127 release Glory Revealed EP

Thato Kala | Thursday September 25, 2014 16:22

 

Glory Revealed is their introductory EP which has seven tracks including Why, This Is War, You Are God and We Worship. The group, made up of Lentsoe Noko, Tiiso Daniel Matshitse and Geoff Matheakgomo, worked with producer Tshepo Lesole on the EP and say they benefited immensely from his expertise.

“Working with Tshepo was marvellous, from his studio to his ethics he is just a superb guy. He has constructive criticism, he is an upfront guy,” said Noko. The trio each contributed to the writing of the songs before getting together in the studio to record.

Their name 127 is drawn from scripture, Colossians 1:27, which says, “Christ in me the hope of glory”. Noko said they would do everything they can to push the song Why.

“This is a song to try and cry out to the people that we minister to (with our songs) to say ‘look, can you give us your ear and hear what we have to say’. It is marvellous.  The main thing behind Why is the challenges we face,” he told Showbiz. The three university students say they used to rap secular music before turning to Christ while in high school. “We then changed to rapping for Jesus,” said Matshitse. Their immediate future plans are to follow the EP up with an album and set up a studio, editing company and a fashion label.

 “In the long term, we want to bring people into the kingdom of God and polish their talents, be it singing or dancing, for the glory of God.  We want to form a structure that will deal with such talents,” said Noko. They previously released singles and posted them on online platforms.  One of their popular tracks is a promotional song for the Kingville Camp.

Matshitse said: “The response we got for some of the singles we put up online was overwhelming.” This time they will also put Glory Revealed on CD to reach out to more people as well as host shows in strategic places.

“Our target is young people because the type of music we do is hip hop and it usually appeals to that group,” Matheakgomo explained. But their ministry has been met by a lot of opposition with some saying Hip Hop gospel is a slap on God’s face. “We face that a lot.  There are times when people ask us what we are doing.  They think the music will bring riot in the school.  It never made sense to me. The bible says let everything that has breath praise the Lord. It does not say with a hymn. That is how I see it,” added Matshitse.

He added: “Hip hop is an art that we use to express our faith. I express my beliefs with it.  Every good gift is from above and I believe when God gives you a gift you need to use it to glorify Him.” The talented trio, formed on December 7, 2011, draws inspiration from America’s gospel rappers that include Da Truth and The Ambassador. The group is thrilled by the progress local music is making.  They hosted the 127 Fest two years ago and also participated in the Move Tour.