Stephen Wiley (born 1958) is an American rapper and minister, who is often credited as the first artist to release a Christian rap album.[1]
Wiley was born in 1958 and grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma. A University of Oklahoma graduate, Wiley began a career as a jazz drummer in 1979. By 1982, Wiley was performing rap music with Christian lyrics, and in 1984 he took a job as chaplain at a juvenile detention center.[2] In 1985, Wiley released the album Bible Break, the title track of which received airplay on Christian radio.[3] A 1988 article in Spin magazine nicknamed Wiley the "Grandmaster of God".[4] Bible Break was later acknowledged as the first Christian rap album by T-Bone in his 2002 song "Our History".
Wiley would later serve as assistant pastor/youth minister at the predominantly-black Crenshaw Christian Center in Los Angeles, CA under televangelist Frederick K.C. Price. He eventually released a total of six albums, with Rhapsody in 1991 including a guest appearance by the gospel group Witness. Wiley later founded the Praise Center Family Church in Muskogee and Tulsa, Oklahoma where he serves as pastor.[5] He is also the Assistant Vice President, Director of Christian Ministries, and Assistant Professor of Religion at Bacone College in Muskogee where he teaches full-time.[6]