New Lyrics Up!!!

There are new lyrics up for about 5 or 6 songs off The Suffering Servant album. These lyrics have Scripture references for your benefit and edification. There are also lyrics up from several songs from The Perseverance Mixtape and some free downloads. Jenny's Story and Lenny's Story lyrics are up and Teddy's Story lyrics will be posted soon!! Stay tuned!!

The Concept Behind The Suffering Servant

Link to Buy The Suffering Servant

http://www.thebus-shop.com/shop.cfm?prod=1094

Me and Japhia Life- Interview with RapFest Radio

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/11425532

Interview with Sketch the Journalist

http://blogs.chron.com/jesusmusik/2010/12/philly_rappers_new_album_focus.html

The Suffering Servant Tracklisting Announced

Gametime Recordings is excited to announce the official tracklisting for Believin Stephen’s highly anticipated debut album “The Suffering Servant”. The highly conceptual album features some of your favorite CHH artists and producers! It will be dropping on Tuesday December 14.


1.       Problem of Pain (produced by Petros)
2.       Surprised by Suffering? (produced by Big Juice for SoundBreaker Productions)
3.       Suicide featuring Japhia Life and Leah Smith (produced by Mike Beats)
4.       My Life Story featuring Average Joe (produced by Average Joe)
5.       His Purpose is Gracious featuring Timothy Brindle (produced by I Qwit Music)
6.       Suffering and God’s Sovereignty featuring Angela Board (produced by Anonymous)
7.       Suffering Servant Part I (Isaiah 53) (produced by Average Joe)
8.       Christ Can Relate (produced by I Qwit Music)
9.       Teddy’s Story featuring Calm One (produced by Mike Beats)
10.   Take the Mask Off featuring Average Joe (produced by Average Joe)
11.   Walk With a Limp  (produced by Average Joe)
12.   Joseph’s Story  (produced by Caleb Hoisington from 10:31 Sermon Jams)
13.   Grief Observed featuring Deadmanwalking, B-Doe, and Average Joe (produced by Average Joe)
14.   Suffering Interlude (produced by K-Drama)
15.   Suffering Servant Part II (NT) (produced by Average Joe)
16.   Acts 7 featuring Stephen the Levite  (produced by Tony Stone)
17.   Through These Gates (produced by Average Joe)
18.   Victory March featuring Phien (produced by Big Juice for SoundBreaker Productions)
19.   Outro (produced by Petros)               

Take the Mask Off

 The new jam up is called "Take the Mask Off". It will only be up for 6 more hours so go check it out!

http://believinstephen.bandcamp.com/track/take-the-mask-off-feat-average-joe

New Song- to be released tomorrow

I am going to release another song tomorrow (12/02/10). I've already leaked 3 songs so here is the catch. The song will only be available for 24 hrs for you to listen and then I am going to take the song down. Make sure you check out www.believinstephen.bandcamp.com tomorrow!

New Promo Video- Problem of Pain

http://www.vimeo.com/17139113

Shot by esso (Deejay essence)

updates

Wanted to give yall an update on what to expect coming up. I am planning on continuing to type up all the lyrics for the album and post them here on this blogspot page under the Lyrics icon on the right side.
I'm also gonna be working on a "Listener's Guide" in the next several weeks with in-depth thoughts on each song on the album.
I'm dropping a video this upcoming week! It's pretty much a music video as far as length goes. Deejay Essence hooked it up! Wait till yall see it :)

New Leak- SUFFERING SERVANT PART I

 www.believinstephen.bandcamp.com

Everyone of us goes through various trials throughout the course of our lives. We all suffer and experience pain. However, no one in all of history has suffered as much as Jesus. He suffered throughout the course of his life. He is God in the flesh and came to bring salvation. Yet he was rejected by men and mocked and laughed at. He was lonely and afflicted at times here on earth. He also suffered more than we can ever imagine on the cross. The Father turned His back on Christ and He experienced the wrath of God for sinners like me and you. Christ suffered brutally on the cross here on earth so that we would not have to suffer for eternity in hell!

On “Suffering Servant Part I” Stephen raps almost line for line from Isaiah 53 in the famous passage about Christ – The Suffering Servant. I pray this song would help you be thankful for what Christ has done for you around this Thanksgiving season! 

