Bizzop Latta invited me to join him and a few other artist for a meet & greet breakfast one morning. It was here I met the enormously gifted Deacon Authority. We accompanied Deacon back to his home studio so that Bizzop & I could lay down a track. When we got there, my ears lit up, once I heard the wealth of production, he had on file. It was as if I had discovered a hidden treasure in Greensboro. We hit it off instantly and I made arrangements to begin recording my first official project.
Reply
So the Gospel rap scene was rising swiftly in the Triad NC area around 2005. Thanks to, then social media giant, Myspace, I had made even more artist connections in the local area. Eventually I was contacted by Erica Peoples bka Lady E, to perform at the popular talent showcase known as The Round-Up. It was here where I met:DJ Ronnie Ron, Quiet Storm,God's Mouthpiece,Chosen,C-Elevation and the rest my musical fam. We formed strong bonds of fellowship each time we encountered each other in ministry. We would often sit in the parking lots and chop it up for hours, long after the events were over, Armed with similar passions, faith and a heart to serve God, we were each determined to use the vehicle of Hip Hop to carry the message of salvation to the church as well as the lost. The discovery of these brothers was the answer to prayer. I had longed for the same fellowship of the brethren which I had when I was running the streets. I didn't just get some troopers, I was blessed to be among God's Soldiers.
Reply
My time at On Q Studios was a hands on learning experience. I'm forever grateful to Q for allowing me the time and opportunity to develop as a recording artist and for providing me with performing tracks. I also made some amazing connections there including: Bizzop Latta, Phil Good Thoughts and J Fraze. I also learned valuable info, such as the difference between exclusive and leased tracks, points, mixing and mastering and etc. I not only got a better understanding of the ministry side of things but also the business side as well.
Reply
So late one night, after accompanying The Gatekeeperz in ministry, I was invited to On Q Studios to lay down my first song. In the presence of Q.Hill, Bizzop Latta, Aziz "Zee Brimah and my cousin Coce, I entered the booth. The room appeared to be spinning, my heart pounding and the music began to play. Q, a skilled recording engineer,walked me thru the recording process. The moment was here and I embraced it, so for about 5 minutes, I blanked out. Then the music stopped and there was this awkward moment of silence before someone said," yo, that's hot & you did it in one take." And just like that the music ministry of Ron Stop was birthed. That night I drove home with tears of pure joy running down my cheeks. It was a moment identical to the scene in The Five Heartbeats when Eddie Kane, Jr. talking to Babydoll, " It's happening baby, it's happening!"
Reply
One day after morning bible study, I was having lunch at Chili's when I ran across one of my homies from high school, Quintin "Q" Hill. What appeared as just a coincidental meeting quickly revealed itself as an divine appointment from The Father. As we were catching up, I mentioned to him that I was preparing to record a gospel rap cd. Well, that's when he mentioned to me that he owned a studio and that he was part of gospel rap group known as The Gatekeeperz. He immediately extended an invitation to record with him at no charge. WHAT???? I was like, " Lord, are you serious, right now?" It was this experience that taught me to trust the prophetic word of God with all my heart. Regardless of how foolish or impossible it may appear, God will fulfill his promises in due season.
Reply
So, finally, I reached a place where I was running with the prophetic word of God. I begin to speak out loud that I was preparing to record a gospel rap album. I had no clue how this was going to happen but I believed it with all my heart. About the same time my cousin Coce, whom I mentioned in an earlier blog, had also began to pursue his dream of being a music producer. It was like perfect timing, life had come full circle. It was in his basement, I begin honing my skills once again. The fire was lit and the flame of creativity burned afresh in my heart.
Reply
John 14:28 says that the Holy Spirit will bring all things to your remembrance. As I pursued my renewed passions of rapping I was reminded of the awkward creative transition I was experiencing previously. When I was still in rebellion against my calling, I couldn't help but notice my lyrics were changing. Often times while writing some of the hardest street edged rhymes, my lyrics beyond my control, would make a random shift into praising God. Which in my mind, was contradicting the general concept of the song. However, every time I would try to start over and write something else, the lyrics consistently shifted toward praising God. This freaked me out so bad, I eventually stop writing for a while. Whenever I mentioned to anyone that I may end up being a gospel rapper, I was met with instant ridicule. Keep in mind this was in the late 90's and gospel rap wasn't even on the radar at the time. The holy spirit showed me that God was prophetically transitioning my music into a place He was leading me in due season. As you have heard in Matt. 15:11-"It's not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth."
