Christopher Laurence Examines – Artist Spotlight: Kolt Kodesh

Christopher Laurence Examines – Artist Spotlight: Kolt Kodesh

  For many people, the term hip-hop conjures up images of music which extols all manner of things contrary to a good Christian sensibility. And it conjures these images not without reason; much of hip-hop and rap (at least most of what finds mainstream success) is absolutely at odds with morality and unfit for Christian enjoyment. But there are some young artists attempting to change that and re-baptize hip-hop, using it to speak about and glorify God and His Church. One young artist, who seems to be at the forefront, is Kolt Kodesh. His newest single, “Green Lantern” speaks explicitly about his Catholic Faith, the Holy Eucharist, the necessity of the priesthood, etc. (and even sneaks in a dig at the Church’s perennial enemies, the Freemasons). I spoke to Kolt Kodesh about his Faith journey, his conversion, and his Christ-centric music.

Christopher Laurence: To start things off, tell me about your faith background.

Kolt Kodesh: I was born and raised Baptist, but have experienced many Christian traditions and been to many churches. I really started connecting with The Lord and having spiritual experiences during youth revivals around age 14. I didn’t 100 percent give Him my life until around age 18. Shortly before becoming Catholic last November, I had an interest in going to seminary to possibly teach theology or, Lord willing, become a Protestant minister.

Christopher Laurence: What made you first look into Catholicism?

Kolt Kodesh: Although since around age 18, I’ve had enormous love for Scripture, for theology, and for my faith, I’d had some big faith questions for a while at the time. I was in an especially dry season spiritually and was seeking absolute truth when I started studying Church history, the reformation, and Catholic theology. I always say there were actually a few seeds planted for a few years that ultimately led me to converting, unbeknownst to me. I became disillusioned with the non-unanimity of Protestantism. Protestantism as a structure was just not jiving anymore, especially since experiencing many different “traditions” in my spiritual journey, from “Baptist”, to “Charismatic”, to “Apostolic Faith” etc. I realized that those individual churches’ teachings were built upon the pastor’s interpretation of Scripture, and if not his interpretation, it was the “traditional” interpretation of whatever his denomination was. I had to ask.. “We all have the same Holy Spirit which will bring us to understanding of Scripture, and we all have the same Bible. Why so many different interpretations, and on KEY ISSUES at that?” I was feeling like.. because there’s no preacher who’s 100% correct on 100% of Scripture anywhere, then there is no central objective authority who can bring me to objective truth. But I felt like there HAS to be objective truth out there somewhere. Why is it that a man can DECLARE HIMSELF a preacher, set up a church, interpret scripture however he’d like to, call the denomination whatever he’d like to…. and it could be a straight up brain-washing cult… AND NO ONE WOULD STOP HIM?! This was the first seed. The other seed had to do with doctrine, as I was brought up believing that all you must do to be saved is to believe a certain set of facts about Jesus, without necessarily having to let The Holy Spirit change your life. I found this to be unscriptural, but yet, a very popular Protestant teaching. So yeah…

Christopher Laurence: What finally convinced you that Catholicism is true?

Kolt Kodesh: What mainly convinced me was learning the history of the church, typology in the Old Testament used to prefigure several New Testament Catholic teachings, and reading early Church Father quotes on doctrine and Church teachings. For example, we can trace many of the early Church Fathers to their teachers, who in many cases were the disciples themselves. We also have the line of Popes from Peter to Pope Francis, so we have the paper trail of HISTORY to back things up. I was also convinced by the level of authority as a BODY that the Church and its leaders have, which throughout history have been the way that objective truth is sifted through, disseminated, and past down, instead of teachings changing with every new opinion. The Catholic Church I feel puts more of an emphasis on THE CHURCH the way the New Testament does. The New Testament church, and beyond, was intended to not only be a source for accountability, communal worship, and fellowship among other things, it was intended to PROVIDE STRUCTURE. I LOVE IT! Other reasons I was convinced include learning Scripture in a new light, with new eyes, in a way that it was intended to be understood since the beginning. For example the CONCRETE understanding of “What does baptism mean? What does communion mean?” etc. is plainly explained by the early Church Fathers and early clergy.

Christopher Laurence: What was the process of becoming Catholic like?

Kolt Kodesh: The process of becoming Catholic was linking with a local priest who I could discuss my conversion and questions with, being entered into RCIA, and being welcomed into the Church at the Easter vigil 2021.

Christopher Laurence: What are your earliest memories of hearing good music?

Kolt Kodesh: My earliest memories of hearing good music were Jazz and R&B as a very young kid.

Christopher Laurence: When did you first start making your own music?

Kolt Kodesh: I first starting rapping around age 15 in high school. It was secular rap and went on for about 4 years until I stopped.

Christopher Laurence: Who, if anyone, were influences on you when starting to make music?

Kolt Kodesh: I was influenced by rappers with very witty rhymes and lo-fi, jazzy, melodic, boom-bap beat selection; e.g., MF Doom and Earl Sweatshirt.

Christopher Laurence: When did you decide to make your music explicitly Catholic?

Kolt Kodesh: Since loving theology, my music comes across as explicitly Catholic when my love for theology is heard in the rhymes. I like using Scripture in my rhymes, and some Christian artists do this a lot, some not at all. But since becoming Catholic, I feel like I have to speak my truth about not just my personal struggles that people will relate to, but also to tell Catholics to be proud of their faith, and to inform people of other faiths about what we truly believe.

Christopher Laurence: Have you gotten any push-back for your Catholic themes?

Kolt Kodesh: I haven’t been getting too much push-back, except from some Protestant loved ones who know I switched up my beliefs slightly and wanna say “Are you sure you’re on the right path?”… “Man, idk but I’m praying for you…” things like these.

Christopher Laurence: Do you think music is a good tool for evangelization?

Kolt Kodesh: I think it can be. It can certainly be used to inform if done correctly and with the correct spirit, which I have to pray to maintain.

Christopher Laurence: Should more Catholics be trying to engage with the popular culture?

Kolt Kodesh: I think yes, as long as it does not lead to compromise or watering down the Gospel.

Christopher Laurence: What are your goals for your music in the next 5 years?

Kolt Kodesh: In the next 5 years. I hope to be a positive role model for youth, and be able to travel doing shows, which I enjoy sooo much.

Kolt Kodesh, real name David Hyman, is a 23-year old Catholic-Christian Hip Hop artist from New Jersey, a new face in the relatively scarce genre. He desires to see the landscape of Catholic culture expounded on with the rise of more Catholic-rap music and artists. Born and raised Protestant, he aspired to attend seminary to one day teach theology or become a minister. In November 2020, however, after studying scripture and church history, Kolt’s spiritual journey found him accepting the teachings and doctrines of the Catholic Church. Welcomed into the Church at this year’s Easter Vigil, and newly no-longer engaged, Kolt was in a brand new headspace questioning where to go next. He decided to pursue rapping once again, which he had done as a secular artist as a teenager, to being a Protestant Christian-rapper in college, to this time representing the Holy Catholic Church in his raps, a rare subgenre in “CHH” or Christian Hip Hop.