Artist: Believin Stephen

Album: The Suffering Servant

Production: Average Joe

Scratches by Average Joe

Young Joshua- In the lab with Believin Stephen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihucyMn4Dk0

Suicide feat. Japhia Life and Leah Smith

Check it out up on my bandcamp site!  http://www.believinstephen.bandcamp.com/

Suicide takes the lives of nearly 30,000 Americans every year but many who attempt suicide never seek professional care. An average of one person dies by suicide every 16.2 minutes. Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-old Americans . Believin Stephen teamed up with Japhia Life and Leah Smith to bring awareness to this sensitive topic on his brand new single called “Suicide”. Stephen sympathizes with those who wrestle with feeling worthless and suicidal. He vividly paints the picture of his own experience with suicidal thoughts and how God rescued him out of depression. Japhia Life passionately delivers his regret of seeing one of his best friends take his own life.  Leah Smith’s graceful voice adds a heart –touching hook. Stephen is known for conveying his emotions on his songs but this is the most personal and touching song he has ever released. The song produced by Mike Beats will be on his upcoming album “The Suffering Servant” which releases on December 14, 2010.

Suicide Acapella- promo vid

http://www.vimeo.com/16765629


Check it out! Song called "Suicide" coming soon!

New Single Out!!!

believinstephen.bandcamp.com

If you click that link you can listen and/or buy to the first single off The Suffering Servant album called "Surprised by Suffering?" It is produced by Big Juice and was inspired by things I have seen around me as well as a book by R.C. Sproul called Surprised by Suffering. Be on the lookout for more leaks and news on the album coming very soon!!!

 Living in a fallen world suffering is bound to occur in all of our lives. The question is how will we face it? Christ promised that we would suffer and the Scriptures tell us that suffering brings about perseverance, character and hope. We should be prepared for suffering as it conforms us into the image of Christ and gives God glory. The Suffering Servant album holistically looks at the topic of suffering through witty lyrics, ill rhyme schemes, a passionate delivery ,and intriguing story telling. It features some of the best producers and emcees in CHH. Gametime Recordings will be releasing this project on iTunes on December 14.

Mixing Sessions

I'm in the studio right now with my engineer/producer/friend Average Joe. Both of us have full time jobs with demanding hours but we've been in the studio every night after we get off work. This week is strictly dedicated to mixing down the album. It's amazing how much better songs sound once a good mix is applied to the song. The bass in the beat bangs more, the vocals match the beat; the lyrics sound crisp and clear. I can't lie, it's gettin me more and more excited for the album to drop. I'm gonna drop the first single real soon and think people will be blessed by it.

Why Do We Suffer??

Why Do We Suffer?

Last week I checked my Facebook and I saw numerous status updates about the earthquake in Haiti. It is now reported that around 100,000 people died in this natural disaster!  In the past ten years in America the greatest tragedies we have witnessed were Hurricane Katrina and the bombing of the Twin Towers on 9/11. Wikipedia reports that around 2,000 people lost their lives due to Katrina and 3,000 lost their lives on 9/11. Hours before I sat down to write this article I got a text from a friend whose step mom had just passed away. Yesterday I was notified that one of the athletes I train was going to miss her workout because her mom suffered a heart attack earlier that morning. A week ago I received a text from a friend saying his brother had just been shot.  Why would God allow such tragic things to happen? This question undoubtedly has gone through many peoples’ minds after the earthquake in Haiti and after loved ones pass away. If God is a “good” God and is a sovereign God, why would He allow this to occur? Isaiah 46:10 tells us that God declares the end from the beginning and that He will accomplish His purpose. Other Scriptures tell us that nothing comes to pass unless God commands it and that no one can hold back his hand or control him ( Lament. 3:37, Daniel 4: 35) In fact, Isaiah 45:7 tells us that the Lord is the one who creates calamity.  Amos 3:6 says, “When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?” You may be asking, “Stephen, are you saying that God planned this terrible earthquake?” Yes, that IS what I am saying. I do not know the exact reason why it occurred but I do know that God is sovereign and allowed it to happen.

 Pondering weighty things like this has caused me to wonder why God allowed sin to enter the universe in the first place. I mean, if God is sovereign couldn’t He have created an Adam who never would have disobeyed? That way, without the curse, everything would still be perfect and we wouldn’t have to suffer physical pain, emotional hurt or death. Yes, God COULD have created the earth to be like that but He DIDN’T. If everything was always perfect and we never had problems I highly doubt that we would be thankful to God for His goodness or want to worship Him for saving us. 

