Today is a writing day.
Am taking today off as a day of posting one "Online Exclusive" per day. We've got a bunch of raw, exclusive interviews to post. Next week I'll plan on posting the Brad Noah interview, Jonezetta, The Almost (yes, the "pooped in my pants it was so hot" interview), Ruth, and interviews with authors Lee Strobel and Erwin McManus.
I think Syntax Records does a great job with hip-hop. I wish we had some hip-hop labels supporting our hip-hop section. We did a big 2-page feature article on a hot hip-hop artist, along with a sidebar of news + reviews of new stuff. I liked being able to show some respect to a genre that is raw and intense like metal (but in a very different way, stylistically, of course). I liked being able to defend a genre that is effectively ignored in the Christian music scene. But anyway, HM is a hard music magazine, which is related, and that's why we had that section, but I always hoped labels that did hip-hop would support it. There was a little of that, but it petered out. When ad sales dipped a little and I had to pick something to nix from the mag, I took out the "Intermission" section, the hip-hop section, the "Classic Moments" section, and one page from the Hard News. I hate having to make decisions like that, but it's kinda necessary when the ads aren't there. We gotta pay those print bills somehow, ya know.
Some people hate hip-hop and they voice their concerns whenever they see any hints that it might get covered in HM. I appreciate the fact that the vast majority of HM readers (I think) trust me to be balanced and stay true to what we're about. If you wonder what we're about, let me just say "Living Sacrifice." That kinda covers it, doesn't it? If that's not enough, I'll say "Underoath."