Stephen Wiley (born 1958) is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

and minister, who is often credited as the first artist to release a

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

album. Page 3

Biography

Wiley was born in 1958 and grew up in

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the 13th-largest city in Oklahoma and is the county seat of Muskogee County, Oklahoma, Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of ...

. A

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

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 Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

. 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 (from ''televangelist'', a blend of ''television'' and ''evangelist'') and occasionally termed radio evangelism or teleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notably radio and television, for the marketing of relig ...

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, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, either oral or written, of what they know or claim to know. A witness might be compelled to provide testimony in court, before a grand jur ...

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

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

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 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 American Bapt ...

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 1958 births Living people Bacone College faculty Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma Performers of Christian hip-hop University of Oklahoma alumni Rappers from Oklahoma