It’s the moment that you’ve all been waiting for. Jacksonville rap star and undisputed heavyweight disciple of Christ, the man, the mission, the lightsaber himself…Desssss Thomas, standing in one corner of the ring. And in the other…his challenger, wearing a mask of fear and uncertainty, defeated countless times by countless men and women in countless places, he’s doubt and out in this bout…the Grrrrreat Void of Hope! Ladies and gentlemen, let’s get ready to rumble!
Ahem, let me compose myself. But to be sure, if this were a boxing match, I think it’s safe to say how it would end. Des has set out to bring the gospel to light through music and life, and with a highly creative mind to accompany his drive and passion he will do just that. A KO’s a’ comin to the Great Void!
I started to realize more and more that God saw me and loved me unconditionally the way I was, with my flaws and all.
By now many of you have already been acquainted with Des’ artistry, and if you haven’t, check out The Storeroom for his earlier articles. His latest creation, the music video for the song Chosen, is full-on sweetness to the soul and groove to the body. The cinematography, captured in Downtown Jacksonville and in the Riverside area, settles the viewer in, then the music serves it up fresh.
The intensity and pulse of Des’ rap offensive break apart at each refrain, as up-and-coming artist Lexi smoothes out the rough edges with a fountain of calming tones. Together, the two of them provide the audience with a nice mixture of tension and release, ebb and flow. Inhale. Exhale. You get the picture.
Chosen is unique, it has purpose…just like each one of us. The artist pours his heart out into each beat, a flowing stream from his real-life experience. This is what he had to say about the roots of Chosen—
“When I was younger, I had serious identity issues. I had no sense of direction on what my place in life was. These identity and insecurity issues—with not knowing who I was or who I was created to be—led me to look for answers that I could not find.
Along the way I found confusion, anger, trouble and depression. Then I ran into a decision I had to make. I had to make a choice whether to continue living the same hopeless life day to day or to give God a try and see what that was all about. I decided to give my life to Jesus and accept Him as Lord in my life. My life changed that very same day and has never been the same since.
God completely removed the pain and hopelessness I had been feeling. I started to realize more and more that God saw me and loved me unconditionally the way I was, with my flaws and all. He carefully thought about me before He created me and designed me to do something very important with my life.
He thought out each person’s existence and time of existence very carefully and carved out something very special for each person to do while here on Earth.
Then the more I searched God out looking for answers about life, the more God began to show me my purpose and my place in life. I then realized God wanted me to do something about the things I didn’t like about life. From there I started to see that my life had great meaning, and I ended up finding all the answers I was looking for about myself—my issues and why I even existed. I started to understand what life was all about and how to use my life to do what God created me to do.
God created each person that has ever existed with a unique design and purpose. He thought out each person’s existence and time of existence very carefully and carved out something very special for each person to do while here on Earth. God saw the end in the beginning and knew what kind of impact each person was capable of making, and He chose each person according to their unique gifts and abilities to do something about the time and environment they live in.
There is no coincidence that we are alive in this period of time. God created something for you to do with your life. Ask Him to reveal what He created you to do, and just like He did with me and so many other people, He will show you.”