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As the premier Guildworks iABRAHAM music project, WHAT IF GOD WAS FOUND HERE? is an avant-garde compilation focused on redemptive disruption of false complacencies, and on passionately claiming the Gospel of Jesus through the messiness and beauty of authentically lived faithful lives. Urban and inner-city actuality sounds - this music's meant to disrupt luxurious repose, cigars and fireside presumptions about Christmas. To bring wonder at Jesus "pitching his tent to live among us"; redemption and respite for all with hearts to hear.

A collaborative compilation from worldwide emerging and established artists, WHAT IF GOD WAS FOUND HERE? spans a gamut from gritty street-life, to hard-core theological/spiritually spit bars of shared values between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The WHAT IF GOD mixtape represents diverse musicians coming together in community through sound, working in parable, allegory and personal narratives to fuel and feel the Spirit-imbued power of Holy hiphop. Rooted in an evolving melange of ethno-indigenous expressions, slave songs, spoken-word Holiness preaching and Gospel music, faith-based hiphop's power and vibrance resound powerfully at this season. As the Abrahamic faiths of Jews, Christians and Muslims coalesce in the heart of common ground, offering compassion and the radical hospitality of God’s love.

Hearing WHAT IF GOD WAS FOUND HERE? is a complex experience involving emotional, spiritual, socio-economic, religious and straight-up issues of faith; sometimes a jarring, painful, discomfiting listening experience, more than a universally accessible story of hope, faith, joy and love (which is what most materially privileged folks know as our Christmas story.) [NOTE BELOW] Not everything on WHAT IF GOD happens in back-alleys, or falls to black-eyes and bar-flys, but some Christmases here happen at rock bottom, in the hard truths and narratives of God moving in a broken world.

“From the crevice of the ghetto" to Harlem Churches…to the Dome of the Rock; God hears the common man and the sounds of a dreamer. God With Us, Immanuel. Emmanuelle; the kingdom of heaven on earth, the sound of our humanity. -Deborah Risa Mrantz Founder|Executive Director GUILDWORKS iABRAHAM 2013-2014

[Note below]:: some music contains artists' authentic visual/aural expression using expletives, et. al. I have made the controversial decision to allow this music in these faith-informed initiatives after years of discernment and the evolution of spiritually and socially conscious forms of holy hiphop and Gospel rap. I believe Jesus would be in concert with this decision, though I realise you may forego listening.

We embrace the hospitality of Konomark. Please also note our (CC) Creative Commons licensing. creativecommons.org/licenses/ Participating GUILDWORKS iABRAHAM artists work professionally, diligently and perseveringly in an unrelenting music industry; we respectfully request you keep their dignity to be workmen/women worthy of their wages and also remember to purchase music directly from participating artists. If you believe we are inadvertently or unknowingly misusing material please advise us immediately through the contact form and we will directly contact the correct parties.

credits

released December 24, 2013

Sound Architect; Deborah Risa Mrantz
artists° Ilect Recordings Sintax the Terrific; Uptown Swuite; QvistarGo+worldwideDtwine; Cam the Project; Scribbling Idiots (Have Nots); Eprhyme; SAZ Sameh Zakout; Righteous B; CHANNEL Van Gogh; REMARKABLE CURRENTAnas Canon, Baraka Blue, feat. Mos Def; Rashomon; Rhema Soul

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Some rights reserved. Please refer to individual track pages for license info.

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GUILDWORKS New York, New York

GUILDWORKS iABRAHAM Interfaith collective fuses modern socially/spiritually-conscious Christian|Muslim|Jewish sounds with world ethnoindigenous sonic soulfood. Innovating contemporary sounds through an architecture of radical hospitality, GUILDWORKS iABRAHAM music initiatives inspire spiritual repair for global communities. Music is licensed under CC BY ND and KONOMARK. ... more

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Track Name: SINTAX THE TERRIFIC - Illect Rec ¤ GUILDWORKS iABRAHAM - What If God Was Found Here? - Immanuel With Intro - CURB APPEAL Sintax the Terrific
IMMANUEL

