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Battle rap gospel: the story of the Tunnel Rats

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Content 1

BATTLE RAP GOSPEL

THE STORY OF THE TUNNEL RATS

by

Imade Nibokun Borha

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM: THE ARTS)

December 2013

Copyright 2013 Imade Nibokun Borha

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract 3

Battle Rap Gospel: The Story Of The Tunnel Rats 4

References 25

Appendix: Battle Rap Gospel Short Documentary 27

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ABSTRACT

A Hip Hop collective formed in the shadows of the LA Riots uses battle rap to preach the gospel. The
Tunnel Rats was created in 1993 by Dax Reynosa to create a collective of Christian lyricists who “clean
the underground” rap scene. Instead of joining the mainstream, The Tunnel Rats released groundbreaking
albums in 1995’s The Earthworm and 2001’s Tunnel Vision that combined battle rap aggression with
Christian themes. Their forceful approach brought harsh criticism from Christian circles. Despite this,
The Tunnel Rats persevered to become an influential figure that spawned the rise of crossover Christian
rappers like Lecrae and Propaganda.

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BATTLE RAP GOSPEL

THE STORY OF THE TUNNEL RATS

I. How I Discovered The Tunnel Rats

As a child, I saw Christianity as a muzzle. It was the smothering blanket that suppressed my
inner questioning. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t speak up about the injustice I witnessed in
my own home. When I would overhear my absentee father senselessly disrespecting my mom on
the phone, I wasn’t allowed to speak a word of dissent. I subsequently retreated inwards.

On a bored Friday night in high school, I came across a Christian music video show that had
something I was subconsciously looking for. A group of baggy clothed rappers aggressively
spoke about the pre-eminence of God and the dysfunction of religious obligations. They didn’t
cower or ask for permission. They confidently stared in the camera embracing who they are and
whom they serve. That group of rappers was the Tunnel Rats. I felt like I finally discovered a
language of war.

II. Dax Reynosa’s Hip Hop Beginnings

“It was all hostile.” Dax Reynosa speaks in a hushed tone as if he’s precariously within enemy
lines (D. Reynosa 2012). Wearing a plush brown scarf, orange sweater, mustard colored
corduroy jacket and a tan flat cap cocked to the side, Dax looks more like a singer heading to
rehearsal than the founder of a controversial Hip Hop group. Surprisingly, he’s both.

Dax straddled church hymns and Hip Hop growing up thirty minutes east of LA in 1980’s
Whittier. Dax was raised in a tight knit Mexican family shaped by cultural pride and a strict
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adherence to discipline through the Christian faith. He is the descendant of a patriarchal line
toughened by the Vietnam War. A young Dax was a child of soldiers destined to become one.

Radiotron served as Dax’s first training ground. The former club reopened in 1983 as a Hip Hop
youth center in MacArthur Park (Form Follows Function 2012). In just two years, Radiotron
hosted breakdancing, graffiti art, rapping, DJaying, and the two part Breakin’ film franchise (D.
Reynosa 2012). Though Dax names Pauly Shore and Cuba Gooding Jr. as Radiotron regulars, a
lesser-known name was integral to Dax’s Hip Hop career.

“One day in ‘85 David Guzman came to Victory Outreach [Church] with these rappers...SFC
(Soldiers For Christ). Since that time, we’ve been friends in gospel rap music” (D. Reynosa
2012).

While David Guzman was operating Radiotron, he also founded JC & the Boyz (D. Reynosa
2012). Guzman traded his MC Sin stage name for the evangelical raps of MC Scroller (Holy Hip
Hop Database 2006). Along with Sidney Justin and Rene Velasquez (MC Peace), JC & The
Boyz provided street conscious (“Crack”), yet church friendly themes (“Try Jah Love”) that
made them an evangelical crusade staple (Holy Hip Hop Database 2006). 1989’s Never Give
Up and 1992’s Chill 4 Awhile may sound dated today, but it spawned the careers of Christian
Hip Hop heavyweights like Freedom of Soul artist MC Peace and bilingual rapper T-Bone (Holy
Hip Hop Database 2006).

The 80’s and early 90’s was an explosive time for the geographic expansion of Christian Hip
Hop, but for a purist like Dax, there were few alternatives to squeaky-clean Jesus rhymes.
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“Bible Break” by the nerdy, tie wearing Oklahoma minister Stephen Wiley became the first
commercial Christian Rap song (Holy Hip Hop Database 2006). The nursery rhyme lyrics,
(“Jesus loves everyone because the bible tells me so!”) is a polarizing piece of Christian Rap
history (Wiley 1985).

