J. Spence Ascends Higher with Ascension

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Ascension, J. Spence’s third CD and first for the Arizona-based Diversity Music Group, is garnering attention, but he’s not an overnight success.

Spence told TBGB last week that while his evolution as a Christian hip hop artist began casually, it has required years of preparation and study to get where he is today.

J. Spence grew up in the church in Buffalo, New York. As a preteen, he rapped “just for fun, at school, with friends.” His first taste of music as a career came when opening for Deitrick Haddon at a church musical program. “I was a kid, about ten or eleven,” he said, “and when I saw the response I received, I realized that this could be something I could do.”

Fortunately for Spence, his parents were astutely supportive. They recommended he do research to figure out what it takes to be great in Christian hip hop and apply those techniques to his own craft. “My parents encouraged me to do good music instead of sounding cheap,” Spence reflected. “They also told me to save my money and present a quality product.”

One singer Spence sought to emulate was Deitrick Haddon, the gospel artist he opened for at the church. Spence also absorbed the M.O. of Jay-Z, his favorite artist. Spence said, “You can tell [Jay-Z] has a love for music, more than just putting lyrics on top of a beat. His albums flow. He pays attention to the details.”

While refining his craft, Spence began making mixtapes. To his surprise, the mixtapes started catching on. “It was a real eye-opener to find kids in churches singing songs that were on the mixtapes!” he said.

Spence received additional confirmation of his decision to enter the world of Christian hip hop at the release party for his first solo project, The Great Commission (2007). “We were in a thousand-seat space,” he said, “and we still had to bring in more chairs.” A single from the album, “Do What It Do,” received some airplay in and around Buffalo and leaped across Lake Erie and onto Canadian radio.

Spence’s second independently-released CD was Pentecost (2008). Two years later, he signed with Diversity Music Group. “[Ascension] was already completed before I met Jerome [Ferrell – Diversity Music CEO] but Diversity pushed it much faster.”

After the release of Ascension, Spence was more than a regional artist; he was getting calls from fans as far away as Los Angeles and Singapore who liked his sound and dug the album’s message.

“The main concept of Ascension is love,” Spence explained. “It’s about building and maintaining a healthy relationship with God, and also building and maintaining healthy relationships with people.”

Some selections on Ascension have a whimsicality to them, such as “Friend Like Me” and “Price is Right,” which feature snippets from Aladdin and the theme song of “The Price is Right” television game show, respectively. “My saying is ‘live and laugh,’” Spence commented. “Laughter and joy should be part of our daily routine.”

To write songs, Spence typically produces the music first and allows it to seep in for a few days before developing the verses and chorus. “After the music sits with me for awhile, it normally takes only a few hours to finish the song.”

While Spence is working on a tour for the current album, he is already recording the next one. “There are seven or eight songs that I’m confident will make the next album,” he said, and anticipates it will be released next summer.

In the meantime, “I have the opportunity of a lifetime to live joyful and happy every day.”

For more information on J. Spence, go to http://www.diversitymusicgroup.com/.