A Birmingham resident, Short-Tee has gone from a mainstream rapper who has opened for artists such as the 69 Boyz and Three Six Mafia to a born again Christian looking to bring young people to Christ. And he hopes the music festival will do just that.

Although rap music is often perceived as negative, Short-Tee said he has no problem making it into something that can help spread his message.

"If you go back to the begin­nings of hip-hop music, it was all about fun and who had the hottest rhymes," he said. "It wasn't about putting a bunch of negative images out there. I use it as a learn­ing tool to show people how God changed me."

Short-Tee came from a single-parent home and grew up in an en­vironment where he witnessed drug abuse and gang violence. He escaped by joining the armed forces, first serving in Operation Desert Storm with the United States Navy, and later in Opera­tion Enduring Freedom with the United States Army. While on ac­tive duty, he worked as chaplain and ministered through gospel hip hop music.

Short-Tee said he can relate to young people who are struggling with turmoil in their lives though his music. However, he admits that it isn't always easy to get that point across to churches.

"It's a challenge," he said. "When you present the idea of a hip-hop show at their church and tell them it's of God, you'll get a lot of people telling you that it's not."

Short-Tee typically counters with letters from some of the churches and people he's worked with. He's opened for Christian artists such as Kirk Franklin, He­zekiah Walker, Big Daddy Weave and performed at several churches in the state.

When Short-Tee gets his foot in the door, he said his music takes over.

"Once they see the gift, they say their church hasn't ever been af­fected like that before," he boasted.

True Divine is hoping for the same when Short-Tee comes to Krunk Fest.

"We just want to show that Christianity is not old and dull," said Sonya Satterfield, one of the organizers of the event.

The Rev. Steven Huntley, pas­tor at True Divine, said the church, like many in the area, is looking to attract youth by chang­ing their views on being a Chris­tian.

"We're having a krunk fest and showing you can get 'krunk' for Christ," he said. "It doesn't have to be uncool to be a Christian."

The key is to get the youth in­volved as much as possible, Short-Tee said.

"You have plenty of options whether it be hip hop, dance and praise teams, outreach ministries or whatever they're interested in," he said. "You got to keep them fo­cused and get them krunk and jumping around, but you want them to do it in a Godly way."