God is concerned about His glory and I believe He created the world the way it is so He would get the most glory. I am convinced that the entire universe exists to display the greatness of the glory of the grace of God. The best example of this is seen at the cross of Christ. In fact, I would say that the death of Christ in supreme suffering is the clearest display of the glory of the grace of God. Here we see a lovely example of an event where men meant it for evil but God meant it for good. Jesus was totally perfect and never sinned once, yet experienced the most brutal form of death in crucifixion on a cross. He was innocent but suffered more than anyone in human history! He bore the wrath of the Father and experienced the torment of hell on the cross for sinners like me and you. Consider the achievements of Christ by his suffering on the cross. Through his suffering: he absorbed God’s wrath, bore our sins, purchased our forgiveness, provided a perfect righteousness, defeated death by suffering death, defeated Satan, and purchased a final healing for all of his people!

Ultimately suffering came about due to the fall of man. (Gen 3: 14-16) However, suffering is a necessary part of the created universe so the greatness of the glory of the grace of God can be most fully revealed. Suffering must exist so that we can appreciate the true value of grace. I would even say that the ultimate reason that suffering exists is so that Christ might display the greatness of the glory of the grace of God by suffering in himself to overcome our suffering!  In other words, suffering exists so that Christ can overcome our sufferings for us and give God the most glory. The Father planned Christ’s suffering before the foundation of the world (Acts 2:23) The Father allowed the fall of man and the sufferings that accompany the curse yet already planned to send His perfect Son to die for us so that He could overcome these sufferings for us! The suffering of the innocent Son of God in place of wretched sinners to bring us to everlasting joy is the greatest display of the glory of God’s grace ever.

When natural disasters strike or people we know suffer painful deaths we often question God.  We ask why a good God would allow such things to happen to “good” people.  Our thinking is twisted because there is no one good but God and we all deserve death due to our sin. (Rom. 6:23) A better question would be to ask, “Why do good things happen to bad people?”  In John 9, when the disciples saw a blind man they asked Jesus who had sinned to cause this man to be blind. Was it his parents or the blind man? Jesus answered and said, “Neither, but that the works of God might be displayed in Him.” This is a great example of how God allowed suffering in order to show the glory of the grace of God. It should be pointed out that God does not always cause us to suffer as a direct result of a specific sin. In the case of Haiti I do not know if the earthquake was God’s judgment for their sin or not.  When a tower in Siloam fell and killed eighteen people Jesus had to remind those around him that the victims were not worse sinners than the ones who survived the fall of the tower. Jesus said, “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:5) When terrible things like the earthquake in Haiti occur it should challenge people to consider if they truly have faith in Jesus. Tomorrow is not promised and we could die any day. This should be a wakeup call for all of us to repent and look to God for forgiveness before a disaster strikes us.

Suffering is bound to occur in our lives. When it comes about, let’s pray that we can embrace our suffering for the joy set before us like Jesus did. (Heb 12:2) Without trusting in the one who suffered for us all our suffering is in vain and we will suffer for eternity in hell!  Let us trust in the God who cares about us and wants us to depend upon Him. May we trust the God who will wipe away every tear and take away our pain once for all when we enter in heaven for eternity with Him!  (Rev: 21:4)

--Believin Stephen

Album Cover

I'm on a break at work and figured I'd update my blog. Last night I released the album cover for my debut album called The Suffering Servant. My previous releases have both been animated cartoon type drawings and I thought it was time for a change. I planned out the drawings on the last two releases but couldn't pin point a dope drawing for this one. My man DJ Essence took some great pics of me in an alley near my house (West Philly) My man Calm One from Pittsburgh and Esso worked together to choose the font. There were a couple different alternatives to this cover and it was real hard for me to decide. I think we went with the best option because lots of people have been feeling the cover! I think it captures the seriousness of the topic of suffering and the grittiness of the album with me in the alley.

In studio

I'm in the studio right now at the Lamp Lounge. We're working on a hook for a song called "Suffering and the Sovereignty of God". I wrote the hook but knew I couldn't sing it so I got a friend to sing on it. She's doing a great job right now and adding a lot to the song! She's hitting the notes exactly as I envisioned it to be sung! The Suffering Servant album is coming soon!