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'I think that music has always, and will continue to influence culture...from the way kids dress, to the words they use. It will always do that. I think that our role has got to be that our influence on culture is a positive one.' - manCHILD
'We have the perspective that Christ has and we feel that that's the most important perspective to have, so of course we're going to speak out on that.' - Dust
MQ: What do you guys see as music's role right now with technology breaking down barriers and entertainers like Bono becoming people of influence...
Dust: It's good and bad...sometimes I wish some people would just be quiet - musicians, entertainers. Then there are guys like Bono ...
manCHILD: ...that have something to say.
Dust: - that have something to say and know what they want to say. And then there are other guys that are like, "Well, I think....blah blah blah" ... and that's when it becomes, 'Who really cares what you think? You made a pop record...that wasn't very cool anyway'...
manCHILD: laughing...
Dust: I think if you're responsible with that, then it's a good thing.
manCHILD: I think that music has always, and will continue to influence culture...from the way kids dress, to the words they use. It will always do that. I think that our role has got to be that our influence on culture is a positive one. Even beyond the Christian market, the general market has to wake up. The artists are giving them what they are asking for - with the gun talk, and the materialism. Materialism has always been a part of hip hop, but especially with the violence. With this culture that has been created, the general market has to wake up and say, 'We're responsible - to an extent - for this stuff.' They try to make the argument that movies are violent too. I agree with that to an extent, but you don't see actors pistol whipping somebody in the parking lot...
Dust: - as themselves...
manCHILD: ...as themselves. The artists - because of what the labels want - think they have to live up to this lifestyle outside of their music to 'keep it real.' And the kids think , 'If I want to do music, then this is what I have to do.' I think that culture is influenced by music and we've just got to learn the responsibility of that. I feel that there are artists - not that they shouldn't be able to express their opinions, but we just have to be able to gauge which artists have something to say...
Dust: A lot of the younger fans are really influenced by what they say and if they're not able to distinguish what is logical or the right thing...you'll hear them say, "Oh, wow, I feel the same way about that"... and you just cringe when you see those things. I feel that it's our responsibility, as artists, to counteract some of that. Maybe there are people out there that feel, 'I could care less what Mars Ill thinks about politics' or whatever but at the same time we have to at least be somewhat responsible with our opportunity to speak to our fans, and influence kids. We have the perspective that Christ has and we feel that that's the most important perspective to have, so of course we're going to speak out on that.
MQ: Was there any moment that confirmed for you that this is what you need to be doing?
Dust: I don't know if it was a moment...
manCHILD: For me it was a process.
Dust: I've been into art and music since early high school, and it always seemed like the thing that I wanted to do. I think that God laid it on my heart to do it as a ministry in the mid 90's and that was kind of by surprise. I was in school studying design - a whole different direction. It just kind of crept up,it wasn't one moment.
manCHILD: The music was something that I was always in love with. The realization came early for him that he could do this. For me, as a fan, I wrote and messed around, this and that, but I never came to the realization that 'Hey, I could do this, I can make records.' It wasn't until college, and that was still the time when you had to raise money and go into the studio. At that time I didn't have a producer to work with...so we did shows to raise money. I think a few key people's encouragement...a guy named 'Sintax' who is part of our 'DeepSpace 5' collective. I was doing some poetry stuff, because I've always written, and I just needed to get it out - whether anybody saw it or not - and he said, 'Hey, since you're so into hip hop, let's try this.' It was terrible at first, and it got a little better and better...
Dust: I think over the years there have been moments of confirmation...times when people will come up to us. I have a friend - who's a close friend now - who was in a mainstream, secular rap group. Through our music and some circumstances in his life...basically he came to know Christ through the power of some words that manCHILD wrote and now it's been close to two years...he's a recovering alcoholic, in a Bible study with myself and my wife and another friend. It's moments like that when you go, 'This is pretty cool - I'm blessed to be doing this, I know this is where God wants us.' There are all kinds of moments like that. Outside of what we did, God did - through the power of our music. It wasn't how cool our songs were or anything, but it was the fact that we were faithful in doing it, putting it out there, and being obedient.