The Recruiter

At first listen, his songs sound much like anything you'd hear on popular rap radio — bangin' trap beats, thundering bass, hard-hitting and aggressive lyrical flow. Tune into what he's saying, though, and the message may catch you by surprise. He stalks the pavement spitting, "Christ all in my vein," holding out his right arm.

King David, 37, grew up on the outskirts of Chicago. "I started gangbanging at 11 years old," says the real-life David Taylor. "That was my dream as a kid — to be a big-time dope dealer." He had his first spiritual encounter while reading from the book of Deuteronomy with a cousin at the age of 17. "From that day on, things just started happening," he explains. "I became paranoid."

The particular passage they read discusses curses that shall befall those who turn their back upon the Lord, and King David felt a strong connection. "I had a lot of enemies," he says grimly. "I used to do a lot of dirt, and people really wanted to kill me. I come from war." It took many more years and signs for King David to evolve into his role as a Christian rapper. Despite an initial surrender to God, he found himself face-to-face with his demons again several times. He spent six years incarcerated in Minnesota for attempted murder. He's been out for two years. "My heart was darkened for a minute, and then the light bulb went back on," King David says. While in prison he began writing songs again, yearning to turn his life in a positive direction. Today, King David sees himself as something of a street minister, confident his experiences told through rapping will reach young people trapped in similar cycles of violence. - SARAH STANLEY-AYRE