99. Skema Boy: A Music Artist Encounters The True Artist

Skema Boy is proud to call himself a Christian rap artist. His first Christian rap song titled 'Jesus In My Life' is a compelling story of the living God and His reality to work in and through a surrendered life. The road it took for Skema Boy to walk in God's will and spirit-led purpose for his life today is filled with deceptive temptations, temporary worldly promises and past self-destructive choices. Skema Boy's life began when he was adopted into a Christian home. Although he was raised in a "home of theology", it wasn't until a supernatural encounter with the relational presence of the living God became real to him and transformed him from the inside out. Jesus filled his mind, heart and soul which started a journey of God's creative love and grace in him through rap music which continues to this very day. This is Skema Boy's testimony of Jesus in his life!

Skema Boy - Wristwatch (Official Video)
Skema Boy - BLIMP (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
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Transcript

EP99 Skema Boy

[00:00:00] Jesus in my life episode 99 

she went to go to the abortion clinic and in the parking lot of the abortion clinic God intervenes and basically just tells her don't go through with this. Like I have bigger plans for this child And moments later she gets a call from a Christian adoption agency letting them know that They heard that she's with child and that they want to help her deliver the baby.

Welcome to Jesus in my life, a podcast with Robin Jack, where we interview everyday people like me and you about their extraordinary experiences with our savior, Jesus Christ. Welcome to another episode of Jesus in my life podcast. This is your host Jack with my co host Rob. 

Hey everyone We're so blessed to be with you today.

Yeah. Well, we got a I think a very special guest in studio today Schema boy schema boy is a Christian artist He's a Christian [00:01:00] rapper and it's really interesting how I found him out like so we're an audio only podcast and A couple of weeks back, I decided to get all our podcasts up on YouTube. And so we, we uploaded, you know, our 90 plus episodes on YouTube.

So if you didn't know that you can actually find our podcasts on YouTube now. And I was searching for our podcast. And the first thing that popped up was a song called Jesus in my life by schema boy. You know, that's like, what's this? And, uh, you know, I grew up listening to, to rap, uh, in the nineties and the early two thousands.

And, uh, so I listened and I was like, Oh, this is, I like this song, man. This is awesome. So I was like, because of the name connection, I was like, I'm going to reach out to, to this guy, schema boy, and ask him if he wants to be a guest on the show, you know, and I watched a lot of your, your Tik TOKs and, and your Instagram reels, Rob, you got to check out his Instagram reels.

They're hilarious. He has all these like [00:02:00] famous, you know, internet videos, like grandma's dancing to his music or nine nineties aerobics videos. And. I mean, you, you had me cracking up. So with enough of the introduction schema, welcome to the show. 

Welcome. I appreciate you guys having me. Yeah. It's good to be here.

Yeah. Well, one of the things that we do on the show is we kind of like to get people's backgrounds. So, uh, schema boy, can you tell us a little bit about maybe your early life and did Jesus play any role in it at all? 

Yeah. So I was born in Chino, but I was put up for adoption. And my adopted parents moved me out to Connecticut.

So I grew up pretty much all of my early life in Connecticut. Funny enough, I would say like, yes and no to, did Jesus play a role in my early life? Like, so both of my parents are theologians. I mean, they teach theology. They actually teach. The reason why we moved out to Connecticut is because they both teach at.

Yale's Divinity School. [00:03:00] So like they're, they're pretty heavy in the Christian academic world. Um, so I definitely grew up in the church. I definitely grew up in a Christian household and faith conversations were normal conversations. But I think the Christian academic world Is can be very different from the on the ground Christian.

Yeah, you know space like yeah I think there's a big gap there And so I think I really only experienced the Christian academic world growing up and as a result, you know It's a lot of head knowledge. It's a lot of I'm not gonna say that people don't have relationships with Jesus, but I think there's less of a like charismatic focus on inner transformation.

And there's more of just, uh, yeah, I had knowledge focus. And so definitely planted a seed with all that, but I think it wasn't until much later that I kind of went on my own journey. If you will, 

you know, that's, that's really interesting that you say that. I actually went to Bible [00:04:00] college, Rob's, uh, you've taught at a Bible college, right?

Yeah. And, uh, you know, it's really interesting. There's a dangerous line, right? Like the Bible tells us that knowledge puffs up, 

but 

love edifies, right? And so love is the action to the actual belief system. And if we over focus on the belief system, We can just, there's, it can be a disconnect, right? Like you said, the actual transformation of lives, you know, it's a joke, but people say seminary can turn into cemetery, right?

There's been a people who have actually gone into academic theology and actually come out less Christian than they entered, you know, 

what, what Bible colleges you guys go to? 

Well, I went to Calvary Chapel Bible college down in Marietta. Yeah. Yeah. And then, 

And I taught at Epic Bible College, which is in the Sacramento area.

Nice. Yeah. 

Yeah. And then you went to Moody, right? Rob? 

Oh yeah. I was, I'm a Moody Bible Institute grad. Yeah. Nice. 

