Tony Cummings quizzed the rapper from Oakland, California B-FADE

B-Fade: Yes and no. I work full time on a regular job and I do music full time. I do both full time. Consistently throughout the day I'm working - and thank God I have a job that allows me to handle my ministry and music as well as things that I do for my other job. I do both full time.

Tony: Is it like a long-term ambition to be able to quit the other job and just do the rapping?

B-Fade: Exactly. Well, really more than the rapping. I have a non-profit called We Live It Incorporated. It's pretty much a 501(c)(3) and it's geared towards outreach and things of that sort so one of my main goals is to build that up, get some grants and some funding where I can most definitely put the other job into ministry and outreach full time. And most definitely the music would be just a small part of that but my main call is to outreach; to be able to provide things for homeless and children that are less fortunate and things of that sort. So hopefully I'll be able to fund myself and be able to survive with that as well.

Tony: Talking about your album, who or what is Pray Area?

B-Fade: Pray Area is two other guys who are on the label as well. They are two artists and they feature on a lot of my stuff together. We work together real closely, we pray together, things of that sort.

Tony: What about F.A.R., who I assume is a female singer?

B-Fade: F.A.R. stands for Felicia and Regina and they're a duo. They are two sisters who sing. A lot of the people that I deal with in my region are people that I've been labouring with for years. And it's really good. I just brought them along. They're great writers and they're on the album probably three or four times. They're from the San Francisco area as well, very good friends of mine.

Tony: When you write a song or a rap do you have an existing track already built up for you to rap to or do you start with the raps and put a track around it?

B-Fade: I do it both ways. Sometimes if I'm shopping for music I'll buy a beat or a production with somebody singing already on it, with a concept already in place. Sometimes God'll give me a beat in my head and I'll tell the producer can you make me something like this. Then I'll write the rap. Sometimes if I'm driving or laying down at night I'll think of a lyric and I'll write the rap first and then I'll let my producer hear that and then we'll go in the studio and make the music. So it happens all kindsof different ways, not just one way. The creative process is different every time.

Tony: You sound like you're leaning towards more evangelism than to building up the body though to some extent I suppose you could say all gospel rappers do both. But would you say that a lot of your raps are directed at the unsaved?

B-Fade: I would say that based on my experience it's directed at both. Really I made this album for outreach and "inreach" but most definitely I want to encourage the Church. Because when we go out and save the lost we want them to come into an environment where they meet Christians that are not defeated, Christians that believe all things are possible, Christians that are going to encourage them. So most definitely the album is for the Church, to encourage them so when we bring unbelievers in they can feel the joy and peace that surpasses all understanding.

Tony: I was listening to an interview with another rapper the other day and he said that he felt that there are lots of Christians who are just - how can he best put it - they're not on fire. They're simply going through the motions, going to church, whatever. And that there's a need for many individual Christians, and indeed entire churches, to be revived. Would you agree with that?

B-Fade: Yes, I agree with that. And that's the whole heartbeat behind 'All Things Are Possible'. That's one thing that I have noticed. You have a lot of people that are suffering in their marriages, a lot of people that are suffering in their singleness and just really not experiencing the peace of God. How can we bring unsaved folks in and they see Christians living like that - they are going to mimic that. I want to encourage the Christians that all things are possible, that's Mark chapter 10, verse 27. He's right on with that and I want to contribute to that, encouraging the body as well.

Tony: Another thing that you mentioned when you were talking about the ministry which you've set up is helping the poor. It seems to me that social action, if you like to give it a label, is a key part, should be a key part for every single church.