El Dorado native Christian rapper Jonathan Wofford, aka J2W, has, over the last year, been conducting an ongoing interview series with fellow Christian rappers from around the country and world alongside his brother Samuel, AKA Young Deac.
On Sunday, an interview aired featuring a solo interview by J2W of Tneek, a Christian rapper from the United Kingdom.
The interview first aired on Camden-based radio station Magic 104.5 on Sunday and is now available in full on J2W’s Soundcloud page.
J2W discusses a variety of topics with Tneek - real name Tanika James - including her Christian faith, her growth as a musician starting in the early 2000’s and the future of Christian hip-hop in the United States and UK.
“I think [Christian rappers] are making a lot more noise than we were years ago and I think it will cross over a lot more. I also think it will be in its own category, not lost in the gospel market and a bit bigger than it currently is,” Tneek says in the interview.
Tneek’s mission as an artist, stated in part on her website, is to act as “an advocate for inspiring young women [and] to disempower the pressure placed on females through music and media.”
Wofford said he reached out to Tneek in order to potentially introduce her music to local listeners who otherwise may not have heard of her.
“I had already heard from some UK rappers and wanted to expose that music to the crowd over here,” Wofford said.
The interview, Wofford believes, accomplished that mission.
“I think it went well… I had fun with it and think she had fun, so I think it went really well… I think it came out in the interview what she’s about and what she stands for,”Wofford said.
The interview was posted to Wofford’s Soundcloud and ReverbNation pages following the radio airing. Wofford said that a Zoom video recording was also made from the interview and will soon be available on social media. Tneek’s song “Broken Girl” was played after the interview concluded during the radio airing.
“I‘m excited and feeling blessed about it. This was my first time interviewing someone from overseas and I’m amazed at what God can do. We’re trying to expose Christian rapper ministry to the generation growing up,” Wofford said.
J2W can be found on social media including at soundcloud.com/j2wthechristianrapper.