaborations was "Dear Slim." The track presented an open letter to Eminem, taking issue with Em's own song, "Stan," and some of the more extreme opinions expressed in the Detroit star's lyrics. A battle rap of sorts (albeit a warm fuzzy version), the song nicely encapsulated KJ-52' s conversational rapping style, his intricate wordplay, and his devotion to the man upstairs. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
A relationship with Gotee Records' Todd Collins led to a deal with Nashville CCM label Essential, and the label released the debut KJ-52 full-length, Seventh Avenue, in April of 2000. The LP featured collaborations with such Christian heavyweights as Cross Movement and Knowdaverbs. Extensive touring followed the release, and KJ-52 found he'd finally established himself as the Christian rapper he always felt he could be. In 2002, KJ-52 dropped Collaborations. The album's title referred to the numerous contributions made to the album by guest artists, including Ill Harmonics, Pillar, and Thousand Foot Krutch. The most interesting track on Collaborations was "Dear Slim." The track presented an open letter to Eminem, taking issue with Em's own song, "Stan," and some of the more extreme opinions expressed in the Detroit star's lyrics. A battle rap of sorts (albeit a warm fuzzy version), the song nicely encapsulated KJ-52' s conversational rapping style, his intricate wordplay, and his devotion to the man upstairs. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
news
See all-
-
-
-
kj52: Wrong church twittered today! Whooooopppppss were @ real life church today @ clermont fl! Www.getareallife.com for details..
-
- 11/6/2009
- |
- 10:05 PM
- |
- Twitter / kj52
- kj52: Wrong church twittered today! Whooooopppppss were @ real life church today @ clermont fl! Www.getareallife.com for details..
-
-
-
-
-
-
kj52: Qik - friday freestyle (11.16.09) by @kj52 http://qik.ly/pRzZ
-
- 11/6/2009
- |
- 8:38 PM
- |
- Twitter / kj52
- kj52: Qik - friday freestyle (11.16.09) by @kj52 http://qik.ly/pRzZ
-
-
-
-
-
-
kj52: Photo: Got em! Let’s do this! Brb! http://tumblr.com/x123w1c7j
-
- 11/6/2009
- |
- 7:49 PM
- |
- Twitter / kj52
- kj52: Photo: Got em! Let’s do this! Brb! http://tumblr.com/x123w1c7j
-
-
-
-
-
-
kj52: Friday freestyle time! First 4 to hit me with a single topic will be used in my video! Go! http://twitvid.com/B9A37
-
- 11/6/2009
- |
- 7:47 PM
- |
- Twitter / kj52
- kj52: Friday freestyle time! First 4 to hit me with a single topic will be used in my video! Go! http://twitvid.com/B9A37
-
-
-
-
-
-
kj52: Playing a show in Clermont, FL at 7:00 PM today at Real Life Christian Center http://feeds.artistdata.com/bit2u1fWE
-
- 11/6/2009
- |
- 7:09 PM
- |
- Twitter / kj52
- kj52: Playing a show in Clermont, FL at 7:00 PM today at Real Life Christian Center http://feeds.artistdata.com/bit2u1fWE
-
-
comments
-
-
-
-
KJ-52 is awesome
-
- By RWBeast
- 2/12/2009 12:39:50
- I started listening to it over Christmas break. It's really beast. My favorite Christian rap artist( other than TobyMac)
- Be the first person to rate this comment!
-
-
-
-
-
-
ATT All KJ52 Fans
-
- By cheekybum
- 1/18/2009 19:05:55
- I'd like to invite yall to www.kj52.com/smf. This is KJ's message boards where he takes questions every monday and answers them in his podcast. You can also meet alot of Indie Up and Comers like Yungtown (winner of Breakaway Magazines "Kickin it With KJ Contest"). Hope to see yall there, my name is AC, feel free to add me as a friend here.
- Be the first person to rate this comment!
-
-
-
-
-
-
Awesome musician
-
- By Krackels
- 8/15/2008 00:15:38
- KJ,<br/>I love your music, keep it up. Still gotta get the new album. <br/><br/>Go with God Man,<br/><br/>Allen K.
- Be the first person to rate this comment!
-
-
-
-
-
-
Keep Fighting the Good Fight!
-
- By TitanV10
- 8/12/2008 04:43:02
- Kj-52,<br/>God is really using in the music industry! I pray that God will continue to use to edify and glorfy his name!
- Be the first person to rate this comment!
-
-
most played
|
