THE MOST OVER LOOKED EMCEE & UNDERRATED LYRICIST
Who is the most over looked emcee, underrated lyricist in Christian Rap?
In my opinion it’s Tedashii aka T-Dot.
I saw Sketch The Journalist post a question on Twitter - “What do you think Tedashii's impact has been on CHH so far?” I quickly e-mailed him my response; “T-Dot has made a huge impact possibly unseen! From features to hooks. I think he is the definition of Holy Hip Hop. (HHH without Tedashii) would be like the church without John Piper.”
Now, that is a bold statement, but I know it is true. Whether you know it or not, John Piper is a huge impact in the church. He even has created a movement; Don’t Waste Your Life. Piper wrote a book about it. He preached a 43 minute sermon about it on December 29th, 2003. There is a website dedicated to DWYL & you can watch video podcasts from DWYL on iTunes for free!
Lecrae made a song about it. In 2009, Lecrae and the rest of the 1-1-Six Clique / Reach Records artists are going on tour under the name; Don’t Waste Your Life. To help promote the Don’t Waste Your Life Tour, Reach has made commercials and posted them all over the internet. Now, think of this commercial you are laughing at. And realize it started as a seed from John Piper. A book or a sermon. But nonetheless, he has made a ripple effect, throughout the culture. This is how Tedashii compares to John Piper, but in the Holy Hip Hop culture. The seeds he has planted from one verse or a catchy hook, have been watered and will continue to water over the years.
WHEN DID I FIRST HEAR OF TEDASHII?
As I try to think of the first Tedashii song I ever heard, the verse (and hook) from Name Up comes to mind. Name Up is one of the hottest tracks on The Cross Movement’s 2007 album - History: Our Place in His Story. But there was a song before that. T-Dot was on Why Hip Hop 2K6. I bought the $5 promo CD in my local Christian Store in early 2006. The song is called This Song’s For You and it’s a straight dedication song. Come to think of it, Tedashii was on a few tracks from Lecrae’s Real Talk in 2005.
That’s where I know him from. The song Represent. Tedashii is also featured on one of my favorite songs; Aliens, as well as The Line. Represent, Aliens, and The Line are on Real Talk. Christ-in-a-Hip-Hopper.com or ChristianHipHopper.com features a giant mix of artists from Cross Movement and Reach Records. The song that gets stuck in my head every time is In Ya Hood by Tedashii featuring Trip Lee. As I became a bigger fan of Tedashii and Lecrae, I had to go back and get the 2004 release of The Compilation from the 1-1-Six Clique which features In Ya Hood and 3 other songs by Tedashii.
WHY I SUPPORT TEDASHII
In 2007, I attended a concert in Portland featuring R-Swift, Tedashii, Trip Lee, Lecrae, Da T.R.U.T.H., and Flame. I don’t know who was controlling the sound, but there was too much bass and you couldn’t hear any lyrics (unless you knew the words) from the artists, except for R-Swift, Tedashii, and Da T.R.U.T.H. This was a big turn off, but fortunately it got me loving Swift, T-Dot, and T.R.U.T.H. more. This was the main reason why I even bought Tedashii’s album and t-shirt at the show, and because his performance was the best.
Tedashii’s album Kingdom People is probably the best Christian Rap album I have ever heard and is only comparable to He’s Coming by Bruthaz Grimm (circa 1997). Every song on T-Dot’s album is on point and if I got his CD stuck in my stereo and could never play another CD, I would be completely happy. His music is deep, and motivating on all levels. This is why I wait, anxiously for his next album.
I NEED MORE TEDASHII IN MY LIFE
He can be most noted as a "Dirty South" emcee. Although, the South sound has a reputation, Tedashii is obviously paving the way with his style as if he were a part of Outkast - definitely hip-hop pioneer status. I strongly believe Reach Records is the Outkast of Holy Hip Hop. What Outkast did for Hip-Hop music, Reach & 1-1-Six will do for HHH.
