Tico Hudson, aka Khul Rhema (pronounced 'kool ray-mah'), the founding member of the GRAMMY-nominated group Ziklag Boyz, has added maturity to his characteristic energetic crunk sound on his debut solo release What The World Needs Now (Powwerhouse Productions).
Tico Hudson, aka Khul Rhema (pronounced 'kool ray-mah'), the founding member of the GRAMMY-nominated group Ziklag Boyz, has added maturity to his characteristic energetic crunk sound on his debut solo release What The World Needs Now (Powwerhouse Productions).
With a rap moniker that literally means “keeper of the word” in ancient Aramaic, his goal is to maintain the same party feel he’s known for while including a thread of God’s greatest commandment—to love Him with all our heart, mind, and soul, and to love our neighbors as ourselves—throughout the entire project.
Ziklag Boyz—one of the originators of infusing the crunk sound into Holy Hip Hop—was also nominated for a Stellar Award in 2005 and has independently moved over 20,000 units internationally. As a result, Khul Rhema's fan base encompasses the globe as he has been called on to perform in most major U.S. cities and abroad in countries including Kenya, the Virgin Islands and Costa Rica.
Like most sold-out believers, God’s love is something that Tico is intimately acquainted with, but it wasn’t always that way. Through a series of events that included dealing drugs, death threats, gang affiliation, and homelessness—Tico eventually accepted that the power of God could change his life.
After encountering gospel rap for the first time, Tico’s initial negative reaction to the genre turned around when he realized that it was God's will that he get on the mic and use his gift of making music to represent the Kingdom of God. "This is what I want you to do," said the still, yet recognizable voice of God.
Tico set out to fulfill this great call of God on his life and founded the legendary Ziklag Boyz in late 2000 on the campus of World Changers Church International. Under Tico's leadership, Ziklag received love and admiration from believers and non-believers alike and was courted by the likes of Lil' Jon's independent label, BME Recordings, and Outkast's now defunct independent label, Aquemeni. Ziklag was also reportedly the first gospel rap group to gain regular rotation on a secular station.
Since Ziklag, Tico has worked diligently at developing his career as a producer. He won a Stellar Award in 2006 for his production work on The Sequel, the LP release by Lil' I Rocc (Authority/Whitaker) which earned two Stellar Awards, one of which was for 'Best Hip Hop/Rap Album of the Year.' Tico has also produced work for renowned superstar producer, Dallas Austin, (TLC, Michael Jackson, Outkast, Boys II Men, Mariah Carey, etc.), contributing to Dallas's first gospel endeavor, Darlene McCoy, remixing the hit single, "Fallen In Love," which originally gained much attention and fanfare on the soundtrack to the blockbuster Tyler Perry big screen debut, Diary of a Mad Black Woman. He has also worked with other artists such as Ghetto Mafia and EJ the Witchdoctor of the Dungeon Family.
After a much-needed sabbatical dating from mid- to late-2005, Tico received instruction from God to get back to the business of doing damage to Satan's stronghold in urban music and entertainment as a frontline 'souljah.' In 2006 he independently released The Incredible HudRock, an EP release chronicling his bout with betrayal and his own 'self-destructive' habits.