How could God fold in to the fabric of cold skin
so that old men under a star could hold Him?
born in a bin cuz the city had no Inn
what a pity that the people didnt know Him
Oh! Bethelehem your sky was so thin
didnt even try to hide the Hope within
heavens open wide to let the oceans swim
"Peace on Earth" spoke the Golden Rim
of angels found a few of lifes broken men
to show the rest of us how to behold a gem
go and tell the Word thats now life and limb
that Immanuel will grow to throw the yoke of sin
hope cant choke the well of grace were soaking in
nor provoke the Son of Man to turn stone bread thin
youre not alone my friend the very bones you bend
hinge upon the fact that Gods throne extends
you could comb the ends of the earth without rest
stockpile all the treasures that youve sown in flesh
God smiles Hes the one whose always known you best
thrown himself head first into our broken dress

BRIDGE
Everywhere that we go, everywhere, everywhere

CHORUS
Christ among the people his life without equal
I write to right evil this fight to bring lethally
bright to dark we know that light is just sequal
to mic me through steeple windpipe I gotta show (blow)

You swear Youre right there so Im tearing at thin air
been daring You to let me catch a glimpse but where
frantic for the touch of a Maker that might care
like clutching for the sun but only catching the glare
a fetching fine lady thats letting you stare but
your betting paycheck that really she dont care
like no tapedeck for that cassette to blare
is it still Illmatic if the static impair?
I want work my fingers through the dirt to get a handful
of Your body that was broken just to feel something tangible
and then sample a storm between my lips
just to savor the flavor of warm rain when God spits
I want to grip both sides of Your face
and steal a last glimpse of the sun before the daybreaks
tip the cosmos craddeling space
until Im able to taste the liquor of Gods grace

OUTRO
A gardens no place to spill blood or break a sweat
where creation tries to press itself through earths fallowed flesh
saw the Son of Man’s chest fill with love to brace for death
in His face the resurrection reflected with each breath
as he wept even still in the quietness they slept
bless My children who have gone, walked with Me, and havent yet
cuz id die a thousand deaths upon the cross the crucify
this gap between us both cuz thats the reason why
Can’t, can’t can’t sleep, can’t, can’t Rip Van Winkle
Nothin but the heartfelt on each an every single.

-the Have Nots
Track Name: QVISTARgo+DTwine ¤ GUILDWORKS iABRAHAM - What If God Was Found Here? - Black Jesus - QVISTARgo; prod DTwine
BLACK JESUS
QvistarGo



hair like wool, Big Beard... Black Jesus/
i got gifts for the whole town... Black Santa/
my rap dreams used to include a Black Phantom/
now i want a fleet of 5 all-Black Tahoes/
Black MoBsters, my disciples go wherever i go/
don't confuse for me Black Disciple, i push the 5 though/
Last Supper of the night, Red LoBster/
the devil is lie, i'm an angel in this Prada eating angel hair pasta/
American Shotta... Waco, Texas Rasta/
Ballin' like a nigga on the Houston Texans roster/
this shit designer, hip-hop Balenciaga... rap Givenchy/
But i'm MK forever, nigga... Mixtape Killa, nigga/
Lil' Mike on the mic, Mixtape Thriller, nigga/
Jesus had to Be Black, that's how they treat a nigga/
i'm tryna tell them i'm God's Gift, they don't Believe a nigga/
eyes Bleeding, i'm down to die for what i Believe in nigga/
hair like wool, Big Beard... Black Jesus, nigga

hair like wool, Big Beard... Black Jesus/
homie asked me "do you pray to God or do you pray to Jesus?"/
i pray to God in the name of Jesus/
you don't play with God & you don't play with Jesus/
the devil's deceiving, you can't Believe him/
25 [mixtapes] in 4 quarters, ain't take a Breather/
my fans & my haters seated in the same Bleachers/
But it ain't Beef until you see us shooting up Caprices/
hair like wool, Big Beard... Black Jesus/
young Black genius, all year is tax season/
my New Year's Resolution, 100 racks even by the summer/
all i gotta do is stack, it's that easy/
Black Jesus, niggas threw me in the cross/
quit every joB i ever had, always knew i'd Be a Boss/
tatted up with that Big Beard, call me Wiz Ross/
wifey looking like a mixed, long hair Amber Rose/
fashion pros, never catch us wearing average clothes/
praying, smoking on that Mother Mary from the Motherland/
riding clean through the hood... Black preacher, n!gga/
hair like wool, Big Beard... Black Jesus, n!gga

