Choir to Cypher: 18 Rappers Who Have Ties to Church

Kya Kelly/Radio One Cincinnati

Before they were spitting and rocking sold-out stages, some of hip-hop’s most influential artists were at church sitting in pews or singing in choirs.

The Black church has long been a foundational space, not just spiritually, but creatively. It’s where storytelling is born in rhythm, call-and-response becomes second nature, and community means everything.

For a lot of rappers, the church wasn’t just the first stage: it was the first studio, the first audience, and the first school of performance, discipline, and identity.

While some have strayed far from traditional religious paths and others have blended their faith directly into their music, the influence of the church remains clear in some of their work.

Here are 18 rappers who grew up in the church, and carried a piece of it with them into music:

1. Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg was raised in the Baptist church and began singing and playing piano there at Golgotha Trinity Baptist Church as a child. His mother, a choir member, introduced him to gospel music and old-school R&B, which heavily influenced his musical journey. Snoop has spoken about how his church upbringing instilled in him a sense of community and family. He also credits the church with teaching him lessons that have lasted throughout his life. While he later explored other faiths, including Islam, he acknowledges the positive impact his church background had on him.

2. Missy Elliot

Missy Elliott’s journey began in a Virginia church choir where she sang and played instruments from a young age. Missy often credits church music with shaping her ear for melody and harmony. In 2017 when speaking on her then-newly public illness, she said:

“Not everybody believes in God but I’m a walking testimony.”

3. Notorious B.I.G.

Before he became a hip-hop legend, Christopher Wallace was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness in Brooklyn. He attended St. Peter Claver Church and graduated from the parish’s elementary school in 1982. His mother, Voletta Wallace, was devout in her faith and kept a tight grip on his religious upbringing. Ms. Wallace didn’t listen to her son’s music until after his death.

4. Kanye West

Kanye West has never shied away from his religious roots. Raised by his mother Donda West, who kept him close to the church in Chicago, Kanye started rapping and performing at church events. Gospel music and the Black church experience heavily influenced his early albums and later became the core of his Sunday Service series.

5. TECH N9NE

Tech N9ne’s spiritual background is layered. Born and raised a Christian, he spent his early years attending church with his mother. At age 12, when his mother married a Muslim man, his spiritual path shifted. He began studying Islam and continued until he was 17. In his own words: “Yes, I was born and raised a Christian. My mom married a Muslim when I was 12. I studied Islam from 12–17. I ran away from home at 17 because I didn’t understand how my stepfather was trying to mold me. He was trying to make a man of me, and I thought he was picking on me. I was wrong.”

6. MC Hammer

MC Hammer’s foundation in the church goes back to childhood. He was raised in a religious household and began preaching as a teenager. Long before the world knew him for parachute pants and pop-rap hits, Hammer was deeply involved in church activities, including music ministry. Many also don’t know Hammer was also apart of a Christian rap group, Holy Ghost Boys. After his peak, he returned to his faith, becoming an ordained minister and starting a ministry show.

7. Andre 3000

3 Stacks was raised in a Southern Baptist church alongside his parents. In his own words: “I had a strict Christian upbringing, my parents and I were members of a Southern Baptist church. But with age I got closer to God all while moving away from the church.” Though he eventually distanced himself from organized religion, he never lost his sense of spirituality. André has said that his faith evolved independently, allowing him to connect with God without “having to listen to those purveyors of nonsense.”

8. Busta Rhymes

Busta Rhymes was introduced to the teachings of Islam at the age of 12. While he didn’t follow traditional Islam, he found a strong connection with the teachings of the Nation of Gods and Earths, also known as the Five Percent Nation (a movement that teaches that the Black man is divine and that a chosen 5% possess true knowledge of self). Busta has often incorporated that ideology into his music, using his lyrics to reflect on power, purpose, and elevation. While his lifestyle has never fit into rigid religious categories, he’s remained vocal about the influence of the Five Percent teachings on how he views himself, his success, and his role in the culture.

