7up w/ Da’ T.R.U.T.H.
The Gospel Guru caught up with Christian hip-hop artist Da’ T.R.U.T.H. Emanuel Lee Lambert, Jr. a/k/a Da’ T.R.U.T.H. is no stranger to any of us; he debuted as a Christian hip-hop artist in 2004 with his first album “Moment of Truth.” Since then Da’ T.R.U.T.H. has snagged three Stellar awards, and received Grammy and GMA Dove nominations.
Da’ T.R.U.T.H. is now gearing up to release his first album on XIST MUSIC entitled “The Whole Truth,” which is set to be in stores and online September 13, 2011. For more info on Da’ T.R.U.T.H. and “The Whole Truth” please visit, www.DaTRUTH.net. Now sit back, relax, and get a bit of 7up w/ Da’ T.R.U.T.H.
1. Describe Da’ T.R.U.T.H. in three words. I’m passionate about life, music, and God.
2. How do you remain relevant in the music industry? I believe the key to staying relevant is not trying to be relevant. I think when artists try to be relevant they compromise the integrity of music, and their own artistic expression. There are a few trendsetters in gospel music, but there are a lot of trendsetters in the secular arena. Look at Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, and Lady Gaga—and obviously I’m not talking about her moral sensibilities—but from an artistic standpoint. These are individuals that set the trend; they’re not trying to follow after the trend. By setting the trend they set a new standard of what is of relevance. As an artist I think that I carry that same burden where I find it very difficult to follow after or chase trends to stay relevant. A lot of people do that in the gospel and the secular world. I personally find it difficult to chase the trend and I think that by not chasing the trend it actually helps keep me relevant because I’m determining what is relevant. What’s popular this week can be out the window the next week. So what do you do when your music is not relevant because that was so “a week ago,” in other words it’s dated now? I just love to do what I do. I think it’s safer and that way you maintain musical integrity. I think if people do what they do best and stay true to themselves artistically, the music industry as a whole will be a lot more colorful and exciting.
3. What can we expect from your forthcoming album, and where did your inspiration come from? You can expect a musical journey because I’m a musician first. I think I’m going to scratch the hip-hop title ha ha ha. I’m really an artist and a musician who happens to rap. I started playing drums when I was 12 years old. I went to Overbrook high school, Temple University and Community College of Philadelphia to study music theory. I’ve played for recording choirs, the all city jazz band and a musical in New York. So, if people ever wonder why the musicality is so different on each record, that’s why. Way before I started rapping, music was coursing through my veins. So when you listen to this record you’ll hear a lot more of my musicianship. As a lyricist, I feel like I wrote with the same passion, fervor and skill that I had on Moment of Truth. Most of the people that I’ve allowed to hear this album take a deep breathe in the beginning and don’t seem to let out until 12 songs later…LOL. It’s just that intense. I’m excited about that. The Whole Truth is a double entendre. I’m telling the whole truth in that I’m very vocal and transparent about my journey over the past two years. It’s also the whole truth because I’m chronicling my journey from brokenness to wholeness. I want to highlight the fact that there was a season of brokenness and I fell, but Jesus made me whole. I’m taking people on that journey from my fall to the bottom to my rise to the “top” and everything in between.
4. What features can we look forward to on the new album? What artists would you like to work with in the future? I didn’t want a lot of high profile artists on this record; I really wanted people to hear my voice. This is from my heart to yours. I’m ultimately trying to get people to hear and feel my heartbeat. I really had no desire to have features on the album. CeCe Winans is on the record because it just made perfect sense to be on the particular song that she’s on, and when it makes sense you want to go with what makes sense. Besides CeCe, I have a guy out of Philly by the name of Prayz1 and Suzy Rock. I think that’s all for features, but these features made perfect sense. Suzy has a story to tell, she went through some craziness around the same time I did and I wanted her to tell her story on a song called “Survivor” with me. We went through the fire but we were not consumed by the grace of God. I thought it was fitting to have people with similar stories to join hand in hand with me. As of right now there’s no one particular artist I want to collaborate with. I’m sure there will be some, but as of right now, none. There are some artists I really like (Mali, Kiki, Jai…). I love them as artists but there is no one in particular that I’m really anxious to connect with right now.
5. You are one of the ones who helped pave the way for other Christian hip-hop artists. Do you feel that Christian hip-hop is more accepted now than when you first began? Absolutely. It’s more accepted by the church…well…LOL…sort of… I think the church is to some degree threatened by it. The gospel industry is a little threatened by it. They don’t understand it because unfortunately many of the people in the gospel arena grew up in a church bubble. Consequently, they’re very detached from the culture, especially from pop culture. Often times they don’t know what to do with us, they don’t know what to do with the entire urban movement. If you listen to gospel radio, you can really hear the prejudice. I think we’ll eventually be on gospel radio. They’re afraid to play us because they’re afraid of losing ratings. They don’t understand that they are hurting the younger generation by not providing us with an alternative. Thank God for the Internet. But, it’s still harmful when we get in our cars and were not able to turn on the radio and have an alternative to Kelly Roland and Lil Wayne. However, I think leaders like Vicki Mack Lataillade, Yolanda Adams and CoCo Brother are taking note of what God is doing with the urban gospel movement. Also, the secular market is paying more attention to what’s going on with this movement. Overall, I’m excited about the dominant presence that God is giving it in the industry.
6. Who are some people that you look up to in the gospel music industry, and why? Kirk Franklin because he’s seasoned, I’ve been on the road with him. One of the things that I’ve learned is that it’s not about what you have in your head, there’s just something about experience that serves as the perfect compliment to information. Kirk Franklin has experience beyond his years. We’ve toured together, and that was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I got the chance to sit back and learn, I sat back every night and watched the same show. I was taking notes; Kirk has a knack for engaging people on and off the stage. I’ve learned a lot from him during the tour and still continue to glean from his experience. When I have questions I call him. Recently, I called him about a ministry/industry question. He’s one of the guys I look up to from a performance and business standpoint as well. Musically, I look up to Mali Music. He’s a creative genius. He’s inspiring as an artist because he pushes the envelope. I consider myself an envelope pusher as well so I’m drawn to other artists like that. When I see Mali pushing the envelope further than I’ve pushed it, then I’m pushing it even further.
7. What’s your perspective on becoming a successful artist? Success must be properly interpreted and leveraged. The platform that’s given to us is not just for the sake of being successful. It’s not to show the world that we have rims and drop tops too, or that we are cool and have skills too. Although, those are elements that can serve as inroads in evangelism, that’s not the goal. People have a warped view of Christianity because the only picture they have in their mind is a traditional one. So when they see a “non-traditional” Christian, it gives them a different perspective that may increase the chances of them at least listening to what we have to say. At the end of the day the purpose for God in creating this platform for us is to be a faithful servants and not just successful celebrities. The key for me is interpreting success properly and doing the right thing with the platform God has given us.