Nice. 

Yeah. 1994. 

So cool. Uh, you kind of [00:05:00] came in this heavy theological understanding of Christianity and it sounds like maybe there was a disconnect for you at some point. 

Yeah. So when I was in elementary school, my parents ended up getting divorced and that was really hard for me specifically because.

Uh, specifically because I had been adopted, I think that adoption to me represented, hey, someone didn't want you initially, right, and they kind of gave up on you, but this couple chose to step out and adopt you and commit to uniting you as part of the family, so when my parents got divorced, to me, that was like a symbol of yet another group of another person or two people that didn't necessarily want me or didn't think I was worth the fight, that kind of thing, you know?

And so that I think really started spiraling me a little bit in terms of My mental health and just how I viewed myself, I think struggled with self-worth, [00:06:00] but I also just didn't care about a lot. Like I, I, I think I had a, yeah, I just decided that my life, I wanted my life to be a fun one, and I think I just started focusing a lot more on parties and just, yeah, not having really a care in the world in terms of how I treated myself mentally or my body or anything like that.

And just kind of through high school, I would say. Was yeah, really, really deep into it. And there were, there were a lot of things that weren't great at some encounters with the law that I probably shouldn't have. And it wasn't a great look for me by the time I was like a junior or a senior. Yeah. 

And where was this at?

Had you moved somewhere else by this time? No, I was 

all, this was all in Connecticut. 

Alright, so you, you're high school, you kind of like live in the worldly life. Where are your Christian parents at this point? 

They're at, they're at home. I mean, they're, they're, my, uh, my dad ended up remarrying. And that was a really, it was kind of a weird, like classic step mom, you know?[00:07:00] 

Uh, story there. So there's a little bit more disconnect with my dad. Yeah. And this isn't at all to, they're both great people. I love my family, but for what I was going through at the time, it was very much rebellious. I feel like I spent more time sleeping at like friends houses than I did sleeping at my actual house.

And I think that also my brother's adopted too. And I think that. We kind of wore our parents down, like how rebellious we were as kids in terms of what we were going through, I think could be so extreme at times that I think after a certain number of years, my parents just didn't, you know, you could only run away a certain number of times or do this and that before they're like, all right, you know, it's less and less punishment, less and less this and that.

So they were around, but by middle end of high school, I was definitely able to just do. Where 

do you think the rebelliousness came from? 

[00:08:00] Um, I think it was just a lack of respect that I had. I think the divorce that my parents went through really made me not respect them. Because for me, I remember having a conversation with them early on.

I was like, Really struggling with the idea of, look, you proclaim to be this kind of a Christian person who's devoted to the Lord, has a relationship with Christ, you know, this and that. And yet you're separating the commitment that you had under God to not only this individual, but also taking a toll on me.

I just didn't respect necessarily how the choices that they were making. And I think that. I wanted to be, yeah, I wanted to be around people that felt genuine to me, um, and I think friends were people that I really looked to at the time, and so, I don't know, I think it was just, you know, it was a combination of your standard teenage [00:09:00] rebellion, but just taken to the extreme because I had all this, Baggage that wasn't worked through when I think when someone doesn't have an identity.

It's really easy to just not care about Consequences, you know, 

yeah schema you mentioned earlier about that head knowledge The Bible is clear that his word will never return void. There was obviously some seeds planted in you by your parents Would you say that as you were growing up and especially?

You know, walking in that rebellious phase of your life. My question is where was God to you? Was he still in your mind, but just not in your heart or was there a disconnect there for you? 

Yeah, I think I believed in the idea of God. I liked, there were just, there are pieces of Christianity that are, uh, and faith that I like wanted to take.

And then I wanted to leave other pieces. Um, and it's really hard to discern as a kid, everybody has something to say about everything. [00:10:00] I think there's a huge focus on the thou shall nots growing up and less of a focus on the thou shall. Yeah. Right. And for me, that was huge because when you focus on the thou shalls, That's what brings you to the person of Jesus and the thou shall not are Really for at least for young people.

It's like man, that's how that's all you view it as you know And it's just kind of viewing it as a rule book and I didn't have really any Christian friends at the time, too So that didn't necessarily help. I think a lot of people were Other, there were a lot of other voices in my head, but I didn't end up going to a youth group too in high school a little bit.

It's a little, another part of, I guess my story, but, um, that ended up opening doors kind of later in my high school. 

So schema, I'm curious, like when you are living in sin, right, let's just call it that living in sin. Was there any kind of conviction or was it like, you know what, this is life and I'm going to enjoy it to the fullest.

Yeah, no, [00:11:00] there wasn't any conviction. I remember the first time. My mom caught me smoking weed and it was like her entire world fell apart and I think that even made me respect her less because to me it was like weed was such a trivial thing. I'm like Dang, I'm just chilling. I'm like, I was, you know, to me, it was like, I'm just having fun, mom.

