After a short hiatus, we are finally back with FRONTIER! Recently I had the privilege of going to Atlanta to minister at a multi-church retreat for youth. While there I met a lot of amazing people. One of them was Edward, who was serving behind-the-scenes with media. I appreciated his hard work and dedication, and we got a chance to talk in between sessions. Most of our conversations revolved around faith and dreams. That’s when I found out he was a rapper! Here’s more about my new friend, Edward, aka Kaptivated.
- Tell us who you are.
My name is Edward. I’m 24, and I was born, raised, and currently reside in Atlanta, Georgia. I’m a full-time graphic designer and a part-time rapper. On stage, I go by Kaptivated.
- How did you get into rapping?
It was two things. First, my older brother Eric had been rapping for a while before I picked it up. I didn’t hear much of it until after he became a Christian and he started showing me some of his songs. He used to record and make beats all the time—seeing this as a middle schooler made me realize that music production was accessible. It wasn’t just something for the celebrities to do; it was something I had the resources to accomplish myself.
Second, I heard the song “Stan” by Eminem. That song made me realize the power that hip hop could have. It made me realize that music—hip hop especially—could be leveraged as a tool for great influence in the world.
These two realizations naturally led me to start writing my own songs and recording with my brother. I started out making trash songs and then eventually grew enough to be noticed by people beyond my own network!
- How did you come up with the name, “Kaptivated”?
I actually used to go by the name R.O.K., which stood for Representing Our King. I thought it was pretty lame, plus there was already an incredibly successful celebrity named The Rock… so I actually was inspired to go by Kaptivated by a Starfield song called “You Captivate.” I just changed the C to a K so that you could find me on Google. And of course, I found the name to be fitting because there are few words better fit to describe my response to God’s love for me as displayed in the Gospel.
- What has been the most challenging as you pursue music? What has been the most rewarding?
The challenges of a rapper and an entrepreneur are similar in many ways. You want to focus on one thing: making music. The reality is that you have to focus on a million other things on top of just production—finances, marketing, publicity, publishing, distribution, merchandise, video production, booking, contracts—and it goes on and on. The biggest challenge for me is managing all of these areas of Kaptivated while at the same time pursuing a professional career as a full-time graphic designer. I’m just as passionate about design, and when you’re stretched between two time- and creativity-intensive fields, you run the risk of ignoring other more important things in life. And burning out. Neither are fun.
The most rewarding part has to be the feedback I get from listeners. When people share that they’ve been encouraged, inspired, empowered, and comforted by my songs, it’s extremely rewarding. It makes me feel that I’m actually using my gifts to love my neighbor. God made me to use my whole life to love Him and to love others, and when I hear that my music is actually helping people, it gives me a sense of—“I’m actually doing what I was created to do!” And there are few things more fulfilling than that.
- How does hip hop and faith go hand-in-hand in your opinion?
God put Adam in the garden “to work it and keep it” (Gen 2:15). What does that mean? In a garden, working it means rearranging the garden (soil, seeds, etc.) to create the ideal environment for the ground to produce good fruit. Keeping it means making sure the fruit has room to grow and prosper after sprouting. In both situations, Adam’s duty is to rearrange creation to make and maintain something new.
In the same way, the arts and sciences rearrange creation to make and maintain something new. Medicine rearranges raw materials to create something that can create health where it didn’t exist. Painters rearrange colors to create something new and full of beauty where it wasn’t before.
As a rapper (and this applies to any musician), I’m simply rearranging sounds and words to create something new. In doing so, I fulfill God’s mandate for humanity on earth: working and keeping it. My raw materials just happen to be things you can hear. And in the act of working and keeping creation, I use music to love God and to love my neighbors—which is the purpose of our lives, according to Jesus (Matt 22:34-40). Therefore, the act of making music is a deeply spiritual act tied to the reason for my very existence!
- How has your faith helped you in your music career?
My faith hasn’t helped my music career as much as it has helped me think about my music career in light of my entire life. If I wasn’t a Christian, I would be doing a ton more for my music career. I’d have used all kinds of unethical means to get ahead and inevitably tied my worth and purpose inseparably to my success as a musician. And we all know that eventually leads to self-destruction. So I guess my faith has kept me from going down that path.
But beyond that, my faith grounds me in my identity as a righteous son of God. Nothing changes that about me because it doesn’t depend on my circumstances or my actions. It depends on Christ’s righteousness. So that means if I never get respected or recognized as an artist, I’m good. If I have to take 6 months away from music to reconnect with God and my church, then it’s my joy to do so. If I never get to make another song again because I’m busy making disciples and helping the needy, awesome. My purpose and value are secure in Jesus, and he’s the one guiding my life. My dreams are his dreams and his dreams are mine. That’s the most cataclysmic change I’ve experienced in my relationship to music as I’ve grown as a believer.
- How can people be praying for you?
I’m trying to reconcile with my family and then start a family of my own. Pray for my continued humility, courage, and faithfulness to rebuild a strong, healthy, and vibrant relationship with my family, and pray for the same qualities in my pursuit of marriage. These are two huge areas of my life that I constantly ask God to protect and bless, so it’d be awesome if your readership could join in!
- How can people connect with you and your music?
You can hear my music everywhere online—Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, Soundcloud, and literally dozens more places. Just look up Kaptivated! Or you can use this link to hear my most recent single: http://smarturl.it/
You can find me on social media here:
- facebook.com/kaptivatedmusic
- twitter.com/kaptivatedmusic
- instagram.com/kaptivatedmusic
- youtube.com/kaptivatedmusic
- snapchat.com/add/
kaptivatedmusic