Groups like SFC and PID (Preachas In Disguise) brought more edginess, but the biggest
Christian Rap group of that time rarely catered to Hip Hop audiences. Straight out of white
suburbia, Virginia based D.C. Talk combined cheery New Jack Swing with inspirational rap
lyrics on their platinum selling 1992 album, Free At Last (Holy Hip Hop Database 2006). After
their crossover album, D.C. Talk abandoned their rap beginnings and plunged into the world of
Christian Rock.

Dax witnessed Christian Hip Hop’s nascent evolution through Guzman’s success, but Dax’s
style of Hip Hop was inspired by the competitive art form of battling. Dax, along with his
cousins V.Night and Jurny Big, made up an early 80’s Hip Hop dancing crew called Cousins
Three (D. Reynosa 2012).

“For us when we used to battle it was b-boying...we were aggressive” says Dax (D. Reynosa
2012). “Instead of fighting, we competed. We would pop and break against people and then we
started rapping” (D. Reynosa 2012).

Break dancing battles in Pico Rivera Park evolved into a battle of verbal dexterity (D. Reynosa
2012). Competitive improvised rapping became another New York export that changed the
landscape of West Coast Hip Hop. In 1981, Harlem rapper Kool Moe Dee debuted the first
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battle rap by undermining the skills of his challenger, Busy Bee Starski (Adaso n.d.). For the
first time, a rapper not only entertained the crowd, but created complex sentence structures using
punch lines and charisma as a weapon. Soon after, battle rap became a fixture in Dax’s life.

“When we battle, we battle for names” (D. Reynosa 2012). Those who succumbed in early
battling competitions not only lost respect, but their rap identity. Dax remembers this time as he
moves his shoulders forward as if he’s standing in front of an invisible opponent. “When you
lose, you change your name cuz I’m gonna iron your name on the back of my sweater. We battle
for rhyme books and you can never rap those rhymes again. I would burn it in front of you” (D.
Reynosa 2012).

Dax’s fierce approach is not rooted in a need to annihilate an opponent. According to Dax,
battling has two purposes: personal and corporate empowerment (D. Reynosa 2012). When Dax
wasn’t burning a challenger’s rhyme book, he was “getting a firm grasp of the English language”
to discuss his primary topics: “being dope”, “God”, “church stuff”, and drug addiction of the
tumultuous crack era (D. Reynosa 2012). Battling was a means of artistic growth through direct
confrontation.

“I genuinely don’t want to kill you. I rather hurt you with the truth than console you with the lie.
I know it sounds contradictory, but I want to battle you with love. Bottom line. It made your
skills better which made the art more beautiful” (D. Reynosa 2012).

Dax later prepared himself to recruit like-minded emcees that had this same mindset.

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“In the 90s, I felt like the Lord wanted to build this special teams unit. My dad started telling me
what he was in Vietnam, he was a Tunnel Rat. He was about 119 pounds and really short like
5”5. A Tunnel Rat’s job was to go underground and clean the holes, clean the underground. My
dad was born for that. He was aggressive. [He was] the right height and the right mental
makeup. So we were that” (D. Reynosa 2012).

III. Tunnel Rats Formation
‘We’ is referring to the Tunnel Rats, an aggressive Hip Hop group Dax founded that “cleaned the
underground” rap scene through integrating the gospel in their battle influenced rhymes (D.
Reynosa 2012). The Tunnel Rats’ formation not only fulfilled Dax’s mission but it became the
precipitating action that spawned the West Coast Christian Rap community.

“In 93 we got word that other little Christian groups were going to be at Hex’s Hip Hop shop on
Melrose” (Z. Reynosa 2012).

The diminutive sister of Dax speaks in a matter of fact tone that defies her Nickelodeon star
looks. Zane One has rapped for years with her brother since being a squeaky voiced 12 year old
in their family group, LPG Posse. But this was one of the first times they met people outside
their family with kindred spirits.

According to first generation member Shames Worthy (formerly known as Raphi), “basically
anyone that was doing stuff that would be respected outside of the church, outside of the walls,
were these cats” (Worthy 2012). As he sits in his small home studio holding the original flyer,
it’s hard to not overlook the image of a dreadlocked rapper lifting his hand while a tear falls
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down his eye. His mic cord connects to a KJV bible in a way that mirrors the Tunnel Rats’
ministry of using authentic Hip Hop to lead to the gospel.

