“I still feel there is a lack of quality in the music put out in the industry,” he says. “Christian rap is still years behind as far as talent goes. Yes, there are some good rappers out there, but, for the most part, most of what I hear is not innovative or lyrically creative.”

“There are a lot of good artists putting out quality music, something that speaks directly to the soul of a person,” says rap newcomer Soul P., whose Beatmart Records debut, The Premiere, released in December. “[But] then there are artists who I feel put out music just to try and sound like a good Christian and it ain’t honest and it falls on dead ears.”

KJ-52 – second after tobyMac in terms of solo popularity – believes up-and-comers have a hard time making it because they treat hip-hop as a game to be played, rather than a job to be done.

“There is a huge lack of maturity, responsibility, work ethic and industry smarts amongst the average artists coming up,” he says. “The majority have unrealistic expectations, goals and mindsets toward what it’s really like to do ‘this.’ The consumer wants the product; the promoters have come around, and even the industry is starting to take notice. However, there really isn’t the artist to meet those needs.”

“It’s quite confusing, to be honest,” says Josh Niemyjski, general manager of Illect Recordings, an upstart hip-hop label out of Minnesota. “The bigger labels seem to be fading, each to differing degrees. Then there are a few promising newcomers that seem to be catching on. And the indie scene seems to be thriving more now than ever.”

If by “thriving” Niemyjski means that independent labels have a bigger market share than before, he’s right. Consider the indie label started by veteran standouts The Cross Movement. The self-titled company (Cross Movement Records) has introduced fresh faces such as Lecrae, Da' T.R.U.T.H. and FLAME, and all have posted healthy numbers for their most recent albums. Indie-based stalwarts such as T-Bone and Pettidee, meanwhile, are experiencing comparable sales.

Niemyjski surely knows a thing or two about the ebb and flow of Christian hip-hop. As a former executive at now-defunct Uprok Records – the same hip-hop imprint that made KJ-52 a household name in Christian rap – he witnessed the rise and fall of the little house he built, a loss that only exacerbated the positioning of hip-hop within Christian music.

“I think that Uprok closing its doors soured a few folks that may have seen opportunity in hip-hop,” he says. “It surely discouraged a lot of people. Anytime a label comes along, does well, and then folds, it can’t be good – especially for a scene like ours that needs everything of benefit it can get.”