Reply
My faith reconciled me with my dreams also. Initially upon committing to the faith, I shunned all things that I felt were not of God. This included, unfortunately, my dream of rapping. At the time, I could not see how the two passions could co-exist. It was tough to do but I was willing to sacrifice anything which I thought was not pleasing to God. So I let go of my pursuits but I never stop writing songs. One night during a late personal bible study, my attention was directed to the life of Joseph the dreamer in Genesis 41:46. Joseph was a teenager when he received his vision from God but it didn't come to pass until his adult years In Egypt. As I meditated on the text, the Lord ministered to me on how my love for rapping was a gift from Him but he couldn't get any glory out of it as long as I had secular ambitions. Every good gift comes from God and should be used to give Him glory. After been directed to some other scriptures, I closed my bible, opened my notebook and with tears of joy began writing holy heartburn.
Reply
Faith birthed freedom, freedom birthed forgiveness and forgiveness birthed reconciliation. Through faith ,I fell in love with the Father, again, by first falling in love with His word. The love of the word of God, reconciled me with the call into ministry, which I humbly accepted. Forgiveness allowed me to reconcile with the mother of my youngest children and we were eventually wedded. Armed with faith, ministry and a family, I was ready to go in the highways and byways to minister the grace of God.
Reply
With my faith reignited, I set out on a mission to seek God whole-heartedly. And though temptations came immediately, I was more determined than ever to overcome my shortcomings. The road of faith intersects with the road of forgiveness. As God had forgiven me of my trespasses, I too had learned to forgive those who had hurt me. I also had to seek forgiveness from others and I even learned to forgive myself. I discovered that forgiveness is a by-product of freedom and I refused to be a slave to guilt, animosity, bitterness or regret any longer.
Reply
Ron Stop / Blog
Grow In Pains:The Pilgrimage of Ron Stop!! pt 26
Bizzop Latta invited me to join him and a few other artist for a meet & greet breakfast one morning. It was here I met the enormously gifted Deacon Authority. We accompanied Deacon back to his home studio so that Bizzop & I could lay down a track. When we got there, my ears lit up, once I heard the wealth of production, he had on file. It was as if I had discovered a hidden treasure in Greensboro. We hit it off instantly and I made arrangements to begin recording my first official project.
Reply
Grow In Pains: The Pilgrimage of Ron Stop!!
So the Gospel rap scene was rising swiftly in the Triad NC area around 2005. Thanks to, then social media giant, Myspace, I had made even more artist connections in the local area. Eventually I was contacted by Erica Peoples bka Lady E, to perform at the popular talent showcase known as The Round-Up. It was here where I met:DJ Ronnie Ron, Quiet Storm,God's Mouthpiece,Chosen,C-Elevation and the rest my musical fam. We formed strong bonds of fellowship each time we encountered each other in ministry. We would often sit in the parking lots and chop it up for hours, long after the events were over, Armed with similar passions, faith and a heart to serve God, we were each determined to use the vehicle of Hip Hop to carry the message of salvation to the church as well as the lost. The discovery of these brothers was the answer to prayer. I had longed for the same fellowship of the brethren which I had when I was running the streets. I didn't just get some troopers, I was blessed to be among God's Soldiers.
Reply
Grow In Pains:The Pilgrimage of Ron Stop!!
My time at On Q Studios was a hands on learning experience. I'm forever grateful to Q for allowing me the time and opportunity to develop as a recording artist and for providing me with performing tracks. I also made some amazing connections there including: Bizzop Latta, Phil Good Thoughts and J Fraze. I also learned valuable info, such as the difference between exclusive and leased tracks, points, mixing and mastering and etc. I not only got a better understanding of the ministry side of things but also the business side as well.
Reply
Grow In Pains:The Pilgrimage of Ron Stop!! pt 23
So late one night, after accompanying The Gatekeeperz in ministry, I was invited to On Q Studios to lay down my first song. In the presence of Q.Hill, Bizzop Latta, Aziz "Zee Brimah and my cousin Coce, I entered the booth. The room appeared to be spinning, my heart pounding and the music began to play. Q, a skilled recording engineer,walked me thru the recording process. The moment was here and I embraced it, so for about 5 minutes, I blanked out. Then the music stopped and there was this awkward moment of silence before someone said," yo, that's hot & you did it in one take." And just like that the music ministry of Ron Stop was birthed. That night I drove home with tears of pure joy running down my cheeks. It was a moment identical to the scene in The Five Heartbeats when Eddie Kane, Jr. talking to Babydoll, " It's happening baby, it's happening!"