9. Phife Dawg

Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor) was raised in the Seventh-day Adventist tradition. He and Q-Tip met in their church in Queens, New York, and Phife’s family strictly adhered to Adventist beliefs. So much so that he was initially forbidden from engaging with hip-hop.

10. T.I.

T.I. was raised in a Christian household and identified as a Southern Baptist. He’s a known member of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta and has remained quietly but consistently devout over the years. Though he doesn’t speak often about his faith in interviews, he’s made it clear that church has always been part of his foundation.

11. DMX

DMX was a “born-again” Christian who openly credited his faith as central to his life, often sharing that he read the Bible daily. Even during difficult times, like his stints in jail, DMX believed there was a higher purpose at work. He once said, “I came here to meet somebody… Don’t know who it was, but I’ll know when I see him.” His music frequently intertwined realities with spiritual confession, and his relationship with God remained a deeply personal part of his journey until the end.

12. Lecrae

Lecrae is one of the most prominent examples of a rapper whose church upbringing is front and center in his career. He was raised by his single mother in a tough Houston neighborhood before moving around to Denver and San Diego. His early life was marked by hardship, including sexual abuse at age six and struggles with drugs and crime as a teenager. Lecrae carried his grandmother’s Bible as a symbol of good luck. After an encounter with a police officer who urged him to live by biblical principles, he turned his life around, eventually earning a theater scholarship and graduating from the University of North Texas. At 19, a Bible study invitation from a college friend helped deepen his faith, which has since become the foundation of his music and mission.

13. Nas

Nas was raised in a Christian Southern Baptist household in Queensbridge, New York. His upbringing introduced him to Christian values early on, though as he got older, his spiritual views broadened. While he doesn’t claim a specific religious denomination today, Nas has often spoken about believing in a higher power and the presence of divine order in the world.

14. J. Cole

J. Cole grew up in a Christian household, and he’s never dipped away from acknowledging the impact it’s had on him. In an interview with Complex, he shared, “I grew up with a Christian foundation, so that’s always going to be a part of me. It’s always going to be instilled in me, whether I want it to be or not.” Traces of that foundation run throughout his storytelling.

15. Rev Run

Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons was raised Christian, but his spiritual path deepened after the height of Run-DMC’s fame. Following the group’s split in 2004, he became an ordained minister and fully embraced his role as a man of faith. Reflecting on that turning point, he shared, “I was a little unhappy with what was going on, so I started going to church… I started to see that learning the principles of God was helping to shape my life better.” Rev Run found a renewed purpose in ministry.

16. Bushwick Bill of Geto Boys

Bushwick Bill was raised with a Christian foundation but found a deeper connection to his faith later in life. Known for his graphic lyrics as a member of the Geto Boys, he experienced a spiritual transformation in his later years, becoming a born-again Christian. As his beliefs shifted, so did his music, moving toward gospel and messages of faith, redemption, and uplift.

17. Salt of Salt-N-Pepa

Cheryl “Salt” James, one-third of the group Salt-N-Pepa, has long been open about her faith and Christian walk. Her journey led her to be baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church during a mission trip to Ethiopia. Since then, she’s used her platforms to share Bible verses, messages of encouragement, and glimpses into her spiritual life. Phrases like “Church Flow” and “Happy Sunday” have become part of her regular expression online, reflecting a lifestyle grounded in faith.

18. Mase

Mase shocked the hip-hop world in 1999 when he walked away from music at the height of his fame, announcing that he had received a calling from God. He said he could no longer reconcile his lyrics with his faith, stating he felt he was “leading people down a path to hell.” Trading in rap for the pulpit, Mase devoted himself to ministry and later became the pastor of Gathering Oasis Church, a non-denominational Christian church in Atlanta. While he’s returned to music on occasion, faith remains central to his life and message.

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