Article published March 08, 2003
Rapper's rhymes take positive spin
John Reuben, 24, of suburban Columbus has released two albums on the Gotee Records label.
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By DAVID YONKE
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR
John Reuben is not your typical rap star.
Tall and gangly with curly brown hair, the 24-year-old recording artist from suburban Columbus drops rhymes about Jesus and writes songs based on biblical concepts in a way that appeals to today's youth.
His two releases on Gotee Records, "Hindsight" (2002) and "Are We There Yet?" (2000), deliver an edgy mix of live instruments and funky deejay loops. His vocal style is crisp and quick and his lyrics are easily understood - even by parents!
Wearing a gray "Anti-hell" T-shirt and a trucker's ballcap with "Sons of God" scribbled on it graffiti style, Reuben sat down for an interview backstage at the Stranahan Theater last month after performing in the "See Spot Rock" concert.
Q: Do you find that kids tell you that your music encourages them or even changes their lives?
A: Yeah, definitely. That's probably one of the great things, or the greatest thing, about doing music, is the fact that something you wrote, or something you experienced and put into a song, related to somebody else - encouraged them or even changed their perspective about something. That's a really good feeling.
Q: Do you write from your own experiences without regard to how others might interpret it, or do you try to write lyrics that people will relate to?
A: It's always different for me. I don't have any set patterns for writing songs. The rule number one is that I'm honest. Everything I've ever written about, I've really gone through. But sometimes I'll definitely write thinking: Even if someone hasn't gone through the exact thing, how can I write it in a way that they can relate to?
Somebody might be addicted to drugs, and I might be addicted to something else, but they can all picture the same thing - the insecurities are the same. So sometimes I write music from that perspective.
Q: So even when the specifics vary, the general principles apply?
A: I'll give you an example. I wrote a song called `X Ray' on my first album, which is about dealing with depression, and a lot about looking in yourself, and kind of feeling one way inside but acting a different way outwardly because you felt like you had to meet everybody's expectations. But inwardly you created a world where you escape to, to hide from everything that's going on.
And I had one kid come up to me, one kid told me that, "Thank you for that song, I was on the verge of killing myself and that song encouraged me and helped me keep going." Another kid came up to me and told me, "You know, that song meant a lot to me, I played Nintendo too much."
Both of them were right on, because they related to it in their own way. And that's kind of the way I write music.
Q: What are you thoughts on MTV and the tone and subject matter of mainstream rap? Do you feel they can be bad influences on kids?
A: I definitely believe that what you take in, especially music, regardless of what people say, it does affect culture and society, and it's an influence whether you want it to be or not. If you're being negative, you're going to be a negative influence. Kids need to know that. There's probably even Christian music, as horrible as that might sound, that might influence you in the wrong way and you have to be careful what you take in in all aspects.
On the same note, I do appreciate the fact that we live in a country where we're all allowed to speak our mind. I wouldn't want somebody necessarily censoring me. And the reality is, especially for an artist, sometimes people don't want to hear the positive stuff. And that's when it becomes a challenge to me, I'm constantly trying to break it down, to make music kids can relate to and also encourage them and uplift them.
I think Christians sometimes come against the mainstream and attack them like, `It's wrong, it's wrong.' But we can't expect them to live by the same guidelines because they haven't had the same experiences that we've had. The only reason I act like I act is because Christ changed me. That's the reason we're not all in the same predicament.
Q: Have you played in non-Christian environments, like bars and nightclubs, and if so, what kind of response did you get?
A: Yeah, it's always positive, they always listen. And it's not even like I've ever felt I had to water down anything I say. I don't feel like I'm a real preachy artist. My goal is that the music I write would be communicated to them on a level that everybody can understand, that everybody can relate to, Christian or non-Christian.
Basically I look at everything as an opportunity. It's about knowing the crowd you're in front of. I wouldn't speak to your Sunday school class the same way I would speak to a 35-year-old in a bar.
Q: If you're playing in front of a largely Christian audience, like a church youth group, for example, do you ever consider that they may not all be Christian kids, or that even if they are they could be struggling and going through personal trials and tribulations?
A: Absolutely! They're not all Christian kids. And I think people take a perspective that every Christian has somehow got it all figured out and life's OK for them. I tell you man, I know from my own personal experience that my salvation and my relationship with God wasn't wrapped up in just saying the sinner's prayer. That's not where it is. And to be honest with you, I never even said the sinner's prayer. My life began to change as I began to seek God and people were there to encourage me along the way, you know what I mean? And there are a lot of kids out there who might have said the sinner's prayer or made an initial commitment but most of the people I talk to who are thinking about suicide or addicted to crack or cheating on their wives, or whatever, are people who have been believers, you know, these are all Christians.
We assume that, well if you're a Christian you'd better act like it, and to some degree I can agree with that. But there's also a point when you start realizing that you've got to understand that it's by the grace of God that we're all where we are at.
Q: How old were you when you had a conversion or born-again experience?
A: I was probably, oh, man, I don't know, I think I hit rock bottom when I was 16. A lot of personal things were going wrong with my family, I was super depressed, I dropped out of high school, and I think I came to a point where I asked God to make himself known to me or allow me to experience him or I felt like I was going to go off the deep end. And I just, I had a real encounter that changed my whole perspective and I began to seek him at that point.
The last eight years, maybe seven years - I'm not even sure - it's been just experience after experience, and a constant reminder that God is real, and of getting to know and trust Christ.
I grew up in the church, I grew up around the church community, but I also grew up around a lot of dysfunction and I saw a lot of people, pastors and mentors, go off the deep end. I saw a lot of bad theology, borderline cultish stuff, that turned me away from God.
I was kind of this anti-organized-religion guy, but I've realized that's not the way we're supposed to live our life. You're supposed to live your life in a community and not by yourself. As a 17-year-old kid who had so many bad experiences, I didn't want to be around it, because I thought it was all hypocritical. I love the church I go to now and I couldn't live without them.
Q: Do you think 9/11 caused America's youth to look deeper for answers, to look for something more solid to lean on in this world?
A: Yeah, definitely. And I thought that after 9/11, people wouldn't forget. Every time something tragic happens, people start seeking God. But then when it dies down people tend to forget.
I think the state that everything's in, with the war at hand, you've got to hope for something more than even peace on Earth. Peace on Earth doesn't seem to work. You've got to have a higher hope, and I think kids are realizing that, "Gosh, if my only hope is for peace on Earth, that's really kind of a slim thing to count on."
That's not to say that peace on earth is not a good thing, and God knows I hate the fact that we might go to war. I hate that. That freaks me out. I don't like death, I don't like violence. But that's just human nature.
Q: Would you say that peace on Earth is a good thing in itself but there are no guarantees that it's going to last?
A: If it happens, thank God, that's great. But you can't control the realities of life. And that's why my hope is in something bigger than the realities of just this temporary life. And I think a lot of people don't even want to explore that option, but when something tragic happens, people start looking for it because it's like, "Oh God, what do I do now? God help me."
I guess that's why I became a believer in the first place. Things were going crazy, peace in my home wasn't real, it wasn't there, and it was only the grace of God that brought peace in my life, peace in my family.
More information on John Reuben is available online at www.johnreuben.com.
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