Tommy Kodel
Bio
Growing up in the 90’s and early 2000’s in Norwalk, CT, Tommy was heavily influenced by rap and hip-hop, planting seeds in him at an early age to pursue his passion as a rapper. He dropped his first mixtape in high school with a group of friends, which created quite a buzz around school. As he began to move forward at a young age, his rap career came to a halt after a spiritual transformation sparked by an encounter with Jesus Christ.
As Tommy began to whole-heartedly follow God, he stumbled upon what was called “Jesus Muzik” at the time. His brother, “The Watchman,” introduced him to gospel hip-hop artists such as Cross Movement, Lecrae, Da T.R.U.T.H., Flame, Corey Red and Precise, etc. as they used to bump their records on the way back from high school every afternoon.
As time went on, Tommy got involved in a monthly outreach ministry called Holy Smoke Hangout, which showcased gospel rap as a way to reach the youth. This helped Tommy re-ignite his passion for hip-hop. After several dreams of being on stage with no lyrics, Tommy decided to start writing songs again in 2015.
Ever since then, he has been dropping tracks regularly and performing live all over the tri-state area and beyond. He recently connected with Kingdom DJ and producer, Calvin Cooper, to collaborate on his latest releases: For The Lord, Believe It, Seek The Lord, and Where Do You Go. All are original, upbeat, bangers, infused with the word of God, guaranteed to get you moving and increase your faith!
Calvin Cooper
Calvin Cooper
Calvin Cooper’s journey as a producer of music started as a child watching his dear mother singing and directing the church choirs. As a youth, this sparked his interest in playing drums for his family group. He then began to study and be inspired by various gospel drummers. The inspiration kept him focused and away from the streets, which was extremely important for our nation to grasp a hold of.
Over the years, Calvin noticed his talent and passion began to increase. This motivated his family to instill the love of music into his heart even more.
Although he started with secular music, his mission changed as he began to dedicate and work for the Lord in 1991. After graduating from college in 1990 from St. Paul’s College, Lawrenceville, VA, he moved to Detroit, Michigan for a year which exposed him to Motown. Then, he moved back home to CT.
After becoming a believer in Christ, he learned to be a producer “In Faith!”
In the past, he would buy work-for-hire music for his artists until he decided to invest in himself. Since the COVID pandemic, he learned this was the greatest opportunity in his life to focus on his craft and spend more time learning how to use the production equipment. God taught him how to track, produce, and record his own music sounds straight from the throne of Heaven
While working with gospel singer & songwriter, Austin Carr, they released a single called, We Praise You in 2018. As God led his future, he began working with gospel singer, Kailaah Adams, whose single released August 5, 2023 on all Digital platforms! God has also allowed Calvin to collaborate as a producer & hook writer with Kingdom Rap Artist, Tommy Kodel, on their first release together, entitled For The Lord featuring Calvin Cooper & Austin Carr, followed by their second hit song, Believe It, featuring Judy Stovall. They are currently working on a collaborate album together.
Photos
MUSIC
Tommy Kodel’s Spotify
Calvin Cooper’s Spotify
Music videos
Press releases
radio/TV Features
Accomplishments
2024 TEXAS GOSPEL MUSIC EXCELLENCE AWARDS - WINNER OF THE MEDIA LUNCHEON - MOST OUTSTANDING ARTIST (HOUSTON, TX)
2024 MCDONALD’S GOSPELFEST 1ST PLACE WINNER FOR RAP (BRONX, NY)
2024 PRAYZE FACTOR AWARDS - HOLY HIP-HOP SOLO ARTIST OF THE YEAR (ATLANTA, GA)
2024 PRAYZE FACTOR AWARDS - PRODUCER OF THE YEAR (ATLANTA, GA)
