kikipeepers asked
The Rev. Timothy Holder, 51, is about the last person people would associate with the rough-and-tumble world of hip-hop. The white, Harvard-educated Episcopalian priest is a mild-mannered, bespectacled fellow with a plump face, merry eyes and a genial Tennessean lilt that seems to melt like butter among the bodacious New York City accents that surround him. He's also openly gay. Holder is among the new leaders to emerge in the fast-growing, underground movement of holy hip-hop, a melding of religion, primarily Christianity, with the energy, lingo, dress and dance moves of the culture. The approach, created to attract young people and hip-hop fans, has produced a number of fledgling churches across the country, several traveling rap ministries, numerous Christian rap artists, a couple of awards shows and plenty of Wrath of God-like discussion. Many traditional religious leaders seem hesitant to embrace the approach, while others reject it outright, because of hip-hop's fixation on sex, drugs and violence. Nevertheless, the movement is gaining traction as people such as Holder, whose street name is Poppa T, and a slew of hip-hop artists bring a message of God to a generation searching to embrace spirituality on its own terms.
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