Carlos Zamora found an interest in rap as early as elementary school. He grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, where the crime rate is one of the highest in America. As a boy he fell in with a bad crowd and began to sell drugs. As he matured he met the woman who would later become his wife, who encouraged him to step away from the drug game and pursue a career in music.
He and a few other local rappers started a group called Southern Kappin Soldiers (SKS), and they would perform and record gangster-rap. In an interview with CHnetwork, he spoke about the two catalysts that turned him away from this genre. The first one was when his mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer:
I realized when she was alive, I felt like I never really made her proud — that she never saw me do something good with my life. I’m sure she would have said that she was proud of me, but I didn’t feel like she should be.
The final straw came when he showed up to a concert at a venue that was filled with middle school and high school kids.
That was the moment I decided to quit. I told the promoter, “You should be ashamed of yourself, having gangsta rappers come perform for kids.” The promoter told me, “I’m not the one rapping it. You should be ashamed.” I didn’t get mad at him- point taken. I walked to the VIP area, put my head down on the table, and cried for two hours. That night, I told God, “I don’t know what you’re leading me to, but I feel like you’re the one leading me, so I’m just gonna follow you wherever you take me.” I promised that night I’d be done with gangsta rap, and I was — that was the last time I ever booked a gangsta rap concert.
Now, as a Christian rapper, he strives to be true and authentic in both his ministerial efforts and as a hip-hop artist, as is plain to hear in his music. This is not Christian music that is trying to sound like hip-hop, it is real hip-hop music with Christian lyrics.
It is this authenticity which gives his art such evangelical value. C2six’s music is much more likely to catch the ear of someone looking for hardcore rap. C2six conducts charity work as well. He has a passion for working with underprivileged at-risk youth, troubled teens, and gang members, and in prison ministry.
On this track, C2six is joined by Val Mural, Separate M1nd, John Levi, and Nico Santana. All of these artists are part of the Found Nation Family. The priest seen in the video is Father Masseo Gonzales, who is also a member of Found Nation Family. He is also known as the “rapping padre.”
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And today we celebrate...