The December 11, 1993 show at the graffiti equipment store Hex’s Hip Hop Shop featured
Christian Rap pioneers like Future Shock (Sojourn, Ajax, Redbones, DJ Treyquel) and
Brainwash Projects, a group featuring BTwice and Good Life open mic legend Pigeon John
(Graffhead 2011). Though this was a landmark billing, the most significant event of the night
never occurred on the stage.

“After we did the show, I said who wants to go to an open mic? And they all followed me to my
house. We got together and just rapped” (D. Reynosa 2012). At a time when there were few
places for Christian rappers to perform, Dax turned his home into a place where emcees could
perfect their craft.

Sitting in her boutique purse shop, Zane One holds her head like she’s teleporting back to that
Whittier night. She waves her hand across the room as she imagines her perspective from the
kitchen. “Dudes [were] everywhere in my brother’s living room. Me and my sister-in-law at the
time made food for all of these dudes” (Z. Reynosa 2012).

Dax, the calm and collected leader that he is, didn’t mention that behind the scenes, a near
miracle was needed to feed a room full of hungry rappers. Shames Worthy, who was a 15-year-
old wunderkind at the time, fills in the gap through his music historian memory. “Things were
kinda thin and it was almost like, the two bread loaves and the fish that fed the multitude because
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somehow ten dollars worth of groceries, everybody had seconds [and] thirds...you know, so
there’s 25 of us in the room...” (Worthy 2012).

“Out of all those people who were there,” Dax says, “there was a like a light on...Jurny, Zane,
Raphi, Sojourn, Ajax, and Redbones and it was just about building a special teams unit that
would be able to go to the gutters with me, the projects, and it could hang with anybody in the
world. And they became the first Tunnel Rats” (D. Reynosa 2012).

IV. Tough Early Years
The early years tested not what they did, but who they were.

“Every church would have us come, but then call us the devil. We would leave in tears” (D.
Reynosa 2012). Dax raises his voice at the painful irony of churches using rap to draw crowds
while also condemning the art form.

He reflects on a poignant moment when he realized the true depth of his sacrifice. “We were in
Mississippi and they wouldn’t serve us because we were Mexican. So we pull over to go to a
Motel 6 and I never forget what Redbones did. It was funny, but he put the pillow in his face
and screamed and screamed and screamed, ‘WHY??’ He couldn’t believe that we had given up
our lives to minister the gospel through rap music and...had nothing” (D. Reynosa 2012).

All the Tunnel Rats had at that time was a sense of their mission.

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“A Tunnel Rat is a calling, it wasn’t just about rap or Hip Hop. We never believed that we were
called to emcee or rap, never. We were called to minister” (D. Reynosa 2012). With every
carefully measured word, it’s clear that Dax’s focus was never to become a rap star. It was
laying the foundation for a movement much larger than him.

“We can do it all from the set up to the sound. We can sing, do the praise and worship, rap,
speak, and teach. We built churches from the ground up. We were going to be the first ones
there and the last ones to leave, and God was gonna take care of us” (D. Reynosa 2012).

“As hostile as it was, we were the Tunnel Rats. We were...built for the war” (D. Reynosa 2012).

V. Earthworm: Making A Hip Hop Classic
In 1995, there was gospel rap and there was Hip Hop. On a quality level, the best gospel rap was
considered “good enough” while Hip Hop music authentically represented the four-fold culture
of rapping, djaying, breakdancing, and graffiti art. LPG, the pared down duo of Dax and Jurny
Big, offered the latter. Their debut album, Earthworm, is considered a “classic in Christian Hip
Hop” (Emcee 2008).

Though the 90’s are considered Hip Hop’s golden era, Dax and Jurny Big saw a precipitous
decline from the purity of their Radiotron years. The album’s opening track, “A Place Called
Hip Hop” became a song so ingrained in LPG’s identity; they revisited this anthem on their 2003
Gadfly project (LPG 1995). The song’s sad, wandering bass line expresses the questioning
nature of the hook: “What happened to a place called Hip Hop?” (LPG 1995). Jurny Big, the
venerated pint sized rapper, passionately declared, “It’s not about the money you collect/but
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about respect” (LPG 1995). Earthworm was LPG’s announcement that “Now that Hip Hop has
found Jesus, its a better place to be” (LPG 1995). LPG’s debut album raised the standard in
Christian Rap through their commitment to reclaim Hip Hop.

“We were unashamed to be confident about what we did and why we did it.” Earthworm
producer Peace 586 (formerly MC Peace) reclines in his plush studio chair with a serene photo of
the Brooklyn Bridge behind him (586 2013).

