Every Sunday, an outfit called Hope Dealers rap about redemption and salvation to a crowd of more than 1,000 church-goers from the SPAC Nation church in London.
The group delivers high-energy performances to the congregation at the Riverbank Plaza Hotel in the centre of the capital between sermons and testimonials from members wearing urban clothing such as hoodies and balaclavas.
Nathan Oki, who grew up in Peckham, south-east London, and whose best friend was stabbed to death when he was just 15, said mixing drill with Christian messages helps them reach troubled youths.
The 28-year-old, now a pastor with SPAC Nation, told the Press Association: “At about 13 or 14 I really started to be a product of my environment. I’m talking about broken homes, anger, poverty … from there life took a downward spiral.
“Having friends stabbed and losing people can become normalised in one’s eyes. You get to a point where you begin to accept it.
“For many of us we’ve had to have someone grab our hand and say ‘Come, here’s a different route’. But without that you’re just thinking ‘How do I survive in this jungle?'”
The group, whose tagline is “Dealing hope to the lost”, has racked up hundreds of thousands of online views with slickly-produced promo videos and says its message has helped…
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