Out of the Mouth of Babes: Young Christian Rapper Ministers to Community

Young Christian rapper Seanessee "Young Rig" West was so impacted by a missions trip he took with Word of Life Family Church of Burlington, NC that he held a fundraising concert.

“I remember how they blessed me and I want to bless others,” West, 15, said in a recent phone interview. “I felt differently after I came back. I learned a lot. I was humbled by the experience.”

That act of kindness, West said, inspired him to do something to help others. The result is a fundraising concert called “A Star is Born, Young Rig in Concert,” featuring West, a Christian rapper, aka “Young Rig;” local alternative band, The JC Project; Jadda Jeffries, aka “Jadda J;” Little T, an 11-year-old gospel rap artist; Reveal, a female gospel rap artist; The GGT Boys (God-given talent), an R&B hip-hop duo; Lauren Edwards and dancers and the Vertical Student Ministries drama team.

The concert was held at the Paramount Theater, 128 E. Front St., Burlington. Half of the proceeds from the ticket sales and all of the proceeds from the concessions were donated to the Vertical Student Ministries youth group at Word Of Life Family Church.

West’s dad, Rod “Fatal” West, is a rapper and nicknamed his son, Original (“Rig” for short).

“We do songs together,” he said.

Clezelle Poteat, Seanessee’s mom, said the youth group has had such a positive influence not only on her son’s life, but others in the neighborhood. Seventy-five young people currently participate in the group and Vertical Student Ministries has its own church service on Sunday nights.

“They do community outreach — visit rest homes and have arranged Easter egg hunts for the neighborhoods,” she said. “There are some young people who simply can’t afford to go on these mission trips and this is why Seanessee felt let to do this.”

The difference between Young Rig’s music and the rap you may hear on the radio, he said, is that “every other word they say is a curse word. But I feel that you don’t have to glorify guns, cars and women to rap. You can glorify God.”

The youth group visited a homeless shelter in Vero Beach, Fla. Young Rig not only performed, but a homeless man shared his own rap tune with the young man, too.

“I felt real honored,” West said. “My music is positive, inspirational and motivational. I hope it moves the audience.”

At Gospel Elevations, we are proud of Young Rig. He represent youth who love God and are doing positive things in his community. Hopefully we can get some of his music on the web site.

Milwauwee Has a Legacy That's Christian

Legacy Musik is not your ordinary rapper though. Legacy is what some may call a "Christian Rapper" or as he descibes it as a "positively-influencing Hip-Hop artist, with the word of God at his foundation". This kid oozes positivety from his pores.

Legacy feels that music is in his blood. His mother (Rhoda Burgos) sang and played in a band. He took advantage of the downtime during her rehearsals to bang on the drums or yell in the microphones. Towards the end of his senior year, Legacy realized he had an ability to compose poetry, which evolved into creating original songs. He believes that he possess an inherent fearlessness, which is why sharing what he has written, in front of people, never intimidated him.

When asked about the labels of Christian rapper or Gospel Rapper, Legacy is not fond of them.

He states, “labels carry connotations, both good and bad. Labels foster stereotypes. Labels discriminate. Labels take away the chance for people to determine, on their own, who an artist really is, and what they represent.”

He continues saying, “labeling someone is the coward’s way out of taking the time necessary to get to know someone. Once you’ve labeled them, based on either their beliefs, or the color of their skin, you’ve denied every individual member of that particular “group” any originality.”

His current project took over a year to complete. It took a lot of work but Legacy feels that it was worth it.

When asked about the message that he was trying to get across in his music, Legacy stated, “I want my music to empower people who have chosen to do the right thing, who have chosen to be who they were created to be. I want them to know that their past, regardless of the opposition, or the challenges that come their way, will not determine, and should not determine, who they have the potential to be in their future.

Finally, I want my music, and the message within my music, to both motivate and encourage those who’ve made wrong decisions in life, who’ve made mistakes, that it’s not too late to make things right.”

At Gospel Elevations, we are in agreement with Legacy when he says his ministry is not just about a “Christian” rapping behind the microphone, or a religious person writing some lyrics, it’s about a message of hope that inspires people. It’s about a message of encouragement. That’s what resonates with people regardless of their age, their socioeconomic background, or their religious beliefs.

In order to stay up-to-date with what’s going on with Legacy, log on to www.LegacyMusik.com.

Original story was not written by Gospel Elevations. It was modified to fit our page. Original article was written y Damon "Jank" Joy, Special to the Journal Sentinel