This article may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. You can help. The discussion page may contain suggestions. (January 2011)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2010)

KJ-52
Background information
Birth name	Jonah Kirsten Sorrentino
Also known as	KJ-52, Tweezy
Born	(1975-06-26) June 26, 1975 (age 37)
Origin	Tampa, Florida
Genres	Christian hip hop
Occupations	Rapper
Instruments	Rapping
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Essential, BEC
Associated acts	Sons of Intellect, Peace of Mind
Website	www.kj52.com

KJ-52 (born as Jonah Kirsten Sorrentino, June 26, 1975 ) is a Christian rapper from Tampa, Florida. The "KJ" part of his name refers to his old rap alias, "King J. Mac,"^[1] a name which he later described in one of his podcasts as "horribly cheesy."^{[2][not in citation given]} "52", which is pronounced "five two", not "fifty-two", is a reference to the Biblical story of Jesus feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fish, which is also sung about in his song "Push Up" from The Yearbook and in the "KJ Five Two" on It's Pronounced 'Five Two'.^{[1][not in citation given]} He was awarded the Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year for "Never Look Away" and Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards of 2007.^[3] On July 28, 2009, KJ-52 released "End of My Rope", which is the first single for his album Five-Two Television. His song "Dear Slim" is based on Eminem's song "Stan" and is a sort of personal message from KJ-52 to Eminem.

Works [link]

In 2002, Sorrentino released his second album, Collaborations. The album's title referred to the numerous contributions made to the album by guest artists, including Ill Harmonics, Pillar, John Reuben and Thousand Foot Krutch. Collaborations also represented his first nomination for a Dove Award, for "Rap/Hip Hop/Dance Album of the Year" in 2003.^[4]

KJ-52 has won four Dove Awards, three in the "Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year" category. He took the 2004 award for It’s Pronounced Five Two, the 2006 award for Behind the Musik (A Boy Named Jonah), and the 2007 award for Remixed.^[5] He received an additional honor in 2007, for "Never Look Away" from Behind the Musik, in the "Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song" category.^[6] KJ never tried out for American Idol,^[7] but suggested such in his song "Fivetweezy".

On October 2008, he released his album, The Yearbook: The Missing Pages,^[8] a re-release of his album, The Yearbook. It comes with the original record with a slip over cover that has a code to download the 13 songs.

2009 Dove Awards^[9] Another productive year for KJ-52 as he was awarded with "Rap/Hip Hop Song of the Year" for “Do Yo Thang”; The Yearbook; KJ-52; Jonah Sorrentino; BEC Recordings/Uprok

In 2009, he released "Five-Two Television", and album covering a variety of themes and rap styles. It is his first album in which autotune is used, a controversial step among his fans. The album brings us the (fictitious) story of Chris Carlino, a man who has ruined his life, through a series of interludes. As usual for KJ-52, the album includes both songs with a strong Christian message and songs that are meant only to entertain.^[10]

KJ-52's song "You're Gonna Make It" appeared at the end of Cold Case Season 5 Episode 8 "It Takes a village".^[11]

KJ-52 also rapped in the Newsboys version of "Jesus Freak".^[12]

KJ-52 also rapped in the tobyMac remix of the song "One World" on the album Hip-Hope which also includes the KJ-52 remixed song "What You Want".^{[citation needed]}

KJ-52 released Dangerous on April 3, 2012.^{[citation needed]} It mixes hip hop album with quite a bit of synth, and has some pop-electric.^{[citation needed]} The first released single, "Dangerous", is more light rock-pop.^{[citation needed]} The second single is called "Shake Em Up", but is commonly spelled "Shakem Up".^{[citation needed]} It features guest artists such as Canton Jones on "It's Goin Down", Lecrae on "They Like Me", This'l on "Shake Em Up", George Moss on "Do the Bill Cosby", and more.^{[citation needed]}

Eminem and "Dear Slim" controversy [link]

KJ-52 was often compared to Eminem, as many called him a "Christian counterpart".^[13] One of the most notable mainstream reactions to the Christian hip hop scene was to KJ-52 and his single "Dear Slim", which was written to Eminem in an attempt reach him with the message of Christianity, though Eminem claims to be a Christian. The song became famous and controversial among Eminem fans when it was featured on the hit show Total Request Live. KJ-52 began to receive hate mail (including death threats) from Eminem's fans, though KJ-52 claimed that the song was not a "diss".^[14] This also led to the single being disparaged by VH1 as No. 26 on their "Top 40 Worst Moments in Hip Hop",^[15] an issue the artist addressed in a follow-up song titled "Dear Slim Pt. 2".^{[citation needed]}

Discography [link]

• Insightful Comprehentions (with Sons of Intellect) (1997, Omega)
• 7th Avenue (2000, Essential)
• Collaborations (2002, Uprok)
• It's Pronounced Five Two (2003, Uprok)
• Soul Purpose (with T.C. aka Todd Collins) (2004, BEC)
• Behind the Musik (A Boy Named Jonah) (2005, BEC)
• The Yearbook (2007, BEC)
• Five-Two Television (2009, BEC)
• Dangerous (April 2012, BEC)^[16]

Side Projects/Other Releases [link]

• Peace of Mind (2003, BEC Recordings)
• Soul Purpose (2004, BEC Recordings)
• KJ-52 Remixed (2006, BEC Recordings)
• The Office Prequel Mixtape (2009)
• Born Again guest rap on "Jesus Freak" (2010)

Charts [link]

References [link]

External links [link]

• KJ-52 on the LifeMusic Wiki

• Official website