Christian hip-hop artist Hulvey says his music is reaching listeners who have never heard Christian music before, giving him an opportunity to point them toward Jesus.
“I have fans come up to me at shows saying, ‘You are the first Christian artist I ever heard,” the musician told ChurchLeaders.
Hulvey knows what it means to discover that hip-hop can point someone toward God. He recalled growing up listening to rappers Lil Wayne and Eminem before someone introduced him to Christian rapper Lecrae, giving him music that helped him draw closer to the Lord.
Now he wants to reach young listeners who may not hear their own musical culture reflected in other Christian music. Rather than treating hip-hop as unfamiliar territory, Hulvey described it as the culture he comes from — and a way to connect with kids whose experience resembles his own.
That aim also appears in his Reach Records artist biography, which traces his upbringing to Brunswick, Georgia, and describes knowing God as central to his creative growth. The faith behind the songs isn’t a separate part of his story; it’s what he wants the music to communicate.
His album COULD BE TONIGHT, a 20-song project, turns that focus toward the return of Jesus. But Hulvey said the idea didn’t begin in a recording studio: It came while he sat at a red light and felt the Lord put the album on his heart.
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He initially thought he needed to remind other people that Christ is coming back. As he worked on the music, however, he realized he needed that reminder himself — a shift that made the project personal rather than simply a message for everyone else.
“I rarely see this topic spoken about in a way that is not just about fear. I wanted to make it in a way of beauty,” he told ChurchLeaders.
Getting there took time. Hulvey said he delayed recording the album for a year and a half after others discouraged him, then finally stepped out in faith to make it.
The process wasn’t a solo effort, either. While discussing Christian community, Hulvey said the project came together over FaceTime and that he recorded in his father-in-law’s studio, with friendships that included both triumphs and arguments along the way.
“I think it’s important to humble yourself and allow older men to speak into you as a man,” he said.
That concern with everyday faith also surfaced in a separate RELEVANT interview published May 1. Discussing the album’s song about his wife and children, Hulvey rejected the idea that loving his family somehow sits outside his spiritual life.
“Obeying Him looks like me loving my wife and kids, loving my wife as Christ loves the church,” he emphasized.
“In our line of work, it’s really hard to talk about Jesus on songs and then not have that same experience behind closed doors with people,” Hulvey told ChurchLeaders.
For Hulvey, the invitation he extends through his music comes with accountability in his own life: friendships, mentorship and a faith that reaches beyond the microphone.
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