How does a rapper, producer, and hip hop dancer born in St. Louis and raised in Dallas end up making Owensboro his home base? He fell in love with a Kentucky girl.
For a time, George.Rose seemed to have it all. His career as a rapper and producer was exploding. He was known throughout Dallas as the guy who could kick off any party and captivate any audience from the stage. He had a connection with Cardi B and things were in the works.
But he also had a drug problem.
“I was hooked on cocaine,” Rose explained. “I knew it was bad, but I couldn’t kick it. Then one night my mom called me in the middle of the night to tell me the Lord told her in prayer that if I didn’t quit, I was going to die and that my baby boy would follow in my footsteps. That scared me. So I got straight. I got into church. I slipped up one more time, but that was it. I was done with all that.”
In fact, George walked away from music altogether. The money. The fame. The Cardi B connection. Everything.
A few months later, George’s friend from church invited him to start volunteering with the children’s ministry, which opened up a new purpose and calling that eventually led George to full-time ministry.
Then, in 2019, about a year after getting clean and getting back into church, Rose says the Lord told him to get back into music. “But this time, I’m doing music for the Lord. I’ve been doing Christian rap ever since.”
He’s now known as George.Rose, and over the past five years he’s been steadily building a career in music which today includes writing, recording, and performing his own music, producing music for other artists, selling beats, collecting royalties from streaming platforms, and licensing his songs for TV, video games, and movies.
Two years ago, for example, one of his songs was used for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship opener. Last year, the Los Angeles Lakers used one of his songs. With that success, music licensing has become a new revenue stream, as well.
So yes, he is making a living doing music full-time today. But it’s really the culmination of over a decade of experience in the Dallas music scene. “From the time I was 15, I was entertaining; DJing parties, dancing, performing, anything. I would play bar mitzvahs, sweet 16 parties, school dances, all those things. It progressed every year. (NFL great) Emmitt Smith booked me for a party. I met Martin Lawrence. Michael Dell (from Dell computers). All those years trained me in showmanship; how to work a microphone, how to read a room, how to control a crowd, how to get people’s attention and keep things moving. Now, I can look back and see God’s hand and His timing in all of that for what I’m doing today.”
How George and his wife, Emily, came back to Owensboro is another interesting story.
Back to the ‘Boro
Dallas was hit extremely hard with Covid. So the Rose’s decided to move to St. Louis, which is George’s hometown and much closer to Emily’s family here in Owensboro. When that job fell through, they decided to come to Owensboro for a year until the next opportunity presented itself.
Once they got to Owensboro, Emily was hired as Children’s Minister at Legacy Church and George quickly got connected with Musick Studios. “I was blown away by the talent at Musick Studios. Finding good quality dancers is not easy. I’ve been all over – Dallas, LA, Florida, St. Louis – and some of those dancers at Musick are as good as dancers I’ve met in any big city. So once I met Steffan, Ellis, and Alec, (George’s dancers, see sidebar) they made me better,” George explained.
“That’s when I realized I could make Owensboro my home base and really jump off 100% and make my music full-time. Last year, we were able to do it, and I couldn’t be happier. I want everyone to know that Owensboro is our home. It’s our home base. We are here to stay. We love living in Owensboro. But we honestly felt called to love the people of Owensboro, too. So we’re here now. I have such a heart for the people of Owensboro.”
The Anointed Experience
The Anointed Experience is the most recent endeavor George is excited about because it’s where his love for music, dance, and ministry all come together.
“We call it an experience because it’s more than just a concert; it’s an event for young people. From the time they arrive until they leave. The performance, the food, everything. It’s a whole experience.”
George says the high-energy music and performance is just a way to get a message of hope across. “The sole purpose of this concert is to help people discover their calling and what they’re anointed to do. Everybody has a purpose. Everybody has a calling on their life. That’s what the real message is.”
Legacy Church was the first to host The Anointed Experience last year, and around 200 kids attended. Then the team took the event to St. Louis and about 100 kids showed up. Now that they’ve put on the event twice, the team decided to bring The Anointed Experience back to Owensboro.
“This time my team decided to take the message outside the church, so we’re hosting it at Shiloh’s Lounge and Grill,” Rose explained. “That place is amazing. The stage, the sound and lights. It’s going to have great energy and we want to pack it out, so it’s got that hype club feel.”
The event takes place at Shiloh’s Lounge on Saturday, May 25, 2024. Tickets and information are available at GeorgeRoseMusic.com.
You can find George.Rose on any streaming platform and see his videos on YouTube or GeorgeRoseMusic.com.
If you ask George, even if you’re not a hip-hop fan, chances are you’re going to like it if you give it a listen.
“It’s gonna make you dance. It’s energetic. Explosive. With a great message, and a positive influence. It’s positive, clean music you can turn up and have fun,” George says. “Even people of the older generation love what I’m doing. It’s interesting, if you mention ‘rap’ it makes people tighten up. But when people listen and give this music we’re making a chance, they like it. This isn’t cheesy Christian music. It’s good. It connects. People love it.” OL
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