CoCo Brother, a nationally renowned radio deejay and a decorated lieutenant in God’s spiritual army, possesses an uncanny ability to draw the hip-hop generation to Christ.
CoCo Brother can reach the most hardened hip-hop heads because he was one of them. He can touch heart of the world-weariest superstar because, as a former Army brat, he traveled the world before he even reached puberty. And he can inspire the lost souls back on the block because that used to be his stomping grounds.
In a nation quick to condemn young urbanites, CoCo Brother reaches out to them with nonjudgmental eyes that soothe and divinely inspired words that feed the soul. He comes with a familiar street vibe, but with a radically different message, and that is the Word of God.“I come from a hip-hop perspective, the radio and the music aspect of it. I understand a lot of people who come from that genre and lifestyle. As opposed to people who have been raised in church all their lives. It’s reaching people where they are,” he says. “We meet them right where they are. [A] woman caller said, ‘You know what I like about your show? There’s no condemnation. There’s only love coming through the speakers.’ ”
Born Cory Condrey on an Army installation in Germany, CoCo Brother is like a father figure to millions of young people and others through his two radio shows and as the host of BET’s “Lift Every Voice.” Nationally syndicated in most major markets, CoCo Brother can be heard weekly from 7 to 11 pm on the “Coco Brother Live” show, then on for two more hours on the weekend through “The Spirit” show.
Whatever forum he chooses to be in, including his current album Coco Brother Live, which features his wife, internationally recognized gospel singer Joann Rosario Condrey, the radio personality has been extraordinarily effective in reaching people of all ages.
“I believe that where people come from that’s where they can speak from and do so from a great perspective. I remember when I was in the clubs, drinking and smoking weed and wilding out and fornicating. I just thank God for grace. And I thank God for the people who prayed for me,” he says.
“The Bible talks about ‘Train a child in the ways it should go and they won’t deviate from that.’ [At the time], I just wanted to experience was what was out there. And I did my dirt and I thank God for mercy and that He accepted me and He loved me. And there were people out there who was with me as well,” he says. –terry shropshire