hair like wool, Big Beard... Black Jesus/
chinchilla dreads, i only wash my shit with rain water/
can't wash them when i'm down in Southern California/
wifey flawless like "what if God had a daughter?"/
the loud smoke followed By the Black & Mild smoke/
these niggas shit Be sounding like some shit my child wrote/
still married to the game, it's time to review my vows now/
still Mr.106 in my town, shoutout to Bow Wow/
nigga used to travel with the Bible on the dashboard/
riding around trapping with the Bible on my lap now/
lapping them like Nascar, ain't tryna pull the race card,/
But won't Be satisfied until i'm maxing out a Black card/
flashBack to 2nd verse, i said it on the last part/
all a nigga gotta do is stack hard, it ain't that hard/
& when you're this hard, you ain't gotta act hard/
God's child, Black Jesus, young rap god/
lowercase g on that God/
for what it's worth, i'm Ballin' like Jesus Shuttlesworth
Track Name: CAM THE PROJECT Grafted In ¤ GUILDWORKS iABRAHAM - What If God Was Found Here? - The Common Man - Cam the Project
the COMMON MAN
Cam theProject

Get ur money, skip a broad it's what the streets told us/ middle finger to there faces when u see the rollers/ a funny message in the music but we still endors it/ ppl rap about crap that rlly ain't important/ nice cars nice clothes realistate in different spots alternating timezones/ really ain't a limit to the things that u own/ if u want it u can buy it ur a king on a throne/ but who can relate if ur so above average?/ how can I feel ya if my life isn't lavish?/ I'm starving I'm famished, trynna feed my family/ I work hard five days a week ya understand me??/ how can he if he the one who sets the standard?/ how ya match what these rappers have a established?/ sell ur independance just the roll with the gimmicks/ the American dream, money power and women/ 

don't mind me I'm just outloud thinkin/ it seems the common man is on the brink of extinction/ we don't pay attention to the garbage we speaking/ and those we call fans it's amazing how we treat them/ Suddenly humilitys a thing of the past/ how u on this Jesus hype bruh? That stuff ain't fenna last/ u wanna be heard ya better tighten up ya swag/ lyin is the future get with the program/ but me Ima waiter and my wife work in realistate/ rap is what I do tho, I seized the opportunity/ trynna make a living off this gift I was given/ by provoking peoples thought in the way we make decisions/ outlook on life im suggestin somethin different/ lookin outside yaself and u can see the bigger picture/ 1080p that's the highest definition/ next to LED put dimension on ya vision/ 

women want security, men just want the glory/ the power and respect and they'll do anything for it/ abandon our values forsaking our morals/ to gain a greater status man we hear the same story/ the game need change but nobodys trynna change it/ man these rappers just readin off the same script/ so what exactly are these artists really changing?/ yo these artists aren't rlly trynna change zip/ I remain a commoner, i come from the bottom/ in or out the studio, I remain solid/ I love my wife, I love my brothers/ need anything for me I'd do anything for em/ authenticity is way more important/ than puttin on an act trynna fit a category/ but this business is just one huge fad/ lyin is the future get with the program/
Track Name: SAZ ¤ GUILDWORKS iABRAHAM - What If God Was Found Here? - Min Youm - SAZ
MIN YOUM – SINCE THAT DAY SAMEH SAZ ZAHKOUT

They say that Ramle's people are lost,
Walking in the street aimlessly - drug sellers!
Kneelers to violence
Still breast-fed by their mums
Never giving a damn to anybody else's say.
An dreadful future is for him - awaiting

If you reach the age of 30 - You'll be exceptionally lucky
Since youngsters my age, have already been orphaned for years.
What!? From a government's bullets? No - It's our brothers' bullets who constantly provoke and hassle me throughout my life

Ramle's people are unaware of their own origins/roots
Am walking by walking by – walking towards my end
Am walking by, walking by – leaving everyone behind

Yo people, wake up! why are you buttoned up?
The solution never comes - with the years going by – Or Time ain’t never gonna heal us
We're standing-still, close mouthed and ignoring what's around us
Instead of blaming ourselves
We blame everybody else
hey man,
A ramlewee film starts before - ACTION
Our youngsters slaughter each other and the government is ever indifferent and careless


Saz didn’t come for posing
I came to save ramla from worse), and bring a flourishing period in
A lot of dreams have gone wasted in this town. What a pity!
All plants have shrunk down, All the people 've lost the touch
The touch that touched us all - god bless us and save us
And us? Well, we've already forgotten that we rot like a fig,

Once, Ramle always used to be number one,
Today, we thank God, if they even mentioned us
They totally ignore us! Leave us!
Throw us to the sea! Drown us!
Hey bro, when will they save us? Will they really?
Number 15 is not a lottery number.
It's every drug dealer's number - and his motto -
His life story and his beginning
How he started selling drugs, and now brought trouble to his family
A trouble that echoes the sound of “Ratat” (the sound of an M16 pistol)
Just ‘cos of a misunderstanding - he found his grave.


