September - St. Augustine Catholic
September - St. Augustine Catholic
September - St. Augustine Catholic
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ob Lesnefsky grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, before attending Franciscan University in <strong>St</strong>eubenville,<br />
Ohio, where he studied theology. He graduated, married his wife, Kate, and moved to New York City to<br />
start a <strong>Catholic</strong> youth and young adult ministry at a low-income, inner city parish.<br />
“I didn’t know what I was getting into there and they didn’t have a program; we started some<br />
outreach and failed at everything we did by using a lot of traditional, suburban youth group models,”<br />
said the now <strong>Catholic</strong> rapper known as Righteous B.<br />
Bob finally moved to what he calls a “relational model” of youth ministry, and at the same time casually<br />
began to record rap music with the kids on the block and used a beat machine. “It was mostly just fun and got<br />
kids involved, and they responded to that,” he said.<br />
In 2001, Bob recorded the first of several Christian rap CDs, including his most recent project, Sweatshop<br />
Sessions, which he recorded in Jacksonville, Fla. Now based in <strong>St</strong>eubenville, Bob travels around the country<br />
performing at weekend Christian and <strong>Catholic</strong> youth rallies and promoting his own nonprofit youth outreach<br />
organization, Dirty Vagabond Ministries. He recently sat down with the <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> for an<br />
interview to talk about his work, <strong>Catholic</strong> youth ministry and his music.<br />
Q. How did you get into your vocation?<br />
A. God really gave my wife, Kate, and I a passion for inner-city kids. Hip hop for them is a way of life, and as we<br />
started traveling more we see it is relevant to all kinds of kids.<br />
Q. Your third and newest recording, Sweatshop Sessions, has made some waves.<br />
What do you like most about it?<br />
A. It is my third album, but the first one that I actually like. I still feel like I am learning hip hop and it’s the<br />
first time I have felt comfortable enough with myself to really write how I like and not put out<br />
a certain type of hip hop. The goal was to be honest, vulnerable and raw, and I feel like<br />
we achieved that. In hip hop today, there is a sense of talking about this and that<br />
which gives it a bad name, but there is a strong undercurrent who are<br />
rapping for authenticity. For Christians that is a great thing<br />
— to be a bit vulnerable and not as polished when you are<br />
speaking about the gospel and your heart.<br />
B y T o m T r a c y<br />
A <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Rapper’s<br />
Call to Glory<br />
16 <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>September</strong> 2007