At first the lyrics about guns and violence sound like a typical gangsta rap song, but a closer listen reveals something different.
"I'm so glad Christ took that away and all that I need God makes the way," rapped David Alexander, a.k.a. Praise, a gospel artist from Orlando.
His performance was part of the fourth annual Gospel Music Fest, held Saturday in the steamy Williston Middle School gymnasium. The festival included the expected choirs and soloists belting gospel standards, as well as gospel rappers, dancers and even mimes...
...Another Gainesville group, Jest-Praise, uses mime moves to deliver a Christian message. Anyone expecting miming of the French-guy-caught-in-a-box variety would be surprised. "It's a whole different thing," said Adrian Lumpkins, 13, of Alachua. "They're expressing jokes, comedy." Members of Jest-Praise, ranging in age from 5 to 18 years old, wear white face paint and gloves like traditional mimes. But their hand movements express the ideas and stories of Christian songs...
