'Wish I Knew' a Movement for the Fatherless

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- The phrase "Renaissance movement" is no longer a moniker for classical artists like Da Vinci, Donatello, and Michelangelo.

Three Virginia rappers who go by the names Legin, Mike, and Sinai are using the same title to create a different kind of renaissance.

They hope this new move will create a rebirth in today's culture using hip-hop, the music a recent study called the most important music genre in the past century.

"Renaissance is a family of artists. We love God, love the Gospel, and really enjoy hip-hop," Legin, founder of Rennaissance Movement Music, said. "And we use that as a tool to communicate what's most sacred to us."

Pancakes to Music Label

Seven years ago, a concert revelation combined with pancakes put Legin on his journey.

"My wife dragged me kicking and screaming to a Christian hip-hop show. I did not want to go, I thought it was corny, stupid," Legin, who's real name is Nigel Anderson, recalled. "[I thought] you can't mix those two things. But I went to it and I saw guys [who] were so good at what they did, proclaiming the gospel and all."

"That night we went to I-Hop and decided we're going to start something called the 'renaissance movement,'" he added.

The Renaissance Movement's mission is to "challenge the culture." They use similar beats, hooks, and rhymes that attract masses to hip-hop while countering the usual negative messages with the Gospel.

"Our saying for renaissance is challenge the culture -- how can you know what to challenge if you don't know what's being produced," Jermaine Morris, whose stage name is Sinai, said.

Pain of Fatherlessness

Apart from their love for God and passion for hip-hop, the three share a painful past. They each grew up without a father.

"As I was growing up, I hated my biological father," Sinai explained.

Mike Bell, another artist on the label said, "It was difficult not having someone there to speak into my life. I was getting that from my music."

"It was probably around 11 or 12 when the realization hit that he actually wasn't here by choice and that turned into bitterness," Legin recalled.

God changed the hearts of Mike and Sinai's fathers, eventually leading to healthy relationships.

Legin's father also reached out, but the reconnection was short lived. His father died just months after asking for his son's forgiveness.

He writes about that pain and his journey to forgiveness in the song, 'Wish I Knew.' 

A Broken System

These artists believe their firsthand experiences with fatherlessness puts them in the best position to fight this growing epidemic.

Almost 25 million children in the United States are being raised without a father, or one of every three kids. The African-American community is hit the hardest, affecting more than half of black children.

Experts, like Dr. Stephen Baskerville, say the statistics are merely the fruit of a broken system.

"Before the advent of the welfare state there were very viable prosperous middle class African-American families all through this country. It was the devastation created by the welfare system that began this process," Baskerville argued.

Welfare critics say the system creates an incentive to have children out-of-wedlock. An unwed single mother will receive more assistance if she is alone than if she has an employed husband in the home.

In his book, Taken Into Custody Baskerville adds that government-based fatherhood initiatives aren't really helping anyone.

"It's ironic that the government first creates the problem by removing the father from the home, and then they claim that they're solving the problem by creating expensive government programs to encourage fatherhood and restore fatherhood," he added.

A Better Message

While not all African-American children are on welfare, the fact remains that 72 percent live in single parent homes.

That's what Legin, Sinai, and Mike hope to change by being the dads their fathers chose not to be, while creating a music environment that connects people to a God who can help heal wounds left by a dad who wasn't there.

"We pray that we really do start a movement of other artists who we can help rise up to make good art with good content and have influence over the culture and take a lot of the ears from the people who are promoting sex, drugs, and violence as the main thing and give them a better message," Legin said.

"And we believe that message is in Christ," he said.

The Renaissance Movement Music free mixtape is coming out June 30th. Click the player below to see a preview.