Michael Peace (born November 30, 1958) is an American rapper 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. 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 (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 A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in 1981 in mass media and speech communications from State University of New York at Brockport. 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'' 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 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'' 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