Baldwin Chiu grew up influenced by hip-hop, eventually becoming the first Chinese American hip hop rapper. But when church leadership invited him to bring the sound to his immigrant church’s picnic, he didn’t get a standing ovation. 

“I remember some of the older Chinese ladies like going up to my dad, and my dad was like, ‘What are you doing?” I had a little scolding when I got home: ‘What are you doing!? You know, there's like, Christian Chinese old ladies!”

But through his faith in God’s calling, support from other hip hop artists, and even encouragement from his local church, Baldwin became the rapper Only Won, releasing several EPs and LPs throughout his career. Oh, and he’s also a professionally licensed mechanical engineer, actor, and producer. 

In this interview with SOLA video manager Jason Chao, Baldwin shares his testimony, as well his thoughts on how Christian artists can grow and thrive, especially through pushing past comfort zones. He also challenges churches to think beyond what is “traditional” and remember that our God is a God who is the creative creator. 

Our “Artists in Motion” series hopes to platform Asian American Christian artists, as well as encourage all artists to root their identities in Christ and use their callings to share art and truth with the world.

Watch the video on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/J3jvotCZ4II

Read the transcript on our website:

https://sola.network/article/singing-and-rapping-a-new-song-interview/

Email us your questions or conversation topics: 

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