Dex the Nerd Who Loves Jesus: The name came from me wanting to focus on the message and theme of worshiping the Lord, while being myself and enjoying my hobbies. I also wanted any supporters or publications to see my love for Christ and passion for the gospel message. I really didn't want anyone to get things confused as to whether I am a Christian hip-hop artist or not. It is my desire that God get the glory in and through everything I do. I really take pride in the name, not to mention how many people have gravitated toward the music because of it as people are looking for the two genres.

Dex: Man ... I love video games. MMORPGs, comics, sci-fi, and anime! Most importantly, I love finding creative ways to use them in my tracks while glorifying the Lord. But I have always been a gamer; it really helped me growing up in Detroit staying off the streets. I had several friends I grew up with that ended up being locked up or losing their lives to violence. Staying home playing Super Nintendo kept me away from a lot of those things. Praise God the princess was in another Castle! lol.

Dex: Growing up, I would spend my summer vacations visiting my family from the east coast and my cousin was a big hip-hop head. He loved collecting CDs and vinyl. While I was there, they didn't have any video games, lol, so I would draw the album covers like Liquid Swords, Outkast, Gangstarr while listening to them. I was being introduced to a whole new world of music at 14 compared to my friends back home enjoying Master P. I would come back and rap verses from Guru or KRS-One and that started it for me.

Dex: One thing I always really enjoyed about music was the depth that was put into the instrumental production. Finding that sample and understanding where it came from always intrigued me. I brought this into my style and sought to craft my lyrics with more care. I studied and then sought to apply what I learned into my music. It was always cool to listen to a hip-hop track and know where that sample came from. I listen to a lot of old school soul 70s gospel music because of my mom and pops. So, when I heard those samples in hip-hop tracks, it added a new twist to reminiscing about good times with the family. As a result, I've always wanted to recreate and capture that moment and generate "feel good" music. When I became a Christian, and dedicated my craft to the Lord, it just made things easier.

Dex: I would say it plays a very important role. Many times, before I even write, I will take the time to study and invite the producer into this process of study with me. I focus on keeping scripture passages as the main focal point, and I am always pointing toward sound doctrine that would help get the message across. The key is always the intent and not the numbers, but planting a seed while making sure God gets all the glory.

Dex: The primary focus of "Light Reborn" was walking by faith, trusting God, being obedient, and not leaning on our own understanding. I wanted to make something catchy but serious to help us stay on that path. If you notice I'm predominantly singing more on this song and that was because my wife challenged me to step outside my comfort zone. I believe it worked out well and I will be doing that more often. Arlo Blue did a great job on the production, and it really helped push me creatively.

Dex: Joe Bragg designed the cover art. I basically told him I wanted to show the struggles we face while staying on a straight and narrow path focused on our guide, Christ. Most importantly, not to look behind us because the enemy creates distractions to throw us off. The enemy wants us to focus on our past which God has forgiven, Jesus dealt with that on the cross. That monster behind my character represents the sin that seeks to taunt me. Also, If you look really closely, there is something for my Zelda fans lol. The fairy Navi is the blue Light which is guiding my character on that path.

Dex: Many times, I start off with a prayer and focus on scripture or sermons around the key topic to help me hone in on the importance of the message. A nice quiet place is certainly important, but it's more about relying on the Holy Spirit and utilizing the gifts God has blessed me with. I want to be a good steward and display His love through penmanship. It's also an outlet to share my testimony and to evangelize to others while doing something I love.

Dex: I would describe the Christian hip-hop scene as a beautiful struggle. Before getting into Christian hip-hop, I worked closely in the music industry and was experiencing some success. When I started making music for the Lord, my intent was less focused on success, and more focused on fellowship, and find opportunities to share the word through collaborating with my brothers and sisters in Christ. The more I dove in, the more I noticed the industry that I left was being used to help catapult many other careers as they were focusing on numbers, playlists, clout, and not the message. I feel a lot of artists are rapping about things they aren't living or experiencing but are just making Christian hip-hop a genre that they can use to help their passion for music and not Christ. I would love to see more of us come together and produce more opportunities to fellowship and not try to mirror what the industry does for numbers.

Dex: Patience, faith, letting go and letting God handle what's out of my control. Over the years, and being really active behind the scenes in the music industry and being a creative director, my plan was to come up with a lot of ideas and push things forward. Now, I have had to learn that a lot of things are out of my hands and the primary focus and attention is not necessarily always reaching a mass group of people, but just being obedient to what God called us to do and honoring Him. Instead of feeling the need to drop a hot song and think that it is going to do well, my focus is less on the numbers and more on the potential fruit of those who hear it. The numbers could be really low, but out of those low numbers, my prayer is that the right person hears it, and it really made an impact on them which caused that individual to pour into others. It is my desire to help and lead people to their true purpose. This is what it's all about.

Dex: Currently, I'm working on my full-length album with my producer Arlo Blue, which is a blessing! Arlo and I really click and have a lot in common when it comes to gaming and wanting to push the gospel message with our music. This project will also have a young adult Christian novel written by Chris LoParco which helps add to the content as well. I'm also excited about collaborating with Joe Bragg of Meek Heroes on a Christian themed board game he designed that's in stores now, called Meek Heroes: Victory.

Dex: Everything lol, but I really miss how things were more authentic and required people coming together for gaming. Couch co-op was the best, no online gamer tags or headsets needed. There was nothing like hanging out with friends, gaming, then rushing home before the streetlights came on!

Dex: I really appreciate your time, and praise God for the opportunity. For any updates, check my website out at www.dexlovesjesus.com Stay tuned!!