Like, this is what's crushing your world right now is me, you know, having a little joint in my room. And so like, I, for me, it was like, what, like these Christians can't even deal with a little bit of marijuana right now. Like this is like, where is your strength? Like what, I don't know. It was very, it was, it was very frustrating as a kid.

It was like, if this, if that's what it means to be a Christian, like you just. You hear the word weed and you start crying like What, you know, to me, I think I was focused on wanting to be, I don't know, not even tough, but just someone that could handle, you [00:12:00] know, could, could, could handle things. I think there was so much that I was going on internally that I, it, it seems so petty that she cared about this small thing or these small things that I was doing versus like.

How I was doing, you know, like 

it makes me think of this term that has really changed my thinking about just stuff in general and it's this it's as Christians. We don't want to be known for what we're against. We want to be known by what we're for. And so if our entire focus is back to what you said, thou shall nots, then it just never makes sense to people, right?

Like it's all about rule following instead of we're all about Jesus, right? We're about doing his, Business being about his kingdom. That's way more appealing to people than a list of rules because once you start following Jesus the rules kind of just take care of themselves [00:13:00] Right, like when I first got saved the one thing that God like he didn't deal with my cussing He I mean I cussed like a sailor back then and he it took a couple years For the God to address that issue in my life.

The one thing he addressed was Sexual immorality, right like he put his finger on my Um, like I felt like he put his finger on my chest and said, listen up, son, this is, you ain't doing this anymore because that was my highest idol in life, right? That was the thing I worshipped more than him. And then all the little peripheral things kind of started taking care of themselves as I started following Jesus.

And that's, you know, to me, that's, that's way more appealing. Like I'm going to follow Jesus and he's going to change me along the way, right? Like there's an old, um, Lecrae song from his early days. Uh, will you take me as I am. Right. I know the way that I'm living is wrong, but will you take me as I am?

Right. And that's how we come to Jesus. We come, you know, as, as messed up individuals, the focus is on getting to know him. He takes care of that [00:14:00] instead of, Hey, I got to clean up my life before I come to him that no, he cleans up our life. Focus on him. Yeah. So schema, how, how did Jesus come into your life?

Yeah, 

another huge part of who I was in high school is I kind of made a decision for myself that I wanted to, because nothing really mattered to me at the time. I was just like, man, I'm just going to try to make it in rap and work on music, like, you know, do clubs on the, on the, on the weekends and, you know, just kind of work at some random kind of part time job.

And so that's what I was really doing. That was all my focus. And at the time I met another guy in high school who. Ended up becoming my best friend, but he, he was a producer. And the way we got connected was both of our girlfriends were like, at the time we're, we're best friends. And so we naturally got connected and we were like, well, like, let's try making music together.

And so he became my producer at the time, like [00:15:00] multiple times a week, I'd be at his house recording. And he was a believer. We bonded over growing up in the church and things like that, but I don't know how seriously we each took it. But he ended up inviting me to his youth group. And I went because. If I went to the youth group, then it promised me having some studio time with him, like after pretty much.

And so, and it was cool. I mean, like it was, it was a cool youth group. And so, uh, it was something to do. And ultimately I got invited to go on like one of the youth groups retreats. And when I went on that retreat, I didn't want to go at first. I didn't. It was like this like three day retreat up in like New Hampshire and I was in Pennsylvania and we went there and um, yeah, the first two days I really didn't participate in much.

It was like one of those like worship in the morning, breakout sessions, lunch, breakout [00:16:00] sessions, worship in the evening kind of thing, you know? And so it was a very new space for me and I just remember basically on the last night of that worship session, I just had this moment where I was looking at my Looking at my friend and he's worshiping and I see like tears rolling down his face And I didn't seen this man in such like a in any kind of vulnerable Place before right and I respect a lot of respect for him and so I remember just putting my hands up and just deciding to give worship a shot and Next thing I know I was really weird, but I was just like Yeah, hands and knees face down in the front of the room, just like bawling my eyes out.

And I, I remember just getting hit by the Holy Spirit. It was, it felt like a train. And you know, a funny thing I experienced so much, like, I never know how to describe that moment, but cause it's so much like love and [00:17:00] conviction and feeling known. And there's just so much that in that moment. But the weird thing for me was At the time, I was sleeping with my then girlfriend and the conviction that I experienced in that moment was only about sexual immorality.

And to me, that was so weird because that wasn't even on my radar. Out of all the things that I had been doing, that wasn't even something that I, like, considered to even stop, you know? And so, I knew it was conviction because it was something that called so much deeper. It wasn't just, it wasn't another that shall not, right?

It was like, Hey, this is consuming your life. Like you had said, right? Like, and I came back from that trip pretty transformed. There was still so much there that. You know, it was, it was a momentary encounter. And so now I had to figure out, [00:18:00] okay, what do I do with that? Right. Right. And, and so I came back, I remember telling my mom about it.

