John SturdyJulian DeShazier has been leading a congregation at University Church in Hyde Park since 2010 and rapping as J.Kwest for even longer. He’s on a quest—hence his stage name—to find a middle ground where hip-hop and gospel music can coexist.
“The church used to rip out ‘Take My Hand, Precious Lord’ from the hymnals,” Jackson says, because it was so different from the gospel songs of the time. “But now, you can’t go to a funeral in the hood and not hear [it].” Gospel stations cater to an older crowd. And that crowd loves praise and worship songs , old-school choirs , traditional gospel artists , and contemporary groups .
“The older I got, I started to see where that went for them,” he says. “They’re not around no more, which I didn’t realize meant they were dead or in jail or in the hospital. I just started to say, ‘I don’t want this to be my life.’ They don’t look like they’re having fun anymore.” When he raps, J.Kwest doesn’t preach a sermon or beat you over the head with Bible verses. He’s telling his story, hoping that he can save someone else’s life. As Greer puts it, what matters is that J.Kwest’s music comes from a Christian worldview.
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