Stephen Wiley (born 1958) is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and minister, who is often credited as the first artist to release a Christian rap album. Page 3

Biography

Wiley was born in 1958 and grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma. A

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

graduate, Wiley began a career as a jazz drummer in 1979. By 1982, Wiley was performing rap music with Christian lyrics, and in 1984 he took a job as chaplain at a juvenile detention center. In 1985, Wiley released the album ''Bible Break'', the title track of which received airplay on Christian radio. A 1988 article in ''Spin'' magazine nicknamed Wiley the "Grandmaster of God". ''Bible Break'' was later acknowledged as the first Christian rap album by

T-Bone The T-bone and porterhouse are steaks of beef cut from the short loin (called the sirloin in Commonwealth countries and Ireland). Both steaks include a "T"-shaped lumbar vertebra with sections of abdominal internal oblique muscle on each side ...

in his 2002 song "Our History". Wiley would later serve as assistant pastor/youth minister at the predominantly-black Crenshaw Christian Center in Los Angeles, CA under

televangelist Televangelism ( tele- "distance" and "evangelism," meaning " ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are ministers, whether official or self-pr ...

Frederick K.C. Price. He eventually released a total of six albums, with ''Rhapsody'' in 1991 including a guest appearance by the gospel group

Witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

. Wiley later founded the Praise Center Family Church in Muskogee and

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

where he serves as pastor. He is also the Assistant Vice President, Director of Christian Ministries, and Assistant Professor of Religion at

Bacone College Bacone College, formerly Bacone Indian University, is a private tribal college in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Founded in 1880 as the Indian University by missionary Almon C. Bacone, it was originally affiliated with the mission arm of what is now Ameri ...

in Muskogee where he teaches full-time.

Discography

* ''Bible Break'' (Brentwood Music, 1985) * ''Rappin for Jesus'' (Brentwood Music, 1986) * ''Rap it Up'' (Brentwood Music, 1987) * ''Get Real'' (Brentwood Music, 1989) * ''Rhythm and Poetry'' (StarSong Records, 1990) * ''Rhapsody'' (StarSong Records, 1991)

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiley, Stephen Performers of Christian hip hop music Living people 1958 births Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma University of Oklahoma alumni Bacone College faculty