Burbank artist puts faith in rap

Gregory Brown was 17 and nearing the end of his high school years in Burbank when he seemed to lose hope.

It was two years ago, and he had recently moved across the country from Silver Spring, Md., where his father lives, to Burbank, where his mother lives. The impact of their divorce when he was 13 was still lingering with him.

Although it was easy for him to become friends with students involved in different cliques at John Burroughs High School, from the “jokesters,” to the athletes, those in the Anime club or more academically focused, Brown became distracted and fell behind in his schoolwork.

“You’re coming from a place that you’re so used to, to California, which is completely new…I pretty much was at rock bottom,” he said.

Then he enrolled at Monterey High School, Burbank’s continuation school, which steers teens back on track to make up credits. There, he adopted a new outlook on life and grew to love his teachers and school. He also began to consider a suggestion he had long disregarded from his Mom, who encouraged him to explore faith on his own terms.

“I didn’t want to hear all that,” he recalled. “It was weird — something you can’t explain. How can you believe in something that’s not here?”

He ultimately found himself reading passages from the Bible and writing lyrics to rap songs that revealed a new approach to both his songwriting and growing faith.

“You can’t really do Christian rap unless you really know who Christ is, but you have to get beyond what the world says it is and find your own relationship,” he said. “You have to know hip-hop. You also have to be good at rapping. It’s two processes in one.”

In a song called “Hard Truth,” Brown wrote, “I’m one piece of dirt/you’re one piece of dirt/that’s one thing we made from/we all have a heart/we all need love/I don’t care what part you from.”

In other songs, he speaks about his experience in losing his temper and turning to a peaceful mindset.

“There’s some power in the words that we release/I used to dis when I was... /I’ve been shown that path of peace,” he raps in a song called “No Worries,” in which he also claims, “I’d be a fool to get on this mic/dis a brother or a sister.”

Now 19, one of Brown’s favorite artists is the Grammy-award winning rapper Lecrae, who focuses on Christian hip-hop and released his first album 10 years ago.

“Once you see someone who pioneers it, it kind of gives you hope,” Brown said. “If you’re in my shoes... you have hope now.”

Earlier this summer, Brown’s work was featured on a radio show hosted by the Arizona-based music producer Mack Drama, who signed Brown to his label, Mack Drama Records.

As a performer, Brown goes by Grizzly Lilcub, a name that represents two aspects of him — the part of him that is like a grizzly bear and can’t be intimidated, and the other side that is friendly and approachable like a cub.

His goal isn’t to push people to any religion, but to truth, he said, and he’s eager to use hip-hop as a platform.

“As a hip-hop artist, we have power. We don’t look at it that way, but we have power to influence masses — a lot of people — with just one song.”

His advice to some Christians looking to turn people to God is to “don’t worry about getting people to God,” he said, something that he initially pushed on his friends. “Just let them see the God in you.”

“[God] said the only thing that’s going to last is love, faith and hope, and if we’re making people mad, doing the opposite, it’s not going to last,” Brown added.

As he grows as a rap artist, Brown said he hopes to make a “huge impact” on those who hear his music.

“It’s just the beginning now,” he said.