Hazakim

Hazakim, (pronounced ha-zah-keem),[1] is a Christian hip hop duo originally from Columbus, Ohio. The group consists of brothers Michael "Mike" Wray and Anthony "Tony" Wray. Hazakim is known for hip hop music that is uniquely Messianic; even rapping and singing in Hebrew, at times, over beats with traditional Mizrahi rhythms. The name Hazakim is a Hebrew word, meaning in English "the strong ones".[2]

Hazakim
Background information
OriginColumbus, Ohio
GenresChristian hip hop, Urban contemporary gospel
Years active1997 (1997)–present
LabelsLamp Mode, Wrath & Grace
MembersAnthony "Tony" Wray
Michael "Mike" Wray

Early life

Michael "Mike" Wray, the eldest born, and Anthony "Tony" Wray, the youngest born [3] were brought up in the messianic Jewish movement by their parents.[4] They come from a multi-ethnic family consisting of Portuguese, Jewish, Jamaican, Italian, and Amazigh ancestry.[5]

In episode of The Chopping Block (a Lampmode Records YouTube series), Michael stated that he began listening to Christian Hip Hop in 1986, with Stephen Wiley's "Bible Break". However, he never intended to become a hip hop artist, until upon hearing The Cross Movement's album "Heaven's Mentality"

Music career

Hazakim started making music in 1997.[4] Their first release in 1999 was an independent self-titled EP [6] with three songs, most notably "Liar, Lunatic, Lord, Or Legend" which is the only song from the EP on streaming services. In 2003, the duo came back with another independent EP, "Theophanies EP".[7]

In 2001 they released their first full-length album, also an independent effort aptly titled Hip-Hologetics due to its fusion of rap music and biblical apologetics.[8] They became signed to Lamp Mode Recordings prior to their 2009 release, Theophanies.[9] Their sophomore release under Lamp Mode entitled Son of Man was released on September 23, 2014; the eve of Rosh Hashanah in light of the album's eschatological focus.[10][11] This exposure helped the duo crack the Billboard charts, twice.[12]

In January 2016 the brothers released a music video for a single entitled "Don't Forget the Ayin" which was shot on location in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Israel. According to the duo, the song was created to help "remove the stigma" surrounding Yeshua among Israelis, in what they call "the Jewish reclamation of Jesus." [13]

In December 2018 it was announced that Hazakim was set to release another album titled Origins, though no release date had been given.[14] On February 1, 2019, they released Origins on Wrath and Grace Records, a burgeoning Christian hip-hop label.[15] Reviews of the album were overwhelmingly positive; with some stating that Origins is the duo's best release to date, while others have compared its impact to their earlier Theophanies. The focus of Origins is to provide an argument or defense of biblical creationism and intelligent design.[16] Origins includes production from Hazakim, as well as contributions from composer John Campbell, as well as hip-hop producers SPEC, Sean Rocktight Jones (Walter Rocktight) and Devin Morrison.

In addition to vocals, Mike and Tony do the majority of their own production. The brothers now reside in Broward County, Florida where they are both married with children.

Members
  • Michael Wray
  • Anthony (Tony) Wray

Discography

Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
Chr		 US
Gos
Theophanies[9] – –
Son of Man[10] 40[12] 10[12]
Origins[15]

References
  1. Engle, Jaimie M. (September 9, 2009). "HAZAKIM: the Story of Anthony & Michael Wray". Evangelicals for Social Action. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  2. "Hazakim homepage". Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  3. David Daniel. "Messianic Jew Dodges Death". Washington Times. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  4. Lamp Mode Recordings. "Hazakim Artist Profile". Lamp Mode Recordings. Archived from the original on February 9, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  5. David Daniels. "Multicultural Jewish Emcees End 5 Year Hiatus". David Daniels. Rapzilla. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  6. "Hazakim EP on Discogs". discogs.com. 1999. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
  7. "Hazakim Discography on HHHDB". hhhdb.com.
  8. "The Holy Hip Hop DataBASE - The ultimate online Christian Hiphop resource". www.hhhdb.com. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  9. New Release Tuesday (June 23, 2009). "Theophanies". New Release Tuesday. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  10. New Release Tuesday (September 23, 2014). "Son of Man". New Release Tuesday. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  11. Messianic Times. "Son of Man Released by Hazakim". Messianic Times. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  12. "Artist Index: October 11, 2014" (PDF). Billboard. October 11, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  13. David Daniels. "Video: Hazakim - Don't Forget the Ayin ft. J. Williams". David Daniels. Rapzilla. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  14. "Hazakim to Release New Album 'Origins'". Rapzilla. 2018-12-24. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  15. "Hazakim Ends 5-Year Hiatus with 'Son of Man,' Challenges Christian Hip Hop". Rapzilla. 2014-09-25. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  16. "Hazakim Drops 'Origins' After 5-Year Hiatus From Music". Rapzilla. 2019-02-06. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
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