Reply
Grow In Pains: The Pilgrimage of Ron Stop!! pt 22
One day after morning bible study, I was having lunch at Chili's when I ran across one of my homies from high school, Quintin "Q" Hill. What appeared as just a coincidental meeting quickly revealed itself as an divine appointment from The Father. As we were catching up, I mentioned to him that I was preparing to record a gospel rap cd. Well, that's when he mentioned to me that he owned a studio and that he was part of gospel rap group known as The Gatekeeperz. He immediately extended an invitation to record with him at no charge. WHAT???? I was like, " Lord, are you serious, right now?" It was this experience that taught me to trust the prophetic word of God with all my heart. Regardless of how foolish or impossible it may appear, God will fulfill his promises in due season.
Reply
Grow In Pains:The Pilgrimage of Ron Stop!!
So, finally, I reached a place where I was running with the prophetic word of God. I begin to speak out loud that I was preparing to record a gospel rap album. I had no clue how this was going to happen but I believed it with all my heart. About the same time my cousin Coce, whom I mentioned in an earlier blog, had also began to pursue his dream of being a music producer. It was like perfect timing, life had come full circle. It was in his basement, I begin honing my skills once again. The fire was lit and the flame of creativity burned afresh in my heart.
Reply
Grow In Pains: The Pilgrimage of Ron Stop!!
John 14:28 says that the Holy Spirit will bring all things to your remembrance. As I pursued my renewed passions of rapping I was reminded of the awkward creative transition I was experiencing previously. When I was still in rebellion against my calling, I couldn't help but notice my lyrics were changing. Often times while writing some of the hardest street edged rhymes, my lyrics beyond my control, would make a random shift into praising God. Which in my mind, was contradicting the general concept of the song. However, every time I would try to start over and write something else, the lyrics consistently shifted toward praising God. This freaked me out so bad, I eventually stop writing for a while. Whenever I mentioned to anyone that I may end up being a gospel rapper, I was met with instant ridicule. Keep in mind this was in the late 90's and gospel rap wasn't even on the radar at the time. The holy spirit showed me that God was prophetically transitioning my music into a place He was leading me in due season. As you have heard in Matt. 15:11-"It's not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth."
Reply
Grow In Pains:The Pilgrimage of Ron Stop pt 19
My faith reconciled me with my dreams also. Initially upon committing to the faith, I shunned all things that I felt were not of God. This included, unfortunately, my dream of rapping. At the time, I could not see how the two passions could co-exist. It was tough to do but I was willing to sacrifice anything which I thought was not pleasing to God. So I let go of my pursuits but I never stop writing songs. One night during a late personal bible study, my attention was directed to the life of Joseph the dreamer in Genesis 41:46. Joseph was a teenager when he received his vision from God but it didn't come to pass until his adult years In Egypt. As I meditated on the text, the Lord ministered to me on how my love for rapping was a gift from Him but he couldn't get any glory out of it as long as I had secular ambitions. Every good gift comes from God and should be used to give Him glory. After been directed to some other scriptures, I closed my bible, opened my notebook and with tears of joy began writing holy heartburn.
Reply
Grow In Pains:The Pilgrimage of Ron Stop pt 18
Faith birthed freedom, freedom birthed forgiveness and forgiveness birthed reconciliation. Through faith ,I fell in love with the Father, again, by first falling in love with His word. The love of the word of God, reconciled me with the call into ministry, which I humbly accepted. Forgiveness allowed me to reconcile with the mother of my youngest children and we were eventually wedded. Armed with faith, ministry and a family, I was ready to go in the highways and byways to minister the grace of God.
Reply
Grow In Pains:The Pilgrimage of Ron Stop pt 17
With my faith reignited, I set out on a mission to seek God whole-heartedly. And though temptations came immediately, I was more determined than ever to overcome my shortcomings. The road of faith intersects with the road of forgiveness. As God had forgiven me of my trespasses, I too had learned to forgive those who had hurt me. I also had to seek forgiveness from others and I even learned to forgive myself. I discovered that forgiveness is a by-product of freedom and I refused to be a slave to guilt, animosity, bitterness or regret any longer.
Reply