KJ-52

KJ-52
KJ-52 in 2007
Background information
Also known as	KJ-52, Tweezy, King J. Mac
Born	Jonah Kirsten Sorrentino (1975-06-26) June 26, 1975 (age 51)
Origin	Tampa, Florida
Genre	Christian hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, ministry
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Essential, BEC
Website	kj52.com

Jonah Kirsten Sorrentino (born June 26, 1975), better known by his stage name KJ-52, is an American Christian rapper from Tampa, Florida.

Among other songs, he is known for "Do Yo Thang" from the album The Yearbook (2007), which won a GMA Dove Award. His album Five-Two Television (2009) won Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the 41st GMA Dove Awards.

According to his website, he is a Guinness World Records holder for the longest Team Freestyle (2014) of 12 hours and 2 minutes.^{[citation needed]}

In addition to Christian ministry, KJ-52 continues to produce music and is active on social media.

Stage name

The "KJ" in Sorrentino's name refers to his old rap alias "King J. Mac" (and his initials backwards), a name which he later described in one of his podcasts as "horribly cheesy".^{[failed verification]} The "52" (pronounced "five two" not "fifty-two"), is a reference to the Bible story of Jesus feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fish, which is also sung about in the song "KJ Five Two" from It's Pronounced Five Two (2003) and in his song "Push Up" from The Yearbook (2007).^{[citation needed]}

Career

In 2002, KJ-52 released his second album, Collaborations. The album's title referred to the numerous contributions made to the album by guest artists, including Pillar, John Reuben and Thousand Foot Krutch. Collaborations also represented his first nomination for a Dove Award, for Rap/Hip Hop/Dance Album of the Year in 2003.

KJ-52 has won four Dove Awards, three in the Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year category. He took the 2004 award for It's Pronounced Five Two, the 2006 award for Behind the Musik (A Boy Named Jonah), and the 2007 award for Remixed. He received an additional honor in 2007, for "Never Look Away" from Behind the Musik, in the Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song category. KJ never tried out for American Idol, but suggested such in his song "Fivetweezy".

In October 2008, KJ-52 released The Yearbook: The Missing Pages (a re-release of his album The Yearbook). It came with the original record and a slip over cover that has a code to download all 13 songs. He was awarded with the Rap/Hip Hop Song of the Year for "Wake Up" and Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year for The Yearbook at the 39th GMA Dove Awards.

In 2009, he released Five-Two Television, an album covering a variety of themes and rap styles. It is his first album in which auto-tune is used, a controversial step among his fans. The album includes a fictitious story of Chris Carlino, a man who has ruined his life through a series of interludes. The album includes songs with a strong Christian message and songs intended to entertain.

KJ-52 rapped in the Newsboys cover of "Jesus Freak". He also rapped in the tobyMac remix of the song "One World" on the album Hip-Hope, which also includes the KJ-52 remixed song "What You Want".^{[citation needed]}

KJ-52 released Dangerous on April 3, 2012. It mixes hip-hop with synth and some pop-electric. The first released single, "Dangerous", is light rock-pop. The second single is called "Shake Em Up", commonly spelled "Shakem Up".^{[citation needed]} It features guest artists such as Canton Jones on "It's Goin Down", Lecrae on "They Like Me", Thi'sl on "Shake Em Up", George Moss on "Do the Bill Cosby", and more. His final track, "Go", is a remake of the Hillsong United song with the same name.

In 2017, KJ-52 released his first independent album Jonah. The project was over 200% funded through PledgeMusic. Following the release of the album, he began working on an independent documentary about his life with filmmaker Denver Bailey. The film went on to raise 125% of the goal via Kickstarter. The film was released along with KJ-52's second independent album Jonah Pt. 2 on February 15, 2018.

In 2019, KJ-52 released What Happened Was, a joint album with CHH producer and 2019 Rapzilla Freshman, PoetiCS. The album features Xay Hill, Jodie Jermaine, Mitch Darrell, V. Rose, Dre Murray and Dru Bex. The project was coupled with KJ's first book, also titled What Happened Was. Both the album and the book were over 170% funded via Kickstarter.

In November 2019, KJ-52 announced that he would be retiring from music after the release of his next album.^{[citation needed]} However, he continues to promote his music on social media.

In 2020, he joined the pastoral staff of Christian Life Fellowship in Cape Coral, Florida.^{[citation needed]}

Eminem and "Dear Slim"

Christian sources often compared KJ-52 to Eminem, with many calling him a "Christian counterpart". One of the most notable mainstream reactions to the Christian hip-hop scene was to KJ-52 and his single "Dear Slim", which was written to Eminem in an attempt to reach him with the message of the gospel. The song became famous and controversial among Eminem fans when it was featured on the hit show Total Request Live. KJ-52 began to receive hate mail (including death threats) from Eminem's fans, though KJ-52 claimed that the song was not being disrespectful. The artist addressed it in a follow-up song titled "Dear Slim Pt. 2".

Discography

Awards

GMA Dove Awards

References

External links

• Official website
• KJ-52 at AllMusic
• KJ-52 discography at Discogs