Online interview with KJ-52
September 2004

With all the hurricanes blowing through Florida our timing was bad on doing this interview with KJ-52 so we were just glad to know he has survived and is OK.

Dennis: Thanks KJ for taking the time during the storms to run through a few questions with us!  For those reading this could you give us a quick run down on how you were discovered and how you came up with the name KJ-52?
 KJ-52: The KJ part is an abbreviation for an old rap name that I used to have, (which used to be King J) while the 52 part (which is pronounced “five two” not fifty two) is a reference to the five loaves and two fish that Jesus used to feed the 5000.  In that story Jesus took one boys five loaves and two fish and fed the masses and in the same way I have put my talents, abilities, music etc... in the hands of Christ to feed people spiritually.  God takes the little that we have and multiplies it when we decide to place what we have in his hands.  I didn't have much to offer when I started, but whatever I had I was going to give it over to Christ.

Dennis: You have been bombarded with comparisons to Eminem and have now included two tracks to him.  Many Christians are very negative towards him and some even have t-shirts calling him a hypocrite and such.  Have you heard from him or his people and how has the response been from those tracks?
KJ-52: No response from him per say but his wife was played a copy of the trax in jail
and she liked them. Overall the response has been great w/ the general public.

Dennis: Your latest cd hit the streets just last month as a collaboration with Todd Collins (TC) and even comes with a free devotional book.  As usual your message about Jesus is very straight forward and direct.  What are your favorite tracks off the cd and how has the response been with your latest cd?
KJ-52: That' s more of a side project than the newest KJ lp... Ill be honest the feedback hasn't been a lot (what there is has been good though) mainly cuz it takes a few months to get the word out. My favorites would be "Eyes Open Wide" (I just dig the vibe of it) and "Only You" because it was the first worship song I ever wrote.

Dennis: Yeah, I thought it was a collaboration........As a white guy in rap you have probably had some negative shots from others.  I love the quote on your site that says, "Rap is a black house and I'm a guest in it."  What was it like being in that situation growing up as a  minority and how would you advise others to deal with being the minority whether as race or religious?
KJ-52: Just be yourself really .. that's all it comes down to.  I didn't really think to much of it growing up because that was just the life I had (plus I was pretty young).  I think to deal w/ it you just have to grow a thick skin, learn to be patient and meet people half way.  Most prejudice is due to ignorance so you just have to make that much more effort... otherwise you walk around w/ a chip on your shoulder (even if it is deserved) and that's no way to live.

Dennis: You deal with so many tough issues from sex to drugs to divorce to suicide.  Our forum deals with tons of teens dealing with those situations daily.  What is your advice to those Christians and non-Christians reading this now?
KJ-52: Just make Jesus the solution every time.. surround yourself w/ people who are
their to pick you up and help you.  Make sure your grounded in the basics (the
word and prayer) and never lose focus.

Dennis: Have you ever dealt with addictions or other serious problems and if so what brought you to your salvation experience?
KJ-52: I was born June 26 1975 in Miami Florida to two hippie parents who met each other in Brooklyn NY while attending art college.  When I was 5 we moved to the ghetto section of Tampa Florida called Ybor City because my dad had opened up a  studio and was painting ceramic murals for a living.  Things began to unravel at home however, my parents were fighting all the time and by the age of six my mom had left.  While my parents were separated for 3 years and I would visit my mom on the weekends, but all this would really would do is make things worse for myself.  I began to internalize all the feelings of anger, hurt and bitterness and began to withdraw into myself more and more.
When they finally divorced at age nine I had to start over, my mother got custody of me and I moved out to the suburbs and had to start everything over.  A year later my mother was remarried with a sibling on the way which gave me the task of trying to readjust to a new family.  Things went from bad to worse in a lot of ways, even though I was living in a better neighborhood we were the poorest family in the area.  We were sharing my grandmother’s house with my cousins family, nine people and 2 dogs in a 3 bedroom house trying to get by.
As I began to hit my teenage years all the problems I had growing up began to come to a head, my grades began to slip, I fought constantly with my parents and I  had run away twice.  I began hitting the partying scene as my life was wrapped up in alcohol, girls and hip hop music.  For most of my life I was the nerd, the outcast, the poor kid but as I hit high school I found myself with the “in” crowd.  I finally had all I wanted!  I had the popularity, I had the friends, the girls etc… but strangely enough these things didn’t seem to satisfy.
That summer I lost it all, my parents were moving to SW Florida to start a business and I had to say goodbye to everyone and everything I held dear.  Once again I had to face starting over, but that summer God has something in store for me.  When it came to the things of God I didn’t give it much thought, even though I had been to a religious elementary school I never knew what it meant to have a relationship with Christ.  Growing up I had only gone to church sporadically and at one point was almost atheistic.  I had several people witness to me but I remained skeptical and antagonistic toward anything “religious”.   That summer my cousin planted a seed in me that began to take root, I began to read his Bible and for the first time I had found something with a happy ending!  God began working in my life and I started to see what it meant to have a “relationship” versus “religion”.  
After I had moved I began to listen to radio preachers every night and I would cry out to God wanting him to be real in my life.  A month or two later I gave my life to Christ in my bedroom after a message I heard on the radio, that night was the catalyst that sparked my new walk with God.  Soon after I got a Bible and had read it cover to cover in 6 months!  My walk with God began to snowball, I was like a sponge soaking up Christ, I had finally found the missing puzzle piece in my life!  I soon got involved in a local church who loved on me, discipled me and gave me the missing “family” I had been looking for.  One year later at the age of 16 I knew God was calling me into the ministry, I knew there was nothing else I wanted to do.

Dennis:  So much of the rap and hip hop albums are filled with negativity towards women and life and often promote lifestyles of sex and partying.  A lot of discussion goes on in our site dealing with the issue of lyrics. Our stance towards teens have always been that they must weigh whether the music is a positive or negative influence in their life. What are your thoughts on the influence of music on teens?
KJ-52: It's like your friends.. if you surround yourself w/ negative people it's gonna
rub off .. positive people ...etc. That's just a given.

Dennis: Now that I put you on the spot with that question what have been your influences to make music?
KJ-52: golden era hip hop... 80's music... current stuff

Dennis: Wow, could you be a little bit more vague haha.  Anyway next haha...if you could pick out your least favorite track you have ever recorded, which would it be and why?
KJ-52: That's like asking your least favorite kid. haha The cheeseburger song I regret mainly cuz people make me do it all the time. But really...the only least favorite stuff I have is probably the stuff I did when I first started.

Dennis: KJ, thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview.  
KJ-52: www.kj52.com your one stop shop for all needs. Thanks man!