About Me
Born and raised on Chicago's westside, Jermaine Richardson (a.k.a Murj HOSS) began rapping in 1991. He met up with childhood friend Calvin Thomas (a.k.a Liffy Stokes) and started the group, The Mighty Trifurcate. From there they began entering local talent shows and performed in several hip-hop showcases. It was by word of mouth through a mutual friend that the, "Mighty Trif" was introduced to Chicago's Tung Twista. In 1993, The Mighty Trif would join Twista and become a part of The Speedknots, (now known as The Speedknot Mobsters) and began working with him. After months of working on new material, Jermaine began to feel a change in his heart and no longer desired making the kind of music he had been doing for years. So after long a period of contemplation, in 1995, Jermaine decided to leave the group and make material that expressed his newfound disposition.During this transition period, Jermaine began attending church and started getting a hunger for God's Word. He started to understand the sudden change in his heart and realized that God had a call on his life. In early 1996, after being introduced by a close and mutual friend to producer Jonathan "J.B."Whitaker, Jermaine started working with the producer affiliated with Chicago's CWAL Records(Twista, Do or Die, The Legendary Trakster). It was from there he had become part of Chicago's infamous, "Shyster Coalition". He began to shop for a deal with CWAL but God intervined. God spoke to Jermaine and told him not to continue with what he thought was his destiny, and to use his gift to save those who were just like him. Jermaine then left his longtime friend and producer to do just that.It was from that point when a prolific emcee named Murj HOSS was lead to glorify God and exalt Him with his gift. He began performing in the underground Holy Hip-Hop scene and opening up for artists such as, Darius Brooks and New Direction and has shared the stage with other local artists. He quickly captivated the world of rap with his street-inspired gospel lyrics. Jermaine realized that there is a viable alternative to secular hip-hop and amid a growing crescendo; Jermaine was setting his sights on the globe.In 2003, Jermaine performed at the Holy Hip-Hop Conference and made some noise in the music industry as 1/2 of the Chi-Town two-man collective,T.E.V.(Treasures in Earthen Vessels). He blessed the airwaves with singles that included, "Turn Your Life Around", "Crazy Praise" and "Holy Ghost Party" from his EP/Demo, "The Road Less Traveled". Thankfully, the introductory installment of, "The HOSStyle Takeover mixtape series,"City Under Siege", has supplied admirers a much needed fix as he prepares for his 2007 solo debut.Nevertheless, this rapper/songwriter/producer sets a new precedent for Holy Hip-Hop and succeeds in providing the audience with healthy gospel that feed the spirit man, as well as stimulates the soul. He gracefully combines hip-hop and scripture which helps Murj HOSS create a breath of fresh air for the industry.
