Is Hip Hop Dead? Part II - SHONLOCK vs. WORD RECORDS

Last week lawyers proclaimed the freedom of an artist who has been labeled ‘the most versatile and talented hip hop artist in Christian music’. After the ink was dry on Lock’s release, the estranged lyricist tackled the decision of whether or not to purchase his shelved project from the label or negotiate with another label whose benjamins are long enough to secure his 12 track project. The project, which includes solid collabo’s with Trinitee 5:7, V3, and John from the Katina clan, harnesses the possibility that a Christian hip hop project can ride with the finesse of mainstream offerings. With such a promising project and Lock’s standout performance at the labels showcase during last year’s GMA’s, the question of the labels decision to set idle is surprising. Lock, who signed a six album deal with Word in December 2005, believes that his former label never really understood hip hop and therefore sat on his finished project for over a year trying to figure it out. “When I signed with Word they said that they were willing to try certain things to break into hip hop. I believed them. But things changed after I signed the deal and anything outside of the CCM or the white side of the industry they weren’t interested in putting money in. That was a hard pill to swallow. I’m not calling anybody anything but if you’re a Christian label and you have an African American artist and you don’t want to market anything outside of the white market with respect to an art form that was made from African Americans then something is wrong.”

One conversation with Lock and its obvious that he’s uncomfortable dealing with the race card, especially as it relates to ministry. The reality is no one is and that is why it’s swept under the rug. But unfortunately, Katrina happened and valuable lives where affected – get the point. Fortunately for Lock, who is married to Shelley Vinson of the EMI girl group V3, his resume is deep enough to have secured a solid underground following prior to his signing with Word. His lyrical credits are showcased on: EMI’s Kierra ‘KiKi’ Sheard’s Just Until remix CD, Trinitee 5:7’s upcoming 2007 Gospo Centric release, Toby Mac’s Renovating Diverse City, Verbs Unlocked CD, and EMI V3’s 2006 release.