Despite Earthworm’s confrontational lyrics, the album came from a place of repose. The Green
Room was an earthy, back room studio that allowed LPG to focus on their art. “We would light
candles and incense and just chill. Put the lights down low and turn the music up. It was a great
place, I’ll never forget it” (586 2013). The Green Room was an oasis of acceptance with the
support of Brainstorm label owners Gene Eugene and Joe Taylor (586 2013). “Gene and
Joe...believed in us so much back then that they allowed us to have all creative control. In those
times, it was real hard to get away with selling gospel music with the aggressiveness...that we
used. You had to be churchy, you had to be Christian. They went against the grain” (586 2013).

Dax, looking past the negative reaction of the time, explains the Earthworm legacy. “The
response we get now is this album saved our life. [Fans would say] ‘we didn’t know there was
real Hip Hop in gospel music. I used to sneak secular music in my house and then I got your
album; it gave us life” (D. Reynosa 2012). Jurny Big sums up their impact more succinctly. “I
know kids who would be dead if not for that type of stuff, for that specific album” (Big 2012).
In the mid-90’s LA where gangster rap was prevalent, LPG rapped in churches, backyards, and
block parties offering a way out of a destructive lifestyle.
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Dax cites Earthworm’s content as the reason for the album’s lasting impact. “Nobody else
talked about battling, nobody else talked about the church being full of crap, we did. [...] And to
this day we still do” (D. Reynosa 2012).

VI. The Tunnel Rats’ First Album
This level of candor continued in the creation of the Tunnel Rats’ 1996 debut album, Experience.
Co-produced by Peace 586 and Shames Worthy, Experience stayed true to the aesthetic of both
minimalist battle rap and overt Christianity. Songs like “Truth Hurts, Lies Kill” showcase the
Tunnel Rats combative lyrics celebrating rap dominance (“I must cut him down in battle/and
take his name for mine/I looked up toward the heaven and called on the divine”) (Rats 1996).
Though the Tunnel Rats can often sound like an army of rebels going to war, they evangelize
with the same tenacity in the album’s closing altar call (“Salvation was freely given, but to
receive it, it costs. It costs your life. Can you pay it?”) (Rats, Just Words 1996).

VII. Early Millennium Christian Hip Hop
Christian Hip Hop during the 2000s symbolized the birthing pains of a subgenre maturing toward
creative freedom. The decade began with a little known Philadelphia rapper named Japhia Life.
He introduced a new brand of Christian rap by sharing his tales of drug dealing hopelessness and
God’s redemption (Juon 2000). Japhia’s introspective diary, Pages Of Life, had an emotional
depth (“I used to bust shells fell toward hell aimin’ fire at heaven I’m redeemed now no
stressin”) that belied the short, eight track EP (Life 2000).

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Almost overnight, Christian Hip Hop message boards such as HipHopZone heralded Japhia as a
pioneer in combining intricate lyricism with underlying Christian themes. Japhia was often
compared to Nas, the revered storyteller who released what’s often considered the best Hip Hop
album in history in 1994’s Illmatic (Adaso, 10 Essential Hip-Hop Albums n.d.). Nas was
Japhia’s peer at a time when Christian Hip Hop was notoriously known for being inferior in
terms of production and lyrical quality.

While Japhia was getting significant acclaim for creating a debut project that is “as close to
classic as you can get”, Japhia was sharing the same city as Cross Movement, a highly influential
Christian Hip Hop group (Joseph29 2010). This was one of the few things that Japhia and Cross
Movement had in common.

Since their 1997 Heaven’s Mentality debut, Cross Movement was steeped in a radical
commitment to evangelistic Hip Hop. According to founding member The Tonic (John Wells),
original members Ambassador (William Branch), Phanatik (Brady Goodwin), T.R.U. Life
(Virgil Byrd), Enock (Juan James), Cruz Cordero, and Earthquake (Cleveland Float Jr.) formed
“after many nights of prayer, Bible study, and honing [their] craft” (One 21 Music n.d.). Cross
Movement’s primary goal of “showing people how to merge true ministry with the tool of hip
hop” became their trademark but also a rigid standard that divided the genre (One 21 Music n.d.).

Artists who were less understated than Cross Movement’s anthems like “Who’s Da Man” and
“Know Me (Huh What?)” were susceptible to bitter attack. On Cross Movement’s message
board, The Tunnel Rats’ albums were considered to have “no real ministry” since their music
had a ”very little distinction” with “secular west coast underground” (F.O.C.U.S. 2006). Tunnel
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Rats’ critics often overlooked that this similarity enabled them to disciple non-Christians who
would have otherwise dismissed them.

