Brother E

Brother E (real name Efrain Alicea) is an American Christian hip hop artist.
Religious belief
Alicea attended a Catholic school and was heavily involved in church activities. As a young man he ran a youth retreat program under the auspices of the Catholic Youth Organization in New York City. At this stage, he was yet to experience a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
On May 4, 1991, he visited Iglesia Sion Pentecostal, a small Spanish Pentecostal church in the South Bronx. It was here that Alicea dedicated his life to Christ. He soon became the English Sunday School Teacher and Youth Director, beginning his youth efforts with a core group of only four young people; in less than six months this number had grown to over sixty attendees each Tuesday.
Musical beginnings
In spiritual terms, 1993 was a significant year for Alicea. He began to write down lyrics which he believes God gave him during prayer. Later, he began to match the lyrics to a classic secular hip hop beat known as Big Beat. Although hip hop had been popular for 20 years, its Christian manifestation was largely unknown in New York. As Brother E, Alicea quickly became prominent in his field. He believes in the importance of reaching young people by "speaking their language", and considers himself an urban evangelist.
Beginning in June 1993, Efrain, under the name Brother E, began rapping several songs that God had given him. He formed a ministry called Power & Dominion, recruiting teens from his church and forming a band that ministered in the Tri State area. Since 1993