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Propaganda (musician)

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Propaganda
Propaganda performing at the Murray Hill Theatre in 2018.
Propaganda performing at the Murray Hill Theatre in 2018.
Background information
Birth nameJason Emmanuel Petty
Born (1979-05-27) May 27, 1979 (age 45)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
GenresChristian hip hop, spoken word, underground hip hop
Occupation(s)Rapper, pastor, poet
Years active2002 (2002)–present
LabelsUpRok, Tunnel Rat, End of Earth, Humble Beast, Empire, RMG
Websitewww.prophiphop.com

Jason Emmanuel Petty (born May 27, 1979), better known by his stage name Propaganda, is an American Christian rapper, spoken word artist, and poet from Los Angeles, California. He has released seven albums as an independent artist, including one collaborative album with Odd Thomas and one with Derek Minor, and has performed and recorded as a member of the underground hip hop group Tunnel Rats and associated act Footsoldiers.

Biography and musical career

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Jason Emmanuel Petty was born on May 27, 1979, in Los Angeles, California.[1] In his very early childhood, his family moved into a violent, ethnically Mexican neighborhood.[2] As the only black child in the area, he was often teased due to his skin color. Later, his family moved again, this time to the suburbs, where his family was known as the "poor black family."[2] He learned to rap, and also took up dance, graffiti, and formal drawing and painting.[3] Discovered by underground hip hop collective Tunnel Rats, he made his debut in 2002 on Speak Life by Sev Statik.[4] In 2003, Petty joined the Tunnel Rats, and on April 8, 2003, released his solo debut album with UpRok Records, entitled Out of Knowhere.[5][6] In 2006 he released the I Am Not Them EP with Tunnel Rat Music and recorded Live This as part of Tunnel Rats-affiliated group Footsoldiers.[7] Footsoldiers also collaborated with KRS-One on his album Life, with Petty appearing on the song "I Ain't Leaving".[7] Petty released a second solo EP, The Sketchbook: A Small Collection of Unreleased Material, independently in 2008, and his second album, Listen Watch Focus, also came out in 2008 through End of Earth Records.

Petty then released four albums through the Portland-based Humble Beast Records. The first, entitled Art Ambidextrous, was recorded as a dual-album with Odd Thomas, and came out on February 1, 2011. Petty's next album, Excellent, came out in 2012, and charted at No. 7 on the Billboard Top Gospel chart.[8] Petty's fourth solo album, Crimson Cord, came out on April 29, 2014, and also charted successfully.[9] He dropped Crooked, a project that asked serious political and social questions, on June 30, 2017.[10]

Propaganda has traveled the country on several tours, including the "Unlimited Up" tour[11] with Murs and the "Spotlight" tour with Sho Baraka in 2016, as well as the "Tension Tour" with Kings Kaleidoscope in 2017.

Other activities

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In addition to his hip hop career, Jason Petty has worked as a youth pastor, led a poetry team called Selah, and helped his sister's dance ministry called "Live."[3] In 2013, he partnered with I Am Second in hosting a poetry contest, Spoken Word Challenge.[2][12] In 2017, Petty and his wife, Dr. Alma Zaragoza-Petty, recorded "The Red Couch Podcast," an eight-episode series in which they discussed social justice issues.[13] He began the "Hood Politics with Prop" podcast in 2020.[14][non-primary source needed] In mid-2020, Petty appeared as a guest co-host on the Behind the Police podcast mini-series of the iHeartRadio podcast Behind the Bastards with journalist Robert Evans. On this podcast, Evans explained the history of the American police, with Petty reacting to Evans's explanation and adding additional commentary of his own.[15] In early 2021, Petty also appeared as a guest co-host on Evans' Behind the Insurrections mini-series.

Discography

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Main articles: Propaganda discography and Tunnel Rats discography
  • Out of Knowhere – 2003
  • Listen Watch Focus – 2008
  • Art Ambidextrous (with Odd Thomas) – 2011
  • Excellent – 2012
  • Crimson Cord – 2014
  • Crooked – 2017
  • Nothing But a Word (with Derek Minor) – 2019
  • Terraform: The People (with DJ Mal-Ski) - 2021
  • Terraform: The Sky (with L's) - 2021

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2003 The Battle for L.A.: Footsoldiers, Vol. 1 Himself[16] Documentary film
Year Title Role Notes
2018 The Box, 4 sessions Himself[17] Bible Study film

References

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  1. ^ "Propaganda". The Holy Hip Hop DataBASE. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Patrick, Kris (June 26, 2013). "Propaganda, Shares Short Film Testimony on "Identity" on IamSecond". Path Magazine. Parallel Path Entertainment. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Propaganda" (PDF). Uprok Records. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  4. ^ Farias, Andree (June 1, 2003). "Out of Knowhere". Crosswalk.com. Salem Web Network. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  5. ^ Nibokun, Imade (October 24, 2013). "Tunnel Rats: Controversial Christian Rap Collective Turns 20". LA Weekly. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  6. ^ Mabee, Justin (September 16, 2005). "Propaganda, "Out of Nowhere" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. John DiBiase. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Cordor, Cyril. "Footsoldiers". All Media Network. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  8. ^ "Propaganda - Chart History: Gospel Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  9. ^ "Propaganda - Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  10. ^ Coe, Kairi (July 11, 2017). "Propaganda Releases New Album 'Crooked'". XXL. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  11. ^ "MURS Announces The 'Unlimited Up' Tour With Propaganda". Strange Music Inc. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  12. ^ Solis, Steven (June 20, 2012). "Propaganda Hosts Spoken Word Challenge". Rapzilla. Philip Rood and Chad Horton. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  13. ^ "The Red Couch Podcast with Propaganda & Alma". Humble Beast. May 22, 2017. Archived from the original on July 15, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  14. ^ "The hood politics with prop's Podcast". Podtail. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  15. ^ "Behind the Police". iHeartRadio. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  16. ^ LeVasseur, Andrea. "The Battle for L.A.: Footsoldiers, Vol. 1". AllMusic. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  17. ^ "The Box".
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