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Happening ... in the Local Church
 Jeffrey
Dufresne is a theology major at Marian University in Indianapolis and a
Lifeteen music minister at St. Louis de Montfort Church in
Fishers. “Wherever people have ears, I would love for them to hear the
message this music brings,” he says. (Photo provided) |
By Kevin Cullen
The
Catholic Moment
FISHERS — Hip-hop and the Gospel are what recording artist Jeffrey Dufresne is all about.
His approach is a bit out of the box, he says, but he likes it that way.
Dufresne, 20, a sophomore theology major at Marian University in Indianapolis, is a Lifeteen music minister at St. Louis de Montfort Church in Fishers. He performs at various venues on and off campus.
On April 10, at the church, he hosted a CD release concert for his first album, “I Give All.” Twenty percent of all sales went to Catholic Relief Services.
“The music on this album has come from the heart,” he said. “I write from my experience in the world as a Christian man. It all takes place for the glory of God.”
In a phone interview, the Dayton, Ohio, native described his compositions as “acoustic hip-hop.” They combine the Gospel with his first musical love, the acoustic guitar. His vocals are performed in the urban, hip-hop style.
Tell us about yourself and your love of songwriting and performing.
“I actually picked up the guitar in the eighth grade, when my sister was too busy to fully learn it. My dad got me lessons.
“The first song I wrote (‘He Feels Your Pain’), which is on the album, I wrote my freshman year for a friend who was struggling with depression … The positive response I got made me think. It got me going more into songwriting.
“Most of the songs are really expressions of the experiences I have had in my faith life, and how I experience Christ around me. The lyrics have come to me in prayer and reflection. That is what the heart of my music is. Right now, I am interning in youth ministry at St. Louis (de Montfort), and that is something, hopefully, that on the horizon I would love to do.”
People don’t normally use the words Gospel and hip hop in the same sentence. How did you decide to combine the two?
“It really is kind of a funny story. When I was in the eighth grade, all my friends were listening to rap music. I wanted to be cool and fit in and know what rap was all about.
“My mom, being a conscientious mother who wanted her son to be exposed to good influences, didn’t want me to have the experiences that I wanted, so at night I would turn on this subversive music and listen to the hip-hop station on the radio.
“I really got interested in the hip-hop beat and the way a lot of hip-hop artists twist the language and use it to convey a message; that was very interesting to me.
“In high school, I encountered Christian music for the first time, and Christian hip hop. That made a connection with me. The beat moves people and the words convey the message in a much more powerful way than in a way that tears people down. It’s positive and loving and something that brings change …
“(Listening to) Righteous B, a Catholic artist, really kind of helped me put rap and acoustic guitar together.
“As far as I’m aware, it is unique in that it is not something done in the mainstream, by artists with big record deals. It is being done mainly by independent artists, more of a grassroots thing.”
Tell us about recording the CD.
“The album was recorded over my Christmas break in San Antonio. I was down there for a week, doing my thing, then an engineer added drums, keyboards and extra instruments. I knew what 10 songs I wanted, but some weren’t fully written yet and the album title wasn’t decided yet.”
What about the title, “I Give All”?
“‘I Give All’ is a really mellow praise and worship song. I thought it really captured what I am doing with my music.
“The object of the Gospel is to give our lives to Christ, to give our lives to his mission, something the apostles exemplified when they left their nests to follow Christ in the Gospel. That image of the disciples leaving behind everything they had known to follow this itinerant Jewish preacher is something I wanted to capture with my own music.
What’s next for you, musically?
“As a music minister I want to focus on how I am putting my energy into ministry, making recordings and looking for opportunities to perform live.
“I just really want to expand and get this message out to as many people as possible, wherever it is welcome. When I’m 21, I would love to be sitting in a bar playing acoustic Gospel hip-hop.
“Wherever people have ears, I would love for them to hear the message this music brings. Often, Christian music, Catholic music is kept behind church doors, and some are intimidated to come into that church environment to hear it. What I feel called to do is to step outside, to step out of the box and say, ‘This is how I live and this is what I apply to my music.’ The message of love and justice that Christ delivers in the Gospel is something everyone can touch and grasp.”
• • •
Copies of “I Give All” are available for $10 by contacting Dufresne at 937-305-6477 or by visiting his Facebook artist page at http://www.jeffreydufresne.com.