for dynamic drive tabs

Disciples of the Street

Praise for...

Disciples of the Street: The Promise of a Hip Hop Church --

"This is a stunner. Eric Gutierrez opens closed windows of the soul and delivers an utterly challenging, refreshingly original work. Read it."
--Malcolm Boyd - Author of "Are You Running with me, Jesus?"

"A vivid journey to the birthplace of hip hop where a little hell and a whole lot of hope break out. Both a promising and cautionary tale of church and culture in urban America. A fascinating read!"
--Ronald F. Thiemann - Bussey Professor, Harvard Divinity School

"Eric Gutierrez's 'Disciples of the Street' is a beautifully written, compelling story you have not heard before but will never forget. Read this!"
--David Dean Bottrell - writer, "Kingdom Come"

"Eric Gutierrez has written an original and important book...Provocative, profound and highly recommended."
--Dave King, author of "The Ha-Ha"
June 17
The one and only Stevie Wonder holding his copy of Disciples of the Street. The legendary owner of KJLH-FM radio station, devoted to community empowerment and peace, invited Eric Gutierrez to talk about Disciples of the Street on ‘Thunder Thursdays with Stevie Wonder.’ After hearing about Disciples of the Street on ’The Front Page with Dominique DiPrima,’  KJLH 102.3-FM’s progressive current affairs and talk program, Stevie invited Eric to be a guest on his own show. Dominique and Stevie couldn’t have been nicer and the callers questions were interesting, passionate and went straight to the heart of the growing hip-hop church movement.

The one and only Stevie Wonder holding his copy of Disciples of the Street. The legendary owner of KJLH-FM radio station, devoted to community empowerment and peace, invited Eric Gutierrez to talk about Disciples of the Street on ‘Thunder Thursdays with Stevie Wonder.’ After hearing about Disciples of the Street on ’The Front Page with Dominique DiPrima,’  KJLH 102.3-FM’s progressive current affairs and talk program, Stevie invited Eric to be a guest on his own show. Dominique and Stevie couldn’t have been nicer and the callers questions were interesting, passionate and went straight to the heart of the growing hip-hop church movement.

+
Stevie Wonder (L), music legend and host of ‘Thunder Thursdays,’ and Dominique DiPrima (R), host of ‘The Front Page,’ invited author Eric Gutierrez (Ctr) to the KJLH-FM studio on Thursday, July 17, to talk about Disciples of the Street on both of their radio shows.  Station owner Wonder on-air slogan matches the call letters, which stand for “Kindness, Joy, Love & Happiness.”

Stevie Wonder (L), music legend and host of ‘Thunder Thursdays,’ and Dominique DiPrima (R), host of ‘The Front Page,’ invited author Eric Gutierrez (Ctr) to the KJLH-FM studio on Thursday, July 17, to talk about Disciples of the Street on both of their radio shows.  Station owner Wonder on-air slogan matches the call letters, which stand for “Kindness, Joy, Love & Happiness.”

June 10
Toronto-based rapper Defy the Odds on the Durham, North Carolina, leg of the HipHopEMass Resurrection Tour. D.O. was one of the young rappers singled out in XXL magazine by Chuck D. of Public Enemy as one of rap’s New Breed. 

Toronto-based rapper Defy the Odds on the Durham, North Carolina, leg of the HipHopEMass Resurrection Tour. D.O. was one of the young rappers singled out in XXL magazine by Chuck D. of Public Enemy as one of rap’s New Breed. 

June 9

The Promise of a Hip Hop Church

Disciples of the Street: The Promise of a Hip Hop Church — When a charismatic priest, hip hop legend Kurtis Blow, and a crew of young rappers and DJs create a hip hop ministry around a 140 year-old traditional church in the South Bronx projects, both rap and religion are challenged to take a hard look at what they have become.

Disciples of the Street is a story of life-or-death faith, conflict and transformation in the streets and in the pews that not only confronts the institutional church and the world of hip hop, but offers hope for their future.

June 7
Click here to Purchase Your Copy of this Compelling True Story of Rap and Redemption
June 6
“ Hip hop is the last form of transcendence available to young black ghetto dwellers. Dr. Cornel West
+
Author Eric Gutierrez is a noted writer and speaker on religion, politics and culture. Formerly senior editor of Latina magazine and executive editor of High Performance: the Journal of Alternative Arts and Issues, his commentary, news analysis and essays have appeared internationally, including the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, the Jerusalem Post (Israel), Vanidad (Spain), and VIVE (Australia). A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Divinity School, where he received his M.Div. degree and delivered the 2005 Harvard Divinity School Commencement address, Gutierrez speaks at universities, foundations and houses of worship nationwide. The recipient of a Brody Fellowship for Literature from the California Community Foundation and a Burton Fellowship, Gutierrez is one of the new breed of public intellectual, offering readers and audiences an inspirational vision of justice and reconciliation for the future of America.. He lives in Los Angeles and currently teaches in the School of Critical Studies at the California Institute of the Arts. Author Photo by: Jenny Walters

Author Eric Gutierrez is a noted writer and speaker on religion, politics and culture. Formerly senior editor of Latina magazine and executive editor of High Performance: the Journal of Alternative Arts and Issues, his commentary, news analysis and essays have appeared internationally, including the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, the Jerusalem Post (Israel), Vanidad (Spain), and VIVE (Australia).

A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Divinity School, where he received his M.Div. degree and delivered the 2005 Harvard Divinity School Commencement address, Gutierrez speaks at universities, foundations and houses of worship nationwide.

The recipient of a Brody Fellowship for Literature from the California Community Foundation and a Burton Fellowship, Gutierrez is one of the new breed of public intellectual, offering readers and audiences an inspirational vision of justice and reconciliation for the future of America.. He lives in Los Angeles and currently teaches in the School of Critical Studies at the California Institute of the Arts.

Author Photo by: Jenny Walters

+
“It’s a sermon but no one is close to falling asleep. He tells them about the roots of hip-hop, about landlords setting fire to people’s homes for insurance cash and how the children of the South Bronx tried to make something beautiful on the other side of the burned-out street, how it wasn’t about the thug life but about creating a better life. Kurtis Blow, this man who’s performed live in front of hundreds of thousands of people and on television, is giving everything he’s got to these fifty-eight kids in lockdown…” From Disciples of the Street: The Promise of a Hip Hop Church —

“It’s a sermon but no one is close to falling asleep. He tells them about the roots of hip-hop, about landlords setting fire to people’s homes for insurance cash and how the children of the South Bronx tried to make something beautiful on the other side of the burned-out street, how it wasn’t about the thug life but about creating a better life. Kurtis Blow, this man who’s performed live in front of hundreds of thousands of people and on television, is giving everything he’s got to these fifty-eight kids in lockdown…”

From Disciples of the Street: The Promise of a Hip Hop Church —