She was super happy that I had this experience and I made the decision. I was like, you know what, if God is real, then I need to go figure, kind of figure out what to do with this. And so my, my way of, uh, Kind of making that transition was deciding to go to Bible college. I think that was my best bet. And because I'd already, I'd been to so many Christian events, so many youth camps growing up, like it didn't, the one thing that I think Christian academia did offer was some was like a specific set of tools to go about exegesis, an interpretation of scripture and really.

Well, I knew I wanted to come out to California at some point to pursue music. But when I was like, okay, I have to go to Bible college. That's when I came out here and started [00:19:00] touring different Bible colleges. And I ended up choosing, uh, Biola University, which is down here. So that's where I went. 

Wow.

That's awesome. You know, I was thinking, Seema, as you were sharing about the conviction about sleeping with your girlfriend and you, it wasn't on your radar, I was, I actually had the thought, what if God was doing that one, one for you, right. But maybe for your girlfriend. Right? Your girlfriend was his daughter, and that conviction maybe was for her sake.

Maybe that was her biggest issue, and you were an avenue in it. 

Yeah, I'm sure it was problematic for a whole lot of people. I mean, at the time. Right, man. But I think actually for me, it was a little bit more I think that was definitely part of it, but she was a lot older than me at the time. And I was, I was 17.

And I think there was something like predatorial, not in like a, like she was still, there [00:20:00] wasn't that big of an age gap, but there was still something like I was being, I was still so like, there's even such a huge difference between a junior in high school and someone who's like, I think she was A year or two into college.

Right. And so there's just such a difference in maturity or like life experience at the time. And so I think I was like hanging out with college people. Right. And like I was in a world that I didn't have to be in. And, and, and so, yeah, there's a lot there, but yeah, no, I, I was definitely for, definitely for me.

I think it was definitely for friends and family too. Cause that was, it was a mess too. 

That makes a lot of sense. 

Sure does. Wow. Schema. So at this point in your life, obviously that, that event where Holy Spirit just hits you. And that begins a transformative process for you. How did you lean into that more?

What, what were some of the circumstances that either caused you to lean in or the opposite? [00:21:00] What, what happened? 

Yeah. So when I got to Biola, yeah, there wasn't a lot of time between that encounter and me going to college. And I went full throttle. I really did. Like when I got to college, I was excited about it.

And so I went full throttle. I dropped, uh, Biola had a, you know, a contract, right? For like, for, for students, you couldn't do this, that for the first time in my life, those weren't a problem. I didn't care. I was like, it's probably for the best knowing what it had, the different positions they had put me in.

And so like, I dropped everything. Like all of a sudden I went from Smoking cigarettes all the time and smoking a lot of smoking just weed all the time and drinking and all this just just stopping everything right when I got to college and funny enough I ended up getting into a program that the Bible has something called the Tory honors Institute It replaces all your gen ed credits and it's with a, with a great books program, [00:22:00] capital G.

Great. So they read philosophy, classical theology, poetry, like it's, it's basically all like Socratic discussion. So all of your homework is just reading and you come in a class and you're sitting in a circle and you just talk about these books. And so I was really exposed to that same level of academia that my parents were, but It was with people my age, and it was talking about these texts in a completely different way of, yeah, that, that kind of grew my love for reading.

I never even really read a book before that. And so for the first time, I don't know how to, I had a love for learning and growing as an individual. And man, it's so hard to, to kind of unpack what I think God did during my time, time at Biola. But. In short, it was a combination of spiritual encounter with really an academic foundation of how to go about approaching my faith that really kind of started to transform my heart.

[00:23:00] But at the time, though, I was also really struggling with hip hop because the devil knew that that was, you know, What I put above everything, right? Like my respect, you know, a lot of kids growing up, right? If they don't have usually when they, like a lot of kids use the expressions, they'll find their favorite artists and they'll be like, you saved my life or you're this song saved my life.

And it's so powerful because whatever it is they're going through at the time, like whatever they're listening. And so I had so many of those, I had so many figures in hip hop that I was like, This person saved my life and in a weird way they did right like at the time there was when I didn't believe in God per se or wasn't taking it seriously like I was looking to them and so that desire to still be in the spotlight of hip hop was a huge desire of mine and I was willing to make compromises to find [00:24:00] success in that world and that started to really get scary for me because I think I remember There was a point in my later college where I remember I picked up like my first cigarette again or something like that.

It's been more like such a long time and it felt like I was like turning my back on everything that I had just dedicated for the last few years. But during that time, so I don't even, I consider that first part of my story very, it was important for me to go to that retreat and have that encounter. But What really changed everything was I actually my junior year of college, I got a DM on Facebook and it was from a woman claiming to be my mom, my biological mom.

Wow. 

And she's like, Hey, I heard you go to Biola. I live like 15 minutes away. She's like, can I take you out to lunch? So I was like, okay, so she takes me out to [00:25:00] lunch and, um, went to a Mexican restaurant and it was really weird because growing up you never see, as an adopted kid, you never, like, I would go over to kids houses and see how they looked like their siblings or their parents, right?

I never had that growing up. With her though, it was all of a sudden for the first time I see my eyes, my nose, like, I was like, whoa, this is mom. Like, this is my mom. And we were sitting in this booth and she basically was like, well, in short, she was like, ask me anything. And I decided as well, I was like, why did you put me up for adoption?

Who is my dad? I also knew that, uh, I had siblings that she kept. Um, so I was like, why didn't you put them up for adoption? And she goes on to tell this story. Her story of how she was at a work event. She was a single mom at the time with my two siblings as her kids. She had just left an abusive relationship.[00:26:00] 

She was at a work event and it was like one of those conferences and they hosted in a hotel or whatever. And so she was at this work event. They had this after party in the hotel, like banquet room or something. The last thing she remembers is getting handed a drink and she ends up waking up the next morning knowing that she had been raped and that she was pregnant.

And she, I don't think she was a believer at the time. I think she probably had an idea of God. I think she told me that she grew up in a Christian home, same kind of thing. Given where she was at in her life at the time. She was in a very kind of reckless, it sounded like a reckless point in her life as well.

But at the time, I think that she had decided to schedule my abortion and was obviously just had been raped and didn't know what to do with that, you know, and it was at a time where there wasn't as much help, right, for [00:27:00] women in that position, and I think she felt a lot of shame for it. And she had to continue to go to work with this dude that she just didn't end up reporting, I think because of the shame and things like that.

And so she went to go to the abortion clinic. And in the parking lot of the abortion clinic, God intervenes and basically just tells her, don't go through with this. Like I have bigger plans for this child. And moments later, she gets a call from a Christian adoption agency, letting them know that. They heard that she's with child and that they want to help her deliver the baby.

So she goes on this whole journey to like, really solidifies her faith and goes through like an interview process with different parents and ultimately picking my adoptive parents as the ones that she wants me to go to, you know, she delivers me, I ended up getting adopted. But for me. This changed the whole narrative of my [00:28:00] life, right?

Yeah, for sure. Because for me, it was like, my timeline was like, Where is God? Where is God? Where is God? I kind of found him in this friend in the youth group. Where is he? Where is he? Oh, I had this personal encounter at this retreat, continue to see God at Biola, continue to see God in the ways that he's working on my life.

Now God's telling me, Hey, I've been there since day one, right? Like, he's like, I've been there since day one. And it's so funny because I think my whole entire life, I always ask the question, where is God in my suffering, right? Where's God in my parents divorce? Where's God in the struggle for identity?

And this woman is telling me about how she experienced one of the most brutal acts of humanity, right? One of the wildest ways you can suffer as a woman. And yet, not only is she finding God in the midst of her suffering, but she's still choosing God in [00:29:00] the midst of her suffering, right? That's not an easy thing to carry someone else's child, right?

Like, and so for me, Two things changed for me that day. Number one, a couple of things changed. Number one, I decided that if there was any weakness to my faith, if I had any doubts, if I, if there are any points I felt distant from God, at the very least, I could know that this woman was able to bring me into this world because of what she is attributing to being God.

Right. So like. That was a huge thing for me. The other thing is like realizing that my testimony isn't testimony such an overrated words because like I, especially in the college circle, it's like, Oh, what's your testimony? Oh, it's your testimony. You just regurgitate things, you know, like you've told the thing so many times you don't even feel it anymore.

[00:30:00] For me, it was this realization of, whoa, like, testimony isn't this and it, it's part of it, but it's not just the encounter that you have with Christ in which you give your life. Like, testimony is from the day you're born to the day you die, and God continues to, to bring things full circle and, and I think that I started focusing on what God was doing now in my life versus constantly referring to what he had done in the past, you know?

And so at that point, like everything really changed for me. I think I made the decision for myself, okay. Now I want to go truly all in. And that meant it was still a journey. It was still a journey for sure. But that, that is when I knew that I had a lot of, I had a lot of thinking to do a lot, like I had my, my life had to be lived in a way where I was just constantly saying, thank you for being, for letting me be here, you know, and [00:31:00] giving thanks to both my mom and my father in heaven.

And yeah, everything really changed from that point on. 

That's amazing, man. I can't help but think about the value of life, right? In the secular world we live in, the wisdom of the world would have said to your mom, your biological mom, that abortion was the best choice, right? That's what the world would have agreed with considering the situation of of her impregnation Abortion should have been the choice of wisdom of the world, but God had a plan for you 

Yeah, 

and because she chose life God is now using you for his kingdom He had a plan and a purpose on your I'm trying to, I'm wondering how did this Christian organization, even though your mom was pregnant, 

I don't know, to be honest, I'm not sure that's the hand of God.

Right. I mean, that's what you're [00:32:00] saying. Yeah, I don't, there's a lot that I'll have more questions about, you know, and obviously like I've thought like, man, like who's, I want to know who my dad is, but then obviously I'm like, I don't. Yeah. Right. Same time. Yeah. Yeah. Um, there's a lot that doesn't matter though anymore, I think in the grand scheme of things and going back to the hip hop conversation, I knew how much of a hold that had in my life.

And I also knew that. This was a couple years later, but there was a time where I was working for Domino's during COVID. It was like early COVID and I came back to my, I was still, it still had a bit of a hold on my life. I was making like a blend of like Christian. It was like, it was like, I'm a Christian behind the scenes.

Kind of thing like my whole plan was like infiltrate the secular world by pretending to be one of them incarnate. Oh, yeah. Yeah. [00:33:00] Yeah. But man, there was Yeah, the last thing I'll say in terms of like, huge shifting moments was, I was working at dominoes during COVID. And I came back from one of my shifts and I was living it with, uh, living in a house with a bunch of guys that I didn't know.

And it was a really just depressing time, I think for everybody, but I came back and I would record every time my domino shift was over and my shift would go from like 5 PM to like 2 AM. And so it would be like, it was like 2 AM. I came back and I just felt so. Worn down during that point in my life, just because of COVID and life direction.

I was one of the graduating classes that didn't get a graduation from Biola. We, they just said, go. So it was like, it was just kind of thrown out into the world. You know, long story short, I was like, man, I need to make another declaration of faith right now. I need God. And so I wrote a little worship song that night, rather than going into my normal kind of rap session.

And it was just like a snippet of a [00:34:00] worship song that I wrote. And. At the time I've been posting consistently on TikTok like my secular music and just kind of trying to get myself out there, but I felt so convicted about that and so I decided you know what like I need to make a declaration of faith that I don't care about what people think because ultimately I'm thinking about my mom, I'm thinking about my story, I'm thinking about like How trivial my desire to be a successful rapper is in, in the grand scheme of like what my narrative is.

And so I basically post this worship song as a statement, like for myself, even like, are you brave enough? Courageous enough to just like make this declaration. Right. And I go to sleep and I wake up and that thing has like 1. 8 million views on that. And I was like, and for me, that was like, what? It opened my eyes to like, God has given you gifts and when you say yes to his way, like it takes a different direction.

And so like, that was the point of [00:35:00] after that happened. I was like, all right, I'm done making anything even close to sounding secular. I'm just like, I needed to make it because like some people will say, some people will say, you know, if you're a Christian, you don't necessarily have to make music that goes, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Like you can still make music with certain like themes or whatever. And maybe that's true, but for me, it was very much a, no, I need my music to be Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, because I need there to be no doubt in the listener's mind as to who the God I follow, you know, um, very clear. Wow. 

I would think also as an artist, the thing you're most passionate about is the thing that's going to create the best product.

Right. And you were passionate about Jesus. Yeah. So out of curiosity, what's the timeframe here? Cause I mean, when I'm looking at your content on YouTube, Jesus in my life, that rap song was one of your first higher viewed items on YouTube. Is that around that time period? [00:36:00] 

That was the first Christian hip hop song I made.

Wow. Yeah. Yeah. I have a song called ABC. That is the worship song. Okay. That I was talking about. Okay. Okay. It's very, I've cringed moments. Listen, it's like really bitter to me because like, it's so, it's so far from what I am and who I want to be as an artist and like what music I'm into. But it was like my vulnerability, you know, like, it's very like, it does well with the kids It's yeah, yeah.

Jesus, my life was my first Christian hip hop song. So that was a couple months before that came out was when I really made the choice of, okay, I'm going to be, I want to be a Christian hip hop artist and not for my own glory, but for what I'm the narrative that I'm feeding, you know? And honestly, a big heart for the youth and young kids.

Cause I knew how for me, like I knew how binding hip hop was for my soul. And [00:37:00] I think even my biggest mission as a Christian hip hop artist is. Even if I can just replace like a couple. Songs or artists on their playlists just to make their walk just a little bit easier. That would be incredible. Wow.

Yeah. You know, I think we undervalue the power of music, right? Like the fact that there's music in heaven, the fact that people believe Satan was the worship leader in heaven before he fell, right? Like there's power in music. I remember having a conversation with my dad, me and my brother were watching yo MTV rap.

This is a old rap show on MTV 

from 

the nineties. Right. And my dad's like, why are you guys listening to this? Do you guys hear what they're saying and rapping about? And I'm like, yeah. And he's like, that's going to change the way you're thinking. And I'm like, no, it's not like that has no impact on me. I just like the music.

I just like the lyrics. I like the beats, you know? [00:38:00] And it wasn't until my early twenties. When God, you know, began the process of sanctification in my life, that I realized that a lot of my ideas, a lot of my world view was shaped around the music I listened to over and over and over those lyrics dig into your mind.

Right. And so that's the power of music is, is vastly underrated. Personally, we, we all recognize it. We love it. But we often fail to realize the, the mental effect it has on us. 

Yeah, I would agree. My, my whole slogan is this ain't rap. This is worship. That's just because I'm trying to change the narrative of what rap means to me and should mean to other people, you know?

Yeah. So it sounds like maybe at this point is your moment of complete surrender, right? You gave up everything. You gave up your old rap identity. And I think it's so appropriate that one of your lines in Jesus in my life, uh, the rap song is gave [00:39:00] my life. Now I'm living twice, right? Like you're, you, you're starting to live your other life.

You know, the old man is dead. The new man's alive. What has God done in your life past that moment of surrender? 

Oh, man, my whole like last two years has just been crazy. Like I used to be a bedroom artist, like meaning I'd make music in my bedroom and just release it online, like an online presence. And then.

At some point I realized there's probably some value in me being involved, more involved in Christian community, specifically within the Christian hip hop space. Like not just going to church, but like being around events that are evolved around Christian hip hop. And so I started getting involved in that regard.

Uh, you guys, you know, Miles, right? Miles 

Minnick. I think I've heard the name, but 

he's, he's, uh, he's from, uh, he's from the Bay. Sure. You should look [00:40:00] him up though. Cause he's probably one of the biggest Christian hip hop. Artist of the younger generation, I don't know. He had just dropped a song with Lecrae at the time.

And like, he had kind of taken me under I don't know, I wouldn't say taken me under his wing, but helped me get more Involved in Christian community and really gave me like a cosine if you will just like I respect what you're doing And so I think that God put a lot of people that were in Christian hip hop in my life You know that kind of really helped me Grow and expand and understand what it means to be a leader in this space But yeah, man since then like 2024 has easily been my biggest and busiest year to date like last year You I had plenty of opportunities to do shows and, you know, talk to youth and grow on socials and stuff like that.

Because I think ultimately, like, my goal ever, I mean, as a, since a kid, my goal is to do [00:41:00] this full time. Except what it means looks very different now, right? Because any, anybody's goal is to do their passion full time, right? What you already do, but get paid for it, you know? And, um, I think that is still a goal of mine.

I think it's still, I'd say I'm pretty close. I actually work at Biola still, and I really love that job. I do. There's a lot of things that are still coming full circle, but man, yeah. Like just the love that people have shown me. I mean, you finding me as the story of how you found me is like a little bit.

It's just a little strange, but funny. Like, it's just funny that it's like random, right? Like most people reaching out to me are like, I've been listening to you since this and that, you know, we want you to, yeah, so it's, it's cool. I never think about how someone might just randomly stumble upon things like this, but God's, God's been doing a lot.

God's been [00:42:00] doing a lot. My most recent event I did was for a Christian high school out here where like a lot of celebrities, kids go to that school, the really wealthy high school out here in near LA. And it was like 1200 kids. And it was, it was weird because it was like, It's a really hard audience sometimes.

It's like high school kids, right? But we still rocked it and it was a, it was a, I had a lot of good feedback from kids. So my heart's really for the youth, honestly, high schoolers, just, but also just people that need songs and music. That will energize them and make them feel closer to God and not feel further away as a result of what they're choosing to listen to.

And so, I don't know, it's just such an understatement as to what God has been doing, but it's, it's, He's been doing it, so I don't even know where to start. Oh, Skema, that's 

so good. Man, you're on the front lines, bro. You're a missionary in 2024, ministering to The youth, you've mentioned this a few times that life is really full of full circles and [00:43:00] man, like you are right there in the trenches, uh, and expanding the kingdom by speaking truth and God using your ability and music to communicate that and it's so inspiring and I'm so thankful that God has called you for such a time as this, it's, it's more than a need.

It's, it's like, I see what you do as a lifestyle and you're just now, you're able to do it in a creative way as God has created you to do it. And from that comes seeds and conversations and seeing the gospel spread in lives. Man, you said something so profound earlier and I think it's really the, the heartbeat of this podcast and that is, it's not about what Jesus has done for you.

That's a part of it. It's like the Riviera mirror when we're driving, it's just a point of reference. But man, like the life in the kingdom, the life in Christ is one that never ends. And I think that that's a [00:44:00] really compelling message today. That's so needed upon the church that the gospel continues in our lives.

And it's, it is in the present and it's the way forward. And I just really love how you express that. 

I have a really strong heart too, for people that Have been in the Christian bubble for a long time, but haven't experienced the full transformation yet because I hear people like, like the testimonies of like, you know, like gangbangers and people who came out of prison or this and that.

Right. And everybody loves those kinds of testimonies. But I almost have, like, I almost think the crazier ones are the ones of the people who grew up deep in the church. And like, because it's like, they're so familiar with the words. They're so familiar with the stories. They're so familiar. They've, they know, they know what it's like to be in Christian community.

They know all the right answers, but they haven't had that internal transformation into like [00:45:00] the beauty about. Experiencing God and like a jail cell or like at a low is that you have such a childlike faith in that moment You're so ready to just be made new, you know And I think for a lot of Christians they lost that a long time ago, you know or people who you know call themselves Christians or however you want to say and so my heart is also for people to get like Part of Christian hip hop to me is like, I guess, helping people get excited about their faith again.

You know, 

uh, 

schema because of how God has literally changed your life and continuing to change you into the image of a son that, that bring it to completion until either Christ calls you home or he comes back. What would you say to schema as you were younger? What would you say today? What would you say to, to him?

If I had like a short, something real short, I had to say to him, it would be something along the lines [00:46:00] of like, just run after Jesus. It's not over. Yeah. You know? Um, I think that it's so hard because I don't know if I. It's hard for me to say like, and I don't think anybody would, but to say that I would change anything because like, it's so fundamental to who I am now.

And I have a heart for so many different kinds of people. I, you know, it's, it's funny because I think that we can be so quick as believers to point our fingers at Christians that don't look like us or talk like us or act like us, and I think that we're all called to evangelize. But we're all gonna reach different kinds of people, right?

And so yeah, I know I reached a different even just being at like I did the show I did at the high school. I had like three kids come up to me after and be like, Hey, I was adopted. I've never really [00:47:00] thought of this like that. Like I, it was cool. I didn't, I haven't really talked to anybody about adoption or anything like that.

So it was just cool to hear you talk about it. And like small things like that. It's like, wow. Like I wouldn't, I'm so happy that I have. Almost this, it's weird to call it, like, weird to say, but like a niche of, you know, we each have like different niches in, in our faith that we can speak to. And I think it all ties us together with the big, you know, just overarching canopy of turning from our sinful ways into our new life.

But I think in terms of people, we're people that need stories, we're transformed through stories and we love hearing stories. And, um, it's really important that we know. That we share our stories with other people. 

Awesome. Amen. Amen. Schema, tell us the name. Schema, what's that about? 

Yeah, um, I was, I was living with some [00:48:00] guys and I needed a new rap name.

And my friend, he's a graffiti artist and he just like, You know graffiti artists have tags that they use like go to tags his was always schema s k e m a and i remember just like sitting in the living room just like trying to think of a new rap name and i was like watching him draw out schema and i was like bro like where'd you come up with that i was like what does that mean like what is what is that he's not he wasn't a believer or anything like that and he was like i don't know i just thought it looked cool and i was like i'm like well can i use it and because i think in the past i had Had other names that was just trying to be I was trying too hard to like mean something, you know and I just needed something to just release music under and so That's where I got the schema from and then the schema boy I mean like I just wanted something that sounded different other than another like another lil or another young Schema or whatever, you know, and so I think the way that I really ended up [00:49:00] adopting that is wanting this is what it's grown into is I think that and a lot of uh, You A lot of superheroes, right, have man in it, right, like Spider Man, Batman, right, Aquaman, and a lot of the sidekicks sometimes tend to have boy after their name.

And so I think if Jesus is the hero of the story, then I kind of feel like some kind of sidekick or some little helper, you know, uh, but ultimately it really doesn't, it's, it's not that deep. It's just. It is, it is what it is. 

You know, what's funny is I, I just did a little quick Google search for schema, like, what does it mean?

And I'm looking here at cambridge. org and it's Indonesian to English, right? Schema in Indonesian means a plan or an arrangement, a way of doing something. And I just can't help, but think that was like divinely put on your life. God had a plan for your life. He is arranging the way. That you're going about [00:50:00] spreading this kingdom.

Love it. Schema. Thanks again for being on our show today and for sharing your story and for sharing the authentic story of what God is continuing to do in your life and nothing but love man. Looking forward to telling more people about your music and what God's doing in your life. You know, the foundation of our podcast comes from Luke chapter eight when Jesus approaches a man who had been cast out of society because he was, He was oppressed.

He was possessed. There are lots of demonic activity in his life and they'd be cast out from society. Jesus approaches him and obviously delivers him, saves him, heals him. And in that moment, the man is, is awakened a new life and he's awakened. And he says to Jesus, I want to now follow you. Let me follow you physically.

And Jesus says, this is how you're going to follow me. You're going to go back and tell your family what I've done for you. And, and he, And he does that in more, [00:51:00] he goes to the whole town telling this man, what this savior, this King did in his life. And man, I'm so grateful that you've done that today. And God bless you in your chapters of your story that continue to be written.

And thanks again for being on our show. 

Thank you guys for reaching out to me. I love any opportunity like this. I really enjoy, and it's just cool to meet new people. I think. Even just, uh, yeah, seeing different people's ministries, you know, like this is a ministry for you guys, I don't know who you've had on in the past, but I'm, I'm excited that there's, there's so many people that don't take time to create, you know, and, and put things out there.

Yeah. And that's the only way that you can, like, infiltrate mainstream media, you know, is like. Play the game, you know, and I think it's great what you guys are doing. 

Thank you, man. I really appreciate it. I appreciate what you're doing. [00:52:00] Everybody, you will have links to schema's music in our show notes. I highly recommend checking out the Jesus in my life.

Song that started it all. And really the one I I'm in love with right now is a song called 

wristwatch. 

And man, that song is fire, man. I think it has probably the most potential from the songs I've heard from you to go viral. I mean, it's a really cool song. Yeah. So, um, thank you again for being on the show.

Everybody else stay tuned every Tuesday for new episodes. God bless you.