Rapper Hunter Brown known as “Busta Brown” to his fans

by Lisa Crockett

Ask the average person what they think about rap music, and you would be likely to find that rap is often linked with less-than-desirable behavior. A 16-year-old in Castle Pines North is on a mission to change that stereotype.

“Rap is usually associated with violence, drugs and degrading women,” said high school student and rapper Hunter Brown (pictured to the right) – known as “Busta Brown” to his fans. “I’m working to give young fans an alternative, something that will help and give people hope.”

Brown’s music career started when he was just six years old. Most of his raps contain a Christian message (one of his signature pieces is called “In the Church”,) and his family has long been involved with Word of Life Christian Center in Lone Tree, so performing at church venues was a natural start. Last summer, “In the Church” was a finalist at “Music in the Rockies,” a competition for unsigned artists sponsored by the Gospel Music Association.

A chance encounter last summer between Brown’s parents and a music-industry insider allowed Brown to have his newly-minted demo CD heard by two prominent music producers in Southern California. Liking what they heard, these producers have encouraged him to develop his career further. In October, Hunter performed before an audience of 1,500 people on the lawn of the famous Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California.

Hunter’s increasing success means some tough choices for a sixteen year old. Between keeping up his grades, playing basketball on the sophomore team at Highlands Ranch High School and working on his music – including writing all his own material, Brown has little time for anything else.
Still, he says the sacrifices are worth it. “I feel like I can really help people,” he said. “I think my work is a good alternative to a lot of the other stuff that’s out there.”

Brown is looking forward to what the future holds. He is also preparing for other, more typical parts of a teenager’s life, like getting his driver’s license and going away to college. Whatever happens, Brown says, he will continue to do this work he feels so passionately about. He will continue to write and perform both his faith-based material and more ‘mainstream’ work, always with an eye toward making people feel good.

“I have a conscience; I really feel like my music should lift people up or I might as well not do it,” said Brown.