Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

John Reuben

 
Artist: John Reuben
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Similar Artists:

Lyrycyst, Gorillaz, The O.C. Supertones, Beck, dc Talk

Influenced By:

Hieroglyphics, Daft Punk, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Sunny Day Real Estate, Björk, The Pharcyde
See John Reuben Lyrics
  • Active: 2000s
  • Genres: Gospel
  • Instrument: Vocals, Producer, Keyboards
  • Representative Albums: "Are We There Yet?," "Word of Mouth," "Professional Rapper"

Biography

A Christian hip-hop artist whose rhymes suggest the influence of pioneering '80s artists like De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and the Pharcyde while his music embraces everything from old-school beats to alternative pop, John Reuben (born John Reuben Zappin) was born in Columbus, OH, on January 14, 1979. Reuben's family ran a Christian outreach center and drug rehab facility in Columbus, and he grew up on the grounds, spending a lot of his time with troubled youth from the East Coast who helped fuel his interest in hip-hop. By the time Reuben had enrolled at Ohio State University, he'd taken his interest in rap music to the stage, performing at open mic nights and releasing several recordings on his own label. At 19, Reuben pulled up stakes and moved to California, hoping the change of venue would help him take his musical career to the next level. Reuben worked odd jobs and was an extra in movies and television shows (he says he can be spotted in Clueless and Melrose Place, among others), but returned to Ohio when he landed a deal with Gotee Records, a Christian label founded by Toby Mac of dc Talk, on the strength of his independent EP Monuments. In 2000, Reuben released his first album for Gotee, Are We There Yet?, and his witty, insouciant attitude led many critics to label him as the CCM answer to Eminem. However, Reuben began to come into his own as an artist with his third LP, 2003's Professional Rapper, which he helped produce, incorporating a greater use of live instrumentation rather than samples and loops. (Reuben and his brother also used the title "Professional Rapper" for a short mock-documentary comedy in which an aspiring rapper from Ohio documents what he imagines will be his rise to fame.) Reuben continued to tackle more personal themes and an increasingly eclectic musical outlook on his next two albums, 2005's The Boy vs. the Cynic and 2007's Word of Mouth, both of which earned him enthusiastic reviews from the Christian as well as the secular music press. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Wikipedia: John Reuben
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
John Reuben

John Reuben on LifeLight tours in Huron, South Dakota
Background information
Birth name John Reuben Zappin
Born January 14, 1979 (1979-01-14) (age 30)

Columbus, Ohio, United States
Origin Pataskala, Ohio, U.S. United States
Genres Hip-Hop
Experimental
Alternative rock
Christian hip hop
Years active 1990s to present
Labels Gotee
Website www.johnreuben.com

John Reuben Zappin (born January 14, 1979 in Columbus, Ohio) is an American Christian hip hop artist signed to Gotee Records. Reuben has sold over 200,000 copies of his first four albums.[1][2][3] He released his fifth album, Word of Mouth on February 6, 2007.

Reuben has toured extensively, opening for popular Christian music artists Relient K, Five Iron Frenzy, and TobyMac.[1]

Contents

Background

Reuben is of Jewish heritage [4][5] and according to his myspace, his mother is the owner of a Christian Death Metal record label. [6][7] Raised in Pataskala, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, Reuben got his start in rapping by taking the bus into the city to rap on open mic nights and participate in rap battles[1] at the age of fifteen.[8] Reuben later released Monuments, an independent EP, which caught the attention of Gotee Records. They took a chance, signing him to the label and releasing his first project, Are We There Yet?, in 2000.[1] TobyMac, the founder of Gotee Records, provided vocals for the album's final track, "God is Love".

Reuben's next release, Hindsight (2002), continues his use of a wide variety of musical genres and thoughtful, often funny lyrics. The album was praised as a "truly eclectic and creative hip-hop album that blends old-school sounds with progressive production."[1] Once thought to be a Christian version of Eminem,[8] Reuben's first two releases established him as an original, witty, sarcastic musician, as well as Gotee's top-selling solo rap artist.[9]

Reuben in September 2005

Professional Rapper (2003) marked Reuben's debut as a self-producing artist. The album is noticeably different from his previous efforts, using more instruments and less DJ sampling for the tracks. Along with these differences, the album is noticeably darker in both lyrics and feel. It includes several somber tracks which allow a glimpse into Reuben's struggles and self-doubt. Adrienne Camp of The Benjamin Gate contributes vocals to two tracks on the album.[9]

Reuben in 2005

The following year Reuben released So In Hindsight the Professional Rapper Isn't There Yet (2004), an album of remixed versions of songs from his first three albums.[10]

The Boy vs. The Cynic (2005) continued Reuben's trek from the non-serious songs which characterized his earlier work to music that's far more somber and meditative. Reportedly, when the time came for him to submit his work for the album, Reuben turned in enough tracks for two albums, one light hearted, the other more serious. Rather than releasing a two disc release, the label decided to splice them together into The Boy vs. The Cynic. Relient K's Matt Thiessen contributes to the album's second track, "Nuisance". Tim Skipper of the band House of Heroes appears on the track "So Glad".[2] Most of Reuben's songs use "traditional" musical instruments, typically the guitar, though he experiments with many different instruments and musical styles.

Reuben is currently working on a reality show detailing his "rise" to stardom while poking fun at many of the conventions of reality television. The pilot of the show can be viewed on YouTube.

John released his fifth album, Word of Mouth, on February 6, 2007. Allmusic.com called Word of Mouth an "unqualified triumph" and said that "You won't find a truer, more honest, or more celebratory album this year."[11]

Gotee Records will release John Reuben's sixth studio album, "Sex, Drugs and Self-Control" on December 22nd, 2009. The first single, "Town Folk" was released on July 14th, 2009. The next Single, "Jamboree," was released August 18th, 2009. Followed by "Confident," which was released September 15th, 2009, "No be nah" was released October 14th, 2009.

Discography

Albums

Remix Albums

Music Videos

Compilation appearances

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Breimeier, Russ (2002, May). "John Reuben - Hindsight." Christianity Today. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
  2. ^ a b Farias, Andree (2005). "John Reuben - The Boy vs. The Cynic." Christianity Today. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
  3. ^ "Biography of John Reuben." Christianity Today. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
  4. ^ http://www.cmusicweb.com/features/purpledoor02/johnreuben.shtml
  5. ^ http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/music/John_Reuben_The_rapper_who_wants_to_be_his_age_but_still_be_relevant/33977/p1/
  6. ^ http://www.lifelight.org/tours/upcoming-tours/spring09
  7. ^ http://www.myspace.com/johnreuben
  8. ^ a b Powell, Mark Allan (2002). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music (First printing ed.). Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. p. 757. ISBN 1-56563-679-1. 
  9. ^ a b Farias, Andree (2003, December). "John Reuben - Professional Rapper." Christianity Today. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
  10. ^ Farias, Andree (2004, December). "John Reuben - So in Hindsight the Professional Rapper Isn't There Yet." Christianity Today Retrieved 2006-02-07.
  11. ^ Whitman, Andy. "Word of Mouth". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:tyanqjo5oj6a0. 

External links

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Reuben



This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "John Reuben".  Read more

Related answers
» More
 
Answer these
» More

Mentioned in

» More» More