A Former Catholic Monk, an Acupuncturist, and a TV Show About Jesus Helped Lead This Grammy-Winning Hip-Hop Producer to God

From working with some of the biggest artists in hip-hop and R&B to living life for Christ. Cam O’Bi is one of the most underrated producers working today. He was instrumental in making classics for the likes of Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Chance The Rapper, and SZA. He even won a Grammy for his role in Chance The Rapper’s massive mixtape Coloring Book.

Nowadays, O’Bi still makes music, but his relationship with it has changed a little bit. Instead of spending all his days making beats, he balances it with a newfound love for Christianity. “Hip-hop culture, what it is and what it has become, it almost stands in opposition to what I now live for,” Cam O’Bi told BCM in an interview. “But at the same time, I have a unique closeness to hip-hop.”

But how he got there is the crazy part. His wife was raised Catholic for the longest time, but had long stopped practicing. One day, though, she suggested they start reading the Bible together again. Then, he had a fascinating conversation with his acupuncturist. Apparently, long before they picked up that practice, they were a Catholic monk. Consequently, they referred O’Bi to watch The Chosen, a TV series about the life of Jesus Christ.

How a TV Show Recommendation From His Acupuncturist Led to Cam O’Bi Getting Baptized

Rather than let the recommendation brush off him, O’Bi sincerely dug into the show. In doing so, it allowed him a new perspective. “That show was my first time conceptualizing Jesus as a historical figure who really lived in our historical timeline,” he said. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘Wait, this is real.’”

Then, the Bible study intensified. His wife started defending her Catholic background more, and they both found homes in their local parish. “They just took us in as their own,” Cam O’Bi recalled. “It was really, for me, unbelievable, because I had never experienced that kind of love from strangers in my life. Just that alone made me want to be Catholic, outside of even knowing that much about the faith itself.”

Nowadays, he’s fully ingrained in the Catholic Church, balancing it with his life as an artist. Cam O’Bi admitted that The Lord Of The Rings and how it navigated Christian themes became a big source of inspiration for his music. “[He] wrote a Christian story, but it’s not obvious right away,” he explained. “He created something that infiltrates and bypasses our conscious mind, exposing us to the deeper themes of the Gospel through beauty.”

(Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Coachella)

The post A Former Catholic Monk, an Acupuncturist, and a TV Show About Jesus Helped Lead This Grammy-Winning Hip-Hop Producer to God appeared first on VICE.

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