Michael Fugitt
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Michael Fugitt

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"Hip-Hop artist puts his faith out front"


Christian hip-hop artist Michael Fugitt of Sioux Falls has shared the stage with such bands as Switchfoot, Kutless, Skillet and Audio Adrenaline. And he has performed at the mammoth LifeLight Christian music festival in Sioux Falls.

He'll be in much more intimate venues when he comes to Rapid City at the end of the month - Alternative Fuel Coffee House and Destiny Foursquare Church - but his songs are largely based in poetry and will translate well before the smaller crowds.

"I like the intimacy with the crowd. I like to be able to connect. It works well in those settings," Fugitt said.


"Even at the coffeehouse, I try to have everybody up on their feet," he said.

Poetry led Fugitt, who initially didn't like hip-hop, into music. While living in Grand Rapids, Mich., he was a member of Union, touring with more than 100 shows per year, including a performance at Lifelight.

Eventually, his poems turned into songs, and surprisingly even to him, hip-hop was the mode of expression.

But even now, Fugitt chafes the hip-hop label.

"A lot of times, I think of myself as a rock artist that writes hip-hop music," he said.

He prefers to leave the labels to others. "Even within Christian hip-hop, there are subgenres. I just want it to be what other people want it to be. Really what I want to do is write what's on my heart and hope that connects with others."

One listen to his seven-track EP, "When the Stars Fade," makes what is on Fugitt's very apparent. His expression of his belief in Jesus Christ is unabashed. So far, he said, he has received no criticism for being so out-front with his faith.

As a believer, I'm not out to say "you're wrong; I'm better than you.' I'm not out to be offended by every little thing, " he said.

Now, he's diving back into the music he stepped away from for a time after moving from Grand Rapids to Sioux Falls in 2005.

He'll be performing solo for the second consecutive year at LifeLifght, and he has his eye on Rapid City's Hills Alive for next year.

Till then, people might want to catch him up close in one of the smaller rooms he'll be playing.

Check out his MySpace at htttp://www.myspace.com/michaelfugitt

Contact Eric Lochridge at 394.8321 or e-mail ericlochridge@rapidcityjournal.com
- Rapid City Journal


Discography

"UN1ON Extended Play" 2004
"When the Stars Fade" 2007

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Bio

Although a new name in the music scene, Michael Fugitt is no stranger to the road. He spent 2001-2005 touring with the group UN1ON, and accumulated over 100 shows a year across the United States. Touring with John Reuben as well as sharing the stage with names such as Switchfoot, Audio Adrenaline, Kutless, Barlow Girl, Skillet, and many others, Michael has had the opportunity to gain a well-rounded taste for the Christian music scene.

Born and raised in Grand Rapids, MI, he now resides in Sioux Falls, SD participating in various gospel works. Musically, Michael Fugitt offers everything from energetic hip-hop, to slow emotion driven songs such as, “Moments Like These” which is the type of music people normally listen to when they are in the mood for something other than hip-hop. This song is featured on his new release and is effective in illuminated those bittersweet moments brought into being during lifes tragic times.

Looking towards the future, Michael is currently in the studio working on his second solo project likely to be released late 2009. Stay tuned to your local CHR station as his single will be pushed to radio nationwide.