Divine Inspiration - Music

John Reuben Zappin Born January 14 1979 In Columbus Ohio Is A Dove Award Nominated Christian Rapper And Singer Signed To TobyMac's Gotee Records. He Released His Debut Album Are We There Yet? In 2000 And Has Since Released 2002's Hindsight 2003's Professional Rapper 2005's The Boy Vs. The Cynic 2007's Word Of Mouth And 2009's Sex Drug And Self-Control. He Has Also Released A Remix Album Of Tracks Off His First Three Albums Titled So In Hindsight The Professional Rapper Isn't There Yet. John Reuben Zappin Was Born In Columbus Ohio. He Is Of Jewish Heritage And According To His MySpace His Mother Is The Owner Of A Christian Death Metal Record Label. Raised In Pataskala Ohio A Suburb Of Columbus Reuben Got His Start In Rapping In 1994 By Taking The Bus Into The City To Rap On Open Mic Nights And Participate In Rap Battles At The Age Of Fifteen. Reuben Later Released Monuments An Independent EP Which Caught The Attention Of Gotee Records. They Took A Chance Signing Him To The Label And Releasing His First Project Are We There Yet? In 2000. TobyMac The Founder Of Gotee Records Provided Vocals For The Album's Final Track "God Is Love". Reuben's Next Release Hindsight 2002 Continues His Use Of A Wide Variety Of Musical Genres And Thoughtful Often Funny Lyrics. The Album Was Praised As A "truly Eclectic And Creative Hip-Hop Album That Blends Old-School Sounds With Progressive Production." Once Thought To Be A Christian Version Of Eminem. Reuben's First Two Releases Established Him As An Original Witty Sarcastic Musician As Well As Gotee's Top-Selling Solo Rap Artist. Professional Rapper 2003 Marked Reuben's Debut As A Self-Producing Artist. The Album Is Noticeably Different From His Previous Efforts Using More Instruments And Less DJ Sampling For The Tracks. Along With These Differences The Album Is Noticeably Darker In Both Lyrics And Feel. It Includes Several Somber Tracks Which Allow A Glimpse Into Reuben's Struggles And Self-Doubt. Adrienne Camp Of The Benjamin Gate Contributes Vocals To Two Tracks On The Album. The Following Year Reuben Released So In Hindsight The Professional Rapper Isn't There Yet 2004 An Album Of Remixed Versions Of Songs From His First Three Albums. The Boy Vs. The Cynic 2005 Continued Reuben's Trek From The Non-Serious Songs Which Characterized His Earlier Work To Music That's Far More Somber And Meditative. Reportedly When The Time Came For Him To Submit His Work For The Album Reuben Turned In Enough Tracks For Two Albums One Light Hearted The Other More Serious. Rather Than Releasing A Two Disc Release The Label Decided To Splice Them Together Into The Boy Vs. The Cynic. Relient K's Matt Thiessen Contributes To The Album's Second Track "Nuisance". Tim Skipper Of The Band House Of Heroes Appears On The Track "So Glad". Most Of Reuben's Songs Use "traditional" Musical Instruments Typically The Guitar Though He Experiments With Many Different Instruments And Musical Styles. Reuben Is Currently Working On A Reality Show Detailing His "rise" To Stardom While Poking Fun At Many Of The Conventions Of Reality Television. The Pilot Of The Show Can Be Viewed On YouTube. John Released His Fifth Album Word Of Mouth On February 6 2007. Allmusic.Com Called Word Of Mouth An "unqualified Triumph" And Said That "You Won't Find A Truer More Honest Or More Celebratory Album This Year." Gotee Records Released John Reuben's Sixth Studio Album "Sex Drugs And Self-Control" On December 22nd 2009. The First Single "Town Folk" Was Released On July 14th 2009. The Next Single "Jamboree " Was Released August 18th 2009. Followed By "Confident " Which Was Released September 15th 2009 "No Be Nah" Was Released October 14th 2009. According To An Interview With TVU In January John Reuben Said That There Are Definitely More Music Videos Planned To Release In The Coming Months From His Most Recent CD. Via Http //en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/John_Reuben read less