Everything people say about us is a big tell-tales,
They say that we're animals,
Living like lions in the jungle,
Who’s dead? What the hell?
A youngster’s just crossed the red line?
Every line you cross - you pay with your life
Watch out! The enemy is stepping on your shadow
It feels bad- I Don’t envy you!
‘Cos however hard you try to walk - you remain standing still.
24 hours fearing getting shot,
Fearing to see your end before your beginning,
Fearing to see all your friends putting a rose on your grave,
Amir, you were a prince all your life,
And now, in heaven, you've become God’s prisoner,
I always ask - when is this situation gonna change?!
Could we choose when? Or will it be imposed upon us?
The sound of the churches' bells and mosque's prayers - don’t denote any happy occasions
Instead, they symbolise every heartbroken Arab mother.

Chorus
¬
Yo flesh and blood brothers -
The situation’s getting worse,
It's really sad what's happening here,
We're patient, but the burden's getting heavier,
Poor thing, I swear it's pitiful!
We got no one- but mighty God.
Since that day – I’ve realised what's life about.
The situation ain’t changing

- Sameh SAZ Zakout
Track Name: CHANNEL VAN GOGH ¤ GUILDWORKS iABRAHAM - What If God Was Found Here? - Sounds of a Dreamer - Channel Van Gogh
SOUNDS OF A DREAMER
Channel Van Gogh

I could’ve died in my mothers womb
They were screaming abortion
I’m glad she blocked out all that
Noise to my great fortune
I was predestined for the struggle
An ace off in my hood all I learned
To do was hustle
From the crevice of the ghetto
The Lord had a plan
On that Eminem and Dido
He let my dreams Stan(d)
Fight through this cold (cole) world
But this ain’t like Jermaine
But its more like my setbacks
Trials and my pain
This the sounds of a dreamer
Voice for the hopeless
Hoping that the blind will stumble
And take notice
Of a dead man rapping from
The bottom of his soul
And the Words from a savior that
Could never grow cold
I was 18 years old with
A pad and a dream
Now I’m 28 still recruiting for
My team
I’m a fiend for the scripture
Rejoicing in His Words
They gas up my feet
I rejoice at His verbs

(chorus)
This the sound of a dreamer
Sound of a dreamer
Sound of the noise from a
Crowded arena screaming aaayyy
We just lift His Name high aaayyy
We just lift His Name
(repeat)

I’m hearing voices in my head
Told me quit rhyming
But I live and breath music
It’s in God’s timing
Dropped Dare 2 Be Great
That album was classic
Then I dropped Rocky and
They seemed to look past it
Brilliant lyrics beautiful pain
Immutable struggle its deep
In my veins
I’m calling His name
I’m feeling weak
And this music thing is
Looking real bleak
But they kept hitting me
On the text
Channel what’s next
Then I started seeing all the people
That God had blessed
Through my tablet my
Passion for His Glory
A sweet smelling sound bout
My savior and His story
This that life music lyrical Louie V
High end rhymes
I display em for the world to see
What you jamming
That Jesus music
And I dream they love His
Words more than I do

(chorus)

Jesus greatest name I ever heard
Put it on my life I’m infatuated with His Words
March to His drums dance to His sacrifice
While we were screaming murder
He was giving us life
It’s pumping in my veins
(do) you know what His blood bought
every single sin we ever made was
with Him at the Cross
the pain and affliction
the muscle in His mission
when I’m weak and can’t see it
then His voice gives me vision haaa
who gone stop me haaa
that’s what hova said but the true
Jehovah will still be here when
Me and hova dead
In fact I’m feeling like I’m Kanye West
Got a few choice words gotta get em
Off my chest haaa
I watch the throne its lovely ain’t it
And Christ is on it that’s how I paint it
This world is hostile real hostile
When you see us in your hood
We came to crash the Gospel

(chorus)

It's the sounds of my dreams