It was 11 years this week that the legendary UK Gospel Hip-Hop group GreenJade unofficially disbanded

It’s almost impossible to overstate their impact on the UK Gospel Street Music scene.

A decade ago Hip-Hop and Gospel music were very strange bedfellows to many Christians.

Some people weren’t merely apathetic to the mixing of scripture and Street Beats – they found it difficult to separate mainstream Hip-Hop’s hedonistic reputation from the Christian passion the artists brought to the art form, many of whom delivered at levels highly comparable to what you found on your radio at the time.

Like many of their contemporaries, GreenJade had to endure a combination of misunderstanding at best, and – when things got extreme (and personal) – accusations of being downright satanic.

And that’s not an exaggeration. Nostalgia often dulls the mind to the tearing sharpness of moments we remember with fondness.

History

This aspect of our history has always fascinated me, so when I got the call from @Wizdom to do a shoot with the guys I couldn’t resist the chance to record a significant piece that history.

We found ourselves in Central and East London on a summer’s afternoon, and over a few hours, took a few pictures and had a few laughs.

This was one of a few photo shoots I did with the guys (I think we ended up doing two or three over the years).

Weird Persecution

If you think I’m laying it on a bit thick when I talk about the weird persecution a lot of artists of that era received, watch Wizdom’s video below to hear the stories of their experiences first-hand.

If you’re a UK Gospel Street Music artist of any stripe:

Behold: these are the shoulders of the giants you’re standing on…

#TBT
#UKGospelLegacy
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