Shames Worthy’s reasoning behind their tarnished image includes an assessment of the
deceptive nature of social media. “When...you have people who are not in a big city where there
are Good Lifes or Apollo, they see [battle rap and] and its so foreign to them...They start talking
about what it is or not behind the computer screen” (Worthy 2012). With message boards,
everyone could be a critic, whether they understood the Tunnel Rats’ intent or not.

VIII. Cross Movement’s Beef With The Tunnel Rats
Cross Movement blossomed in the early 2000s as their production progressed from lo-fi drum
loops to more skilled beats ranging from rugged East Coast, bouncy dirty south and neo-soul.
Cross Movement used their larger platform to defend the genre as G. Craig Lewis rose in
prominence. This touring speaker led churches to throw their Christian Hip Hop CDs on the
altar along with more vulgar rap albums from artists such as Wu Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, and
JaRule.

Cross Movement emerged from the controversy as the voice of Christian Hip Hop. Now as elder
statesmen in 2001, The Tonic asserted that Cross Movement “[tends] to have a problem with so
many up and coming Gospel and Christian rappers” who believe that “if they can out rap [non-
Christians], then somehow they feel like that'll make a way in for them to give the Gospel”
(Rimmer 2001). This veiled Tunnel Rats diss condemning skills based evangelism fueled the
theological East Coast/West Coast battle. The underlying tension between Cross Movement and
the Tunnel Rats culminated at a co-headlining concert.
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“We thought it was going to be this great thing,” says Shames Worthy (Worthy 2012). “There
was a three or four day mini-conference. They had a panel discussion with all of us and kids
were asking the potential of a Tunnel Rats/Cross Movement tour. It was an awkward moment
because we were like word, y’all had a problem with us but we didn’t have a problem with you
because y’all was making cool music” (Worthy 2012). This eagerness was not reciprocated.

“Cross Movement was like no, we can never tour with the Tunnel Rats because we can’t be
unequally yoked. They’re out of the will of God because they’re talking about how fresh they
are and God don’t care about none of that” (Worthy 2012). Shames, flabbergasted by the heavy-
handed response, realized that this situation was far beyond what he could control.
“Unfortunately some kids almost started to cry because it was like really, you’re taking this
opportunity at this panel discussion to draw that line in the sand? How are we supposed to react?
It almost gets pointless because I’m not going to change your mind with that” (Worthy 2012).

Shames defends the Tunnel Rats by the fruit of their hard labor in drawing youth away from
vulgar rap during their extensive touring. “Throughout the years, we did go to our prayer closet,”
says Shames Worthy (Worthy 2012). “Even though we were sleeping on concrete floors, a year
later we would get fan mail in our P.O. Box of oh, my son went from making D’s to B’s. Or my
kid got out the gang. It was real life changing stuff” (Worthy 2012).

Dax takes another approach in defending the Tunnel Rats’ music. He sees it as a reflection of
culture and not carnality. “I didn’t have a beef with [Cross Movement]. My beefs mostly are
with people who can’t rap...I didn’t care even that they talked crap on me and us...and made us a
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stepchild” (D. Reynosa 2012). Dax speaks with finality, “I respect them all. It’s Hip Hop.
Bottom line” (D. Reynosa 2012).

IX. The Tunnel Vision Album
It is in this tumultuous environment that the Tunnel Rats released their most definitive album.
2001’s Tunnel Vision embraced everything that conservatives hated. The Tunnel Rats’ defiant
bravado can be captured in their most identifiable song, “TRz”. Opening with Dax’s verse, “I
put a pistol out my pocket and I cock it”, “TRz” sealed the Tunnel Rats’ assertive, in your face
identity (T. Rats 2001).

“Tunnel Vision is to me...my favorite Tunnel Rat album,” says Shames Worthy (Worthy 2012).
“We have new members, we have New Breed [brother-sister duo Macho & Elsie], we have this
new producer Dert who’s killing it with the beats. It was like we were the Voltron, the second
coming of this Voltron crew that was hitting on all cylinders” (Worthy 2012).

