Michael Peace (born November 30, 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 one of

Christian rap 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 ...

's first solo artists. Peace was raised in New York City as the second oldest of four children. Considered the Grandfather of

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 ...

, he received the "African-American of Distinction" award in 1994 for his commitment to urban communities from then New York Governor

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo (, ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as t ...

. Peace is the founder and president of Michael Peace and Associates, a multi-faceted youth, urban affairs, music and general consulting organization. He has developed curriculum for educational at-risk children and is part of a team spearheading the establishing of abstinence education funding for the city of

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

(the City-Wide Black Experience History game), as well as being an instructor in public schools. Peace is the executive director and pastor of Bethel Express of AMERICA, a non-profit in Rochester, New York. He earned a B.S. degree in 1981 in mass media and speech communications from

State University of New York at Brockport State University of New York Brockport (also known as SUNY Brockport or Brockport State, and previously The College at Brockport) is a public university in Brockport, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY). History ...

. In the early 1990s he was a contributing writer to Christian music publication Digital Audio Notebook/Diganote.Diganote Publication
/ref> He was the co-author of an article in 2000 in the ''

Journal of Community Health The ''Journal of Community Health'' is a peer-reviewed public health journal covering community health which appears every two months. It was established in 1975 as a quarterly journal with Robert L. Kane as the founding editor-in-chief, and the c ...

'' entitled "Abstinence Education for Urban Youth".''Journal of Community Health'' (Springer)
/ref> Peace started out in 1985 with several albums released by Reunion and StarSong Records in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1995, he stopped touring in order to concentrate on mentoring at-risk youth in his hometown of Rochester.Christian Rap at Kingdom Bound
After a long layoff, Peace made a live recording at

Kingdom Bound Kingdom Bound is an annual Christian music festival held at Darien Lake Theme Park Resort near Buffalo, New York. The festival takes place over a span of three days and has hosted a variety of Christian speakers and artists since the late 1980s. ...

in Darien Center, New York on August 7, 2007. It was his first new recording since 1994. During the live session, he assembled about two dozen artists to put together the "world's biggest freestyle single", where rappers each had several seconds to add their own unique lyrical spin to a funky beat. Peace was married in 1987, and they have one son. He is also a 2018 recipient of the Martin Luther King Everyday Hero. Peace said that God told him "to minister by faith and not charge a fee." Thus, he only made $1,000-2,500 per concert at the height of his career. "The couple depended on God to provide for the ministry, and He did."Tha Holy Hip Hop Database
/ref>

Discography

* ''RRRock It Right'', 1987 * ''Rappin Bold'', 1988 * ''Vigilante of Hope'', 1989 * ''Loud-N-Clear'', 1990 * ''Threat to Society'', 1991 * ''Outta Control'', 1994

References

External links

The History of Christian Hip Hop & Christian RapMike Peace Online"Minister Raps About Faith" article
in ''

Guideposts ''Guideposts'' is a spiritual non-profit organization that encourages wellness through inspirational content creation. Founded in 1945 by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Raymond Thornburg, and Peale's wife, Ruth Stafford Peale with just one inaugural m ...

'' magazine {{DEFAULTSORT:Peace, Michael 1969 births American male rappers Living people Rappers from New York City 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians