As I’ve mentioned before, one of the perks I enjoy most with this CMCentral gig is the opportunity I have to speak with artists passionate about their musical mission and the God who calls them to it. I’m so often inspired by their zeal, by their dedication. Today was no exception.

I spoke today to Braille, a hip-hop artist who next month is putting out his first nationally released album. But to tell you the truth, we didn’t talk at all about the new album. Instead, he shared with me a bit about his story, about how he lives out this life and Who he lives it for. I wish you could have heard him, because it’s one of those stories too easy to gloss over while reading, to see a few facts and make all the wrong assumptions.

If I tell you he’s been pursuing music full-time since he was fourteen, you might find that interesting. He describes himself as the lonely boy who sat on the bus with ear-phones, listening to music no one else dug. When his family moved across country when he was in his mid-teens, he used the opportunity to take buses to nearby cities every weekend and catch the latest rappers. As soon as he graduated he moved to the nearest big city and spent a year chasing the scene, crashing on various couches to do so. You might be thinking ‘slacker’ at this point, but wait, there’s more. When he married his wife a few years later, they both lived out of their car for the first few years as they followed his musical dream. Yeah, they cleaned houses to make a buck here and there, but they were all about the music and their calling. Are you thinking ‘selfish’? I wish you could hear him. As he speaks of those days, his voice contains nothing but excitement and gratitude for the way the Lord opened doors and provided.

They bought a house and had a daughter, but guess what? They just sold it, and are preparing to tour the country for the next year, with their 15-month old daughter, and perform music from the new album. He assured me that this time around, they’re getting hotel rooms so their child is comfortable. But still, the same excitement and passion floods his voice as he speaks of the coming year. He talked about avoiding pride, about the occasional doubts, about his motivation…. and the Lord is in all of his thoughts and considerations.

I listen to him from my comfortable chair. I’ve got a fire going a few feet away, and I’m feeling pretty cozy. And I wonder… it would be easy to pass judgment, but would I make the same sacrifices as this guy? And where did he find such a supportive wife?! We hang up the phone and I sit and give thanks that the Lord is still raising up servants to take out His message, no matter what the cost. I’m glad for these examples of sacrificial life-styles, and grateful that I get to speak to people this passionate about their calling. And as I rise to throw a log on the fire, I quietly ask God to expand the boundaries of my heart, so that maybe I can be as willing as this young family.

Check out Braille here. You won’t find pictures of him and the family in the car, but you can find out a bit of his amazing story and his music.

Ah, another year, another slew of Dove nominations to ponder. Let the head scratching begin.

Is it odd that the nominees are not generally the popular artists heard on the radio? Not necessarily, given that the Dove is more of an industry insider recognition than an artistic award. Voters include not just professional artists but record companies, publicists, agents, and print music industry people. Business people recognizing peers for their accomplishments. (Read: sales, not art). These voters may very well consider impressive sales an accomplishment worthy of note. But you’d wonder why they wouldn’t also then take note of artists who have ventured into the mainstream, selling significantly as well as carrying the message of light in viable, appealing form? Mat Kearney, Relient K, and Jars of Clay easily come to mind.

While Steven Curtis Chapman and Jeremy Camp are finally absent from the nominations, it almost seems as if GMA has gone to the other extreme and thrown up names just to prove they know some: Gerald Wolfe is up for Male Vocalist of the Year? A new name, yes, but who is he? And Amy Grant and Sandi Patty for Female Vocalist of the Year…. Ok, but in 2007? How is it possible for GMA voters to be this stuck?

I could go on…. and on. As could any music lover with half an ear and even a handful of memory cells. But at this point it’s almost as meaningless as the awards themselves outside of the insulated industry.

Michael Jackson is at it again. No, not that. I mean musically. Yesterday, 25 years after the release of Thriller, comes Thriller 25, an expanded anniversary version of the nine-song original that includes seven bonus tracks. Among them: remakes featuring collaborations with Akon, will.i.am and Fergie, and updated vocals and production by Jackson. Kanye West contributes a remix, “Billie Jean 2008.” I guess that’s a match we should have seen coming. The set closes with “For All Time,” a song recorded but not finished during the 1982 Thriller sessions.

I don’t negate the staying power of Thriller, or its groundbreaking spot in musical history. Prior to Michael Jackson’s innovative album and its cutting edge video, fledgling MTV wasn’t even playing videos by black artists. Actually the network itself hadn’t really found its groove until “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” started heating up the airwaves. It’s been said that Michael and MTV rode each other to success. But MTV is the only one of the two still at the top of its game, and some would say that’s questionable.

It’ll be interesting to see how Thriller 25 does in the marketplace, or is perceived by a public almost impervious to shock by this point, certainly to revelations from the Jackson camp. At the least it should get the public conversation off Britney for a day or two, and that alone makes it worthwhile.

A conversation I had yesterday with Sanctus Real’s drummer Mark Graalman got me thinking. I was interviewing Mark in regard to the band’s support and involvement with African Leadership and the Mocha Club, two social justice organizations doing significant work to help the poor of Africa and also train up indigenous leaders to see to the continent’s future. Sanctus Real is a band known for their example in this area, and I was more than happy to hear about their process, all of which was above board and exemplary, of course.

What struck me was when Mark mentioned how early in their career, they were encouraged by publicists and label people to pick a social justice group to get behind. Again, this is a positive thing, not something I’m bemoaning, although I’m sure there are cases where motives are questionable. Not the case here. But I couldn’t help noticing that our wealth of possessions and opportunities in this country is so great, that selecting a mission organization has come to be a part of a band’s promotional package. This wasn’t the case a few years ago, but it’s probably the unforeseen residue of the efforts of Bono and others to raise our social consciousness. Like Mark said, it’s ridiculous to think about not supporting the work in Africa.

I heard the other night during the game that a 30 second Super Bowl commercial went for nearly 3 million dollars. The only way that kind of obscenity comes anywhere close to a reasonable rationality is if a portion of it goes in the same direction: toward helping the poor. Maybe we should be praying that the consciousness-raising movement spread into the public marketplace, where the really big dollars end up. If Sanctus Real can get teenagers to give up two mocha drinks a month to help the poor in Africa, I wonder if we could get network television to follow suit….. Hey, a girl can dream, right?