Trip Lee’s 20/20 album was more than impressing. Each song is spirit filled and amped up. No two songs are alike. It’s an album I never get tired of hearing. If Trip Lee could step it up this big on his 2nd album, I am guaranteed Tedashii will do the same. Lecrae’s (Rebel) was among the top of the charts in iTunes. And although his album is highly rated in reviews, I don’t think it is as great as Trip Lee’s. Don’t get me wrong, I love Rebel, in fact I listen to it more than After The Music Stops. This will only prove to show that T-Dot has to deliver a phenomenal album. After all, it was pushed back a few times. It has been postponed for almost a year now. The eyes of HHH is upon T-Dot.
I’ve been hearing nothing but a single verse from my favorite Christian Rapper lately. A verse here and there is not enough for me. I need 110% more Tedashii music. This is why I am taking the time to talk about my favorite artist. I pray all of you will be blessed by his music. Hopefully, you can pick up his album Identity Crisis - due out May 19th. Look for more press and publicity from other HHH media and outlets.
MORE RELEASES FROM T-DOT
Probably not known to many people, 1-1-Six released a rock infused album called AMPED featuring remixes of some of the best songs from Lecrae, Trip Lee, and Tedashii. The album was advertized on MySpace - that’s how I heard about it. And even though it featured only 6 tracks, there were 3 new songs; Red Revolution by Tedashii which is most likely a promotion for RedRevolution.com, Beyond Belief by Lecrae, and Amped by Trip Lee. A perfect album for any 1-1-Six fanatic, especially if you like rock and/or remixes.
An album I had anticipation for was Lecrae’s After The Music Stops in 2006. Although T-Dot was featured on 3 songs from Lecrae’s previous album, this album contained only a hook and verse on the song Unashamed. One month earlier, Trip Lee released his debut album If They Only Knew which contained two songs with Tedashii.
But I think Unashamed as well as Name Up help define who Tedashii is as an influential Christian Hip Hop Artist. His hooks are so memorable and his verses are so filled with content, you have to go back and listen to the track over and over again.
After the Holy Hip Hop Industry heard Unashamed they knew Tedashii could offer an unforgettable song. In 2007 he was also featured on Flame’s song Shinin’, Phanatik’s song North & South, and Sho Baraka’s song Maranatha, and Cam’s song Back Up. Then, 1-1-Six dropped another amazing compilation called 13 Letters which features 4 songs with Tedashii.
Finally, in 2008 Tedashii had a verse on; Dillon Chase’s Walk Worthy, Json’s Listening Choice, Trip Lee’s Real Vision, and Lecrae’s Go Hard. I somehow came across a song on imeem.com called Transformers and featured a verse from Lecrae, Tedashii, and Trip Lee. I guess this was supposed to help promote his album which was going to be released in the summer of 2008. Sadly, his album Identity Crisis got pushed back till April, then again till May 19th, 2009.
TEDASHII FEATURES
Guest appearances;
* "Represent" by Lecrae
* "The Line" by Lecrae
* "Aliens" by Lecrae
* "Unashamed" by Lecrae
* "116 Intro (Remix)" by Trip Lee feat. Lecrae
* "Call Us Crazy" by Trip Lee
* "Shinin" by FLAME
* "Name Up" by The Cross Movement
* "North & South" by Phanatik feat. Christawn
* "Maranatha" by Sho Baraka feat. Json
* "Back Up" by Cam feat. Sho Baraka
* "Real Vision" by Trip Lee
* "Listening Choice" by Json
* "Walk Worthy" by Dillon Chase
* "Go Hard" by Lecrae
With the 116 Clique;
* "116 Clique: The Compilation Album" (2005)
- “In Ya Hood” by Tedashii feat. Trip Lee
- “Impressed Interlude” by Tedashii
- “Impressed” by Tedashii
- “Streets” by Lecrae, BJ, & Tedashii
- “Kingdom People” by Tedashii
* "13 Letters " (2007)
- “Dig In” by Trip Lee feat. Tedashii
- “Keep The Faith” by Tedashii feat. Diamone
- “Stand Strong” by Tedashii
- “Carry Mine” by Tedashii
* "Amped" (2007)
- “The Red Revolution” by Tedashii feat. Sho Baraka
- “No More” by Tedashii feat. Lecrae
resources; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tedashii - http://www.twitter.com/sketchthej - http://www.ChristianHipHopper.com - http://www.DontWasteYourLife.com - http://www.RedRevolution.com - http://www.ReachRecords.com
