Christopher Jose Cooper (born November 17, 1966), professionally known as Soup the Chemist and Super C, is an American

Christian hip hop Christian hip hop (originally gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, gospel hip hop or holy hip hop) is a subgenre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United S ...

musician and a pioneer of the Christian hip-hop movement. He was a member of the hip hop group Soldiers for Christ, also known as S.F.C., and, as a solo artist, has released two studio albums, ''Dust'' in 2000 through

BEC Recordings BEC (Brandon Ebel Company) Recordings is a Christian rock record label that is an imprint of Tooth & Nail Records. The label was formed in 1997 in partnership with the EMI Christian Music Group. The label promotes bands with more adult Christia ...

and ''Eargasmic Arrangements'' in 2003 through his own Beesyde Records label. He published an autobiography, ''Through My Windows'', in 2014, through Dimlights Publishing.

Early life

Christopher Jose Cooper was born on November 17, 1966, in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, to father George Muhammad L. Cooper and mother Joyce L. Cooper, now Jacquet (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Washington), whose grandmother was Lucretia Lee Washington. He moved to and was raised in

Rancho Cucamonga, California Rancho Cucamonga ( ) is a city located just south of the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest in San Bernardino County, California, United States. About east of Downtown Los Angeles, Rancho Cucamonga is the 28th ...

, and graduated from

Cajon High School Cajon High School is located in the University District of San Bernardino, California, and is part of the San Bernardino City Unified School District. Academics Cajon High School is part of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IB) incl ...

in 1984.

Career

His music career began in 1984, when he graduated from high school. Cooper's pursuit of

became evident after he watched the film ''

Wild Style ''Wild Style'' is a 1983 American hip hop film directed and produced by Charlie Ahearn. Regarded as the first hip hop motion picture, it includes appearances by seminal figures such as Fab Five Freddy, Lee Quiñones, Lady Pink, The Rock Stea ...

'', regarded as the original hip hop music and culture movie. Among Cooper's earliest influences are old-school rap acts such as Double Trouble,

Run DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

, and

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is a concatenation of the members' names "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. ...

. Then known as Super C, he formed the hip hop group Soldiers for Christ, also known as S.F.C., which, alongside similar groups such as Freedom of Soul and P.I.D., helped pioneer

. Under Cooper's auspices, the group released four studio albums. Because of his pioneering role in the genre, he is sometimes called the "Godfather of Christian hip-hop". He released a studio album, ''Dust'', on January 31, 2000, through

. The song "As the Sun Rises" from ''Dust'' features Jon Gibson and samples "

Dust in the Wind "Dust in the Wind" is a song recorded by American progressive rock band Kansas and written by band member Kerry Livgren, first released on their 1977 album ''Point of Know Return''. The song peaked at No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the wee ...

" by

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. The song "Is This a Dream" from the album is the third of Chris Well's five songs in the October 2006 issue of ''

CCM Magazine ''CCM Magazine'' is a twice-monthly online magazine focusing on contemporary Christian music, published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications. History ''CCM'' was first published in July 1978, as a printed magazine. It has bee ...

'' that is reported to "cast out fear". Cooper wrote an autobiography, ''Through My Windows'', published on February 3, 2014, through Dimlights Publishing.

Discography

Studio albums * ''Dust'' (31 January 2000,

BEC BEC may refer to: As an acronym House * Bapatla Engineering College * Basaveshwar Engineering College * Bengal Engineering College Curriculum * Business Environment and Concepts, a section of Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination * Bus ...

) * ''Eargasmic Arrangements'' (2003, Beesyde Records)

References

External links

Holy Hip Hop DataBase profile

CMnexus profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soup the Chemist 1966 births Living people African-American rappers African-American Christians Performers of Christian hip hop music Rappers from New York (state) Rappers from California People from Rancho Cucamonga, California 21st-century American rappers 20th-century American rappers 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians