Elpidia Medina
I Quit My Job, Left The Label & Trusted God
Corey Paul
To tha young kings and young queens:
I wanted to catch you up on everything that’s been going on in my life! It’s been a while since the drop of Today, Tomorrow, Forever and I’m ready to unleash something new. I’m fully independent now, which is super exciting. I left Collision Records and am ready to pound the pavement on my own.
I learned a lot and was grateful for the opportunity to be a part of a label that helps push the culture further artistically and still authentically stand for Jesus. Nothing negative to say about Collision, the overall experience was invaluable. But now it’s back to the indie grind. It’s still Frontline! I’m an artist who enjoys the business side of the game, so my focus is on continuing to build our team, making good music and being consistent.
And leaving Collision is not the only change I’ve made. Many people don’t know this, but up until June of this year, I was a firefighter for the Houston Fire Department. I had that heat for real! I found out about firefighting when I was in high school and I always wanted to do something with my life that made a difference I could see. I wanted to serve my community the best way I could and I felt like being a firefighter could do that. It’s one of the most rewarding, exciting and depressing careers there is. You realize how much pain, hurt, death and destruction there is in this world. Every day, someone is sick or a home catches fire or someone gets shot.
I’ve pulled up on scene and it’s literally the worst day of someone’s life. As a Christian, we are supposed to empathize and sympathize with those in pain. When you really do that… it changes you forever. One of my first calls was a little baby who wasn’t breathing. I remember doing CPR on the way to the hospital praying God would save him. We couldn’t save him, though. God took him. I remember seeing him lifeless on the bed in the hospital thinking, this is the effects of sin in this world. This is what the effects of sin look like. It hit me in the chest. I also remember the first time we found a person not breathing with no pulse, did CPR and got ‘em back. The feeling inside can’t be put into words. You really get to see first hand that what you do matters!
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We really have the ability to make a change in this world. My experience as a firefighter will live with me for the rest of my life, but I feel The Lord is calling me to fight full time in what I’m known best for, music and ministry. So in June I left the department and now my full focus is on creating music, art and content that shows the world there is hope in Jesus. Right here, right now.
That means new music. God has blessed me to have the best fans, who are really my family, in tha world! So that’s why I’ve taken a lot of time and put a lot of thought into my next album. I genuinely wanted to give them the best me. And I will. My album is done and the first single is called “Pipe Dreams.” Coming from where I’m from, anything other than a “regular job” is called a Pipe Dream, which basically means it’s unobtainable. As a believer, I know we have to fight for our dreams and have faith. "Pipe Dreams" paints a picture of the mindset of a 15-year-old Corey and all my lil cousins and homies still struggling to turn their Pipe Dreams into reality. "Pipe Dreams" is dropping July 21.
With all of this, there’s one more project I’m going to be working on: this website, Kick The Concrete. Behind all true art is heart. Too often we get the art but we don’t understand the heart behind creating it. Hip hop is known for its hard exterior and has a reputation for being rough and rugged, but there is a reason for it. Whether you love a song or hate it, think it’s positive or negative in your eye, it’s a reason behind it. From the unapologetic Christian artist to the most hardcore gangster rapper, they both have a story. We just have to Kick The Concrete. Everybody knows the cars, jewelry and stunting of hip hop. But what's behind it? We know what rappers say on a song, but what would they say to you in a one-on-one conversation? No more “click bait” and third person stories. Hear it straight from the source.
Beyond that, I really genuinely care about connecting with any and everybody who rock with me, so I’m finding better ways to connect. We just creating good music with a message and taking it as far as we can. We hitting the road heavy this year, we not following any “rules.” We might pull up and do a show at ya momma house! I want you to really hit my line and connect. My number is 281-205-0565.
Stay tuned for more solid content, join my Patreon page and check out “Pipe Dreams” now !