With New Breed, Dert, and NY rapper Sev Statik, the Tunnel Rats grew from a 9 to 13-member
group while retaining their original sound. Macho, the wide-eyed newcomer from Boston,
describes the Tunnel Rat’s unique recording experience. “Dax likes to record at the spur of the
moment so a lot of times for that album and for subsequent albums, it would be like, ok so we’re
all together? Whoever’s here is on the song” (Macho 2012). It would surprise many fans that the
posse cut, “TRz” was about as ad hoc as they come. “I don’t think we even heard the beat until
we got there” (Macho 2012). Once Dert was finished, the Tunnel Rats arranged the song’s order
by whoever wrote their lyrics first. This caused duplicate material, but the group didn’t see a
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problem with that. “I had a hook and Jurny had a hook too so we just threw it on there” (Macho
2012).

What resulted is a musical gumbo where Dax, Shames Worthy, Elsie, Sev Statik, Zane One, and
Jurny Big unleashed a lyrical exhibition of self-assured aggression in the face of detractors
questioning their faith. Abrasive, dial-up sounds with full-bodied drums were the soundtrack to
the Tunnel Rats’ subversive rhyming (T. Rats 2001). Best shown in Macho’s verse, the song’s
violent imagery (“They hate the Rats cuz they tighten the noose”) is placed along side of spiritual
references (“I’mma be found guilty of spreading the Word”) (T. Rats 2001). With Tunnel Vision,
the group held battle rap lyrics in one hand and grasped their Christian beliefs in another.

Released right before the cusp of the digital camera era, “TRz” was a ten thousand dollar video
shot on 35mm (Worthy 2012). The huge production allowed them to physically represent the
inspiration behind their name. “We’re literally in the old railroad tunnel underground in
downtown LA,” says Shames Worthy (Worthy 2012). Macho adds, “It was perfect...we had
people coming out, we had extras, and we had little sets set up” (Macho 2012).

The extra effort brought them increased visibility far beyond small rap circles and church pews.
“We were on a rotation of...this shoe store called Journeys and Footaction. So you would go the
mall and like, ‘oh, that’s one of our videos!” (Worthy 2012). Shames Worthy speaks in a
childlike joy as he points to an imaginary TV screen.

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Tunnel Vision showed what the Tunnel Rats could accomplish when they pooled their resources.
Shames remarks, “We had keyboard players, we had musicians coming in...it was just like the
funnest album to produce [and] to make” (Worthy 2012).

X. The Tunnel Rats Album And New Responsibilities
After a flurry of solo projects in New Breed’s Stop The Music (2001), Sev Statik’s Speak Life
(2002), and Shame Worthy’s Cali Quake (2002), the Tunnel Rats returned with their self-titled
2004 album. The Tunnel Rats swelled from 13 to 17 in enlisting Propaganda, rapper-producer
duo Foundation (Dokument, Jermz) and Griffin (Worthy, School Me On The Tunnel Rats 2010).

The Tunnel Rat’s third album was in some ways, a sign of the end. One Tunnel Rats’ fan
considered the 21 track project “a bit disappointing” and “rushed” in its multiplicity of “filler”
tracks (Dave 2010). This could be a reflection of the Tunnel Rat’s transition in struggling to
fund their Whittier Rat Hole studio just as Dert left the producer’s helm (Worthy, Thesis
Interview 2012). Shames Worthy on the other hand, cites an evolution far more intrinsic.

“A lot of people hate this album, I actually like it…to me, we matured in a certain sense. We
done so many albums, [we thought] lets do one that is focused more on ministry stuff so that it is
less aggressive and more gospel” (Worthy, Thesis Interview 2012). Songs like “Born Again”
was a bridge to Cross Movement fans eager to hear more overt Christian themes (T. Rats, Born
Again 2004). But in doing this, the Tunnel Rats actually alienated their core fan base. “People
thought it was kind of contrived. [They said] it was obvious that you guys were going into the
studio trying to make a gospel rap album. But when you listen to it, its all coming from the same
thing, from all of our hearts” (Worthy, Thesis Interview 2012).
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XI. Rappers Raising Families
At the same time, another responsibility began to weigh on the Tunnel Rats. Their growing
families transformed them from hungry battle rappers to strategic artists wanting both creative
expression and stability.

“30 is a pivotal time to reassess and think,” says Macho, the married father of two young sons
(Macho 2012). His life went from being a Tunnel Rat emcee and administrator to being a 9 to 5
employee in the pharmaceutical industry. He returned to the mic after a six-year hiatus with
2011’s Remember, but touring was not a part of his plans. “[My] priorities became about future,
money, [and], security,” Macho remarks (Macho 2012). “I love being next to my [sons] all the
time. I don’t want to go away and I don’t need to go away and to bring a message out to the
world. The message that I give is to my [sons] and to anybody who is in my sphere of influence”
(Macho 2012).

The balancing act of family and Hip Hop has been one of the primary reasons behind the Tunnel
Rats’ inactivity. The false starts of the Tunnel Rats’ Build album have left their future hazy with
no release date in sight (Worthy, Thesis Interview 2012). Fans cope with this musical void by
flocking to the nostalgic message board, Sphere of Hip Hop, to reflect on the Tunnel Rats’ glory
days (Sphere Of Hip Hop 2010).

XII. The Rise of Crossover Christian Rappers And The Tunnel Rat Legacy
The current state of Christian Hip Hop has been paid by a sacrifice that cannot be counted in
pageviews, Twitter followers, or album sales. Dax’s mind goes back to a precarious cross-
21

country trek where the Tunnel Rats barely had enough money to make it back home. “Pulling
into California I’ll never forget it.” Dax remembers telling the group, “We’re not going to make
anything, but some day three generations from now, they will” (D. Reynosa 2012).

One of the artists who made it is Lecrae. He emerged in 2004 with his debut album, Real Talk
(Lacy 2004). Lecrae’s success arose from duplicating Cross Movement’s explicit evangelical
approach and then adding a Tunnel Rats’ influenced method of assimilating into secular Hip Hop
culture. Lecrae’s calculated approach garnered a core fan base of moderate Christians who want
practical, spiritually conscious lyricism.

As the son of a single-parent mother, Lecrae learned how to adapt since his youth (Reach
Records n.d.). He was the perpetual new kid while living in cities such as San Diego, Denver,
and Dallas (Reach Records n.d.). Though he has a slight (and somewhat forced) Texas drawl,
Lecrae can make chopped and screwed Houston music (“Jesus Muzik”) just as easily as a slower,
introspective track (“Just Like You”) (Lecrae 2006 & 2010). Due to his consistent, high quality
production, Lecrae introduced a new era in Christian Hip Hop where trunk-rattling beats were
the norm and not the exception.

By the time Lecrae released his 2008 follow up in Rebel, it became clear that Lecrae was
embarking on the perfect storm (Reach Records n.d.). He was riding the wave of dirty south’s
near ubiquitous presence while having a rabid fan base who were eager to skyrocket his album
on iTunes charts and social media. Rebel became the first Christian Rap album to attain the No.
1 position on Billboard’s Top Gospel Chart (Reach Records n.d.). Rebel’s stunning 78 week
Billboard run was fueled by the leading single, “Don’t Waste Your Life” (Reach Records n.d.).
22

The frenetic drum pattern beat with equally rapid-fire lyrics was inspired by theologian John
Piper’s book of the same name (Amazon n.d.). “Don’t Waste Your Life” marked the intersection
of gritty Hip Hop and white Christian America. Lecrae’s standing ovation at Piper’s Bethlehem
Baptist church in 2009 signified that the last walls between the church and Christian Hip Hop
were falling (The New Calvinists n.d.). This genre was no longer defined by racial or doctrinal
identity but by a new, accepted belief that God can redeem Hip Hop culture.

Soon after, tattooed rappers with (slightly) sagging pants were infiltrating the immaculate
grounds of white mega churches. Similar to Run D.M.C.’s entry to the forefront of mainstream
rock audiences, Christian emcees were finding ways to carefully mete out both the familiar and
the unknown. Tunnel Rat member Propaganda executed this to near perfection in the viral
success of his 2011 spoken word piece, “G.O.S.P.E.L.”. This video had over 1 million views
(Propaganda 2011). By removing abrasive percussion and speaking foundational (read: mass
accepted) Christian principles, Propaganda cut across demographic boundaries. The inclusive
video was released just in time to grace mega church large screens for Easter. In partnering with
Dare 2 Share, the evangelical organization working to convert the MTV generation, Propaganda
went from performing at cramped Christian Hip Hop showcases to massive church sanctuaries
(Dare2Share.org n.d.).

On one of the few days off from his relentless tour schedule, Propaganda sits for a chat in the
tree-lined patio by his Irvine apartment. The West Covina rapper struggles to find the reason for
his popularity among white churchgoers. “I don’t know man,” Propaganda says with a shy smile.
“It’s the poetry thing…It’s a reflection of the multi-cultural mix that I came out of. My high
23

school was predominantly white…I feel like I’m legitimately bi-lingual. I speak their language
and I speak my own” (Propaganda, Thesis Interview 2012).

While Propaganda was winning churches over, Lecrae was getting his first taste of mainstream
success. His 2010 Rehab project received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock/Rap Gospel
album after its No. 17 debut on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart (Reach Records n.d.). It became clear
that Lecrae saturated the Christian genre after reaching No. 1 on both the Gospel and
Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) chart (Reach Records n.d.). The latter accomplishment
was even more astounding since CCM is a rock-influenced genre that has been almost
exclusively white since it’s inception in late 60’s (Race 2012). There were greater pastures to
explore that were cultivated by artists before him.

In 2011, Lecrae took a page from the 2006 Footsoldiers Live This project where Tunnel Rat
members Shames Worthy, Propaganda, and Sojourn teamed up with secular rappers including
Hip Hop legend KRS-One (Holy Hip Hop Database 2006). While Footsoldiers pushed the
envelope far beyond Christian Hip Hop boundaries with their parental advisory sticker, Lecrae’s
Church Clothes mixtape stayed safely in the PG-rated space. Secular collaborators in mixtape
host Don Cannon and producers like 9th Wonder were relegated to near voiceless roles while
Christian rappers like Braille and Odd Thomas were given full liberty to preach the gospel
(Lecrae, Church Clothes Mixtape 2012).

Lecrae’s desire to straddle the secular/Christian fence brought widespread acclaim (“I am Atheist,
and I actually like Lecrae”) and also voices of criticism (“he is ashamed of Jesus because he
24

wants fame”) (nacho313 2012). Some question if Lecrae’s 280,000 downloads with Church
Clothes became more important than the gospel itself (Reach Records n.d.).

Dax, who sees the reward of his turmoil in Lecrae, defends the high profile rapper. Dax
recognizes the failures of the past and the truth of the present. “We’re the morons that separated
the industry of gospel music from the secular. There is no difference. They’re packaging music
and selling it. We should not look down on Lecrae. His level of production and quality is very
high. But if you ask him his heart is strictly for ministry” (D. Reynosa 2012).

This enduring sense of trust is what makes Lecrae so popular. Now pulling in superstar first
week numbers in selling over 70,000 units of his 2011 Gravity album, Lecrae has developed a
platform for spiritually conscious tour mates like Propaganda (Reach Records n.d.).

The most currently active Tunnel Rat member has been both the rejected rebel and the accepted
golden child in being a socially conscious, battle influenced rapper. Propaganda’s most recent
album, Excellent, had over 20,000 downloads in one week for Humble Beast Recordings in 2012
(Solis 2012). With the stories of first generation members always on his heart, Propaganda
soldiers on with the baton given to him. “A lot of the stuff that we were stoned for is completely
acceptable” (Propaganda, Thesis Interview 2012). Propaganda looks up from his lowered gaze
while making an annoyed throwing gesture hinting at the nagging critique that plagued the
Tunnel Rats’ formative years. As a husband and father who supports his family as a full-time
rapper, Propaganda knows who went before him. “Jurny and [Dax] used to tell me that all the
time, we got paid one bottle of juice so you won’t have to” (Propaganda, Thesis Interview 2012).

25

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26

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(accessed
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27

APPENDIX
BATTLE RAP GOSPEL SHORT DOCUMENTARY
LINK:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzFQL_gY2-0paWpxc2JmaVo0ZE0/edit?usp=sharing

Abstract (if available)

Abstract A Hip Hop collective formed in the shadows of the LA Riots uses battle rap to preach the gospel. The Tunnel Rats was created in 1993 by Dax Reynosa to create a collective of Christian lyricists who ""clean the underground"" rap scene. Instead of joining the mainstream, The Tunnel Rats released groundbreaking albums in 1995's The Earthworm and 2001's Tunnel Vision that combined battle rap aggression with Christian themes. Their forceful approach brought harsh criticism from Christian circles. Despite this, The Tunnel Rats persevered to become an influential figure that spawned the rise of crossover Christian rappers like Lecrae and Propaganda.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Borha, Imade Nibokun (author)

Core Title Battle rap gospel: the story of the Tunnel Rats

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Specialized Journalism (The Arts)

Publication Date 12/04/2013

Defense Date 12/04/2013

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag battle rap,Christian Hip Hop,christian music,Dax Reynosa,Evangelism,hip hop,Lecrae,LPG,New Breed,OAI-PMH Harvest,propaganda,Radiotron,rap,Tunnel Rats,Tunnel Vision,Vietnam,Whittier

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Page, Tim (committee chair), Anawalt, Sasha (committee member), Winston, Diane H. (committee member)

Creator Email imade.borha@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-354954

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Legacy Identifier etd-BorhaImade-2206.pdf

Dmrecord 354954

Document Type Thesis

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Rights Borha, Imade Nibokun

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Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

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