ICONIC Jan/Feb 2017 | Page 13

Steven

NEW

Check out the official “ Hot Boy ” music video below .

Malcolm

Steven Malcolm is on fire . The first hip-hop artist signed to Word Records , his first single , “ Hot Boy ” pretty much says it all . With razor-sharp focus , uncommon talent and unquenchable thirst for sharing the truth of Christ , Steven is poised to break new ground in Christian music . Already , the young twenty-something has toured with LeCrae , KB , Hollyn and this winter holds one of the ten coveted spots on Winter Jam 2017 . Of course , when you scan the entirety of his life , it ’ s not much of a surprise that success would come his way . An athlete from youth , he once dreamed of the NBA . In college , grades knocked him out of sports for a while , during which time , someone invited him to a “ hip-hop ” church . There , Steven met Christ and experienced true love and life for the first time . To say the least , life has never been the same since . Always a gifted musician , Steven took time to immerse himself in his new faith , reading scripture , learning what Christianity was really all about . When he married the two — music and his faith — the combination was magic . His debut project on Word Records releases February 2017 , featuring the production wizardry of Cobra ( Joseph Prielozny and Dirty Rice ), along with collaborations with artists such as Blanca , Hollyn and Andy Mineo . The music is culturally relevant and essentially flawless , as is the motivation behind it . “ Basically what I want people to take home is whatever you ’ re passionate about , whatever it is that you do , there has to be a burning hot passion inside of your heart to really excel and be the best that God has created you to be ,” says Steven . “ I feel like if God has given you a gift and you ’ re just using it in a mediocre way or giving mediocre potential to it , it ’ s a waste of that talent . There has to be a fire in your heart to really excel and be the best you can be .” “ We ’ ve got a lot to talk about , ya ’ ll ,” states Jered , referring to his latest project , Nobody Famous . This , his third project is likely to be a catalyst for his continued climb to the top of CHH , impacting the genre like few artists ever have . - CL
KJ-52 has always been an unofficial ambassador for Christian hip-hop and rap . On his 11th album , he reminds us why . His most emotionally gripping , open project to date . he says of the project ,“ The new record was inspired by my real name and reflects the transparency of how I ’ ve been feeling in my current writing .”
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