In the wake of his first album, Canadian rapper Phaino has big plans for the future.
Phaino has been steadily gaining traction over the past couple years, culminating in the recent release of his debut album, ‘The Motive’.
FiveTwenty’s own Nate Shelton recently had the opportunity to speak with the rising artist about his journey as a man and as an artist. And indeed, the rapper has quite the story, on both a personal and musical level!
“I have always been influenced by hip-hop because it started as being the voice of the people. So that inspired me to make music. But I got saved about three years ago so, when that happened I just decided to make music for God!”
Phaino went on to elaborate on how he became a believer.
“I grew up Catholic, but I never agreed with their teachings. I always believed in Jesus, but never their teachings! Ultimately, there was a couple of people who started just preaching the Gospel to me and I just found so much peace and joy knowing that I was being guided in the right direction!”
The change may have been gradual at first, but there was definitely a clear critical turning point in the artist’s spiritual journey.
“I had a near-death experience in a car accident. That led me to think, ‘where would I have been right now if I died?’ And I knew it was Hell! So, I asked my same friends, ‘how do you get saved?’ and they led me to Christ.”
So, what does Phaino hope for his listeners to get from his music?
“I always said I make music for people who feel hopeless, hurt, and to ultimately encourage people! Really praying that God uses my music to either encourage believers or to reach out to the lost souls.”
“Phaino” is a pretty ear-catching artist name. We had to ask, where did he get it from?
“Phaino” is actually an ancient Greek word that was found in the New Testament manuscripts. It’s translated ‘come forth into the light’ or ‘to shed light’!
The rapper mentioned that on his next project, he intends to be more personal, then went on to share more details of what we have to look forward to from him.
“I’m currently working on more music now for my second project that I plan to release either late this year or early next year.”
“In terms of shows, I got about a handful of shows here in Toronto, and I got one in Cali on June 28th!”
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Find ‘The Motive’ on your favorite music streaming service or online store today, and connect with Phaino on Twitter @Phxino!
