Rappers 'walk where Jesus walked,' make 'a new sound' in Israel
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A group of rap artists toured Israel a few months ago, dropping new bars and getting baptized where Jesus did 2,000 years ago.
In September, hip hop artist Derek Minor brought the 116 Clique, a group of Christian rap artists, to the Holy Land to "walk where Jesus walked" and put together a recently released short film on YouTube called "A New Sound in Israel Vol. 2."
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"It was the time that I realized that my faith had real places," Minor says. "That I wasn't believing a fairy tale, but actually real places with significance and value."
Lecrae, who sings "Blessings," said he plans to come back again and again.
"Just the unique experience of being able to walk where Jesus walked, to see the places that David and Solomon would've looked at with my own eyes, I'll never read the Bible the same way again," Lecrae said. "My relationship with God will never be the same again."
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Minor traveled to the Holy Land in 2018 with Israel Collective, an initiative of Christians United for Israel that leads groups of young American Christians to Israel, but wanted to return with the group of artists.
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It was a first trip to Israel for Andy Mineo, the "You Can't Stop Me" singer. "It's created a hunger inside of me to want to learn more. This place is incredible."
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Christian rapper Canon rapped on a boat on the Sea of Galilee where the Bible describes Jesus walking on water. He said it made his faith more practical, and he used the opportunity to visit Jesus' empty tomb and thank him for saving his life.
"The whole theme of this trip is just like, 'Man, this God is real and this place is a real place with real facts, with real people," George Moss, the "Go Hard or Go Home" singer said.
A rapper named Propaganda said he was most interested in the area's current political situation.
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"I guess it's all like seeing it with my own eyes," Propaganda said. "I am fascinated by geopolitics...I wanted to hear...really what's really happening on the ground. You hear what's happening on the news, but what do the people feel? What do the people think and what's the diversity of thought on the ground?"
Tony Tillman said he was surprised to see Christians, Muslims, and Jews "striving for peace" and living together.
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Tedashii, who sings "Dum Dum" with Lecrae, said each stop on the trip strengthened his faith in Christ.
"When he resurrected he gave the opportunity of new life, eternal life, and a hope to be with God for eternity, to be with all the other saints for eternity, now I'm just looking forward to that day," he said. "So this place with all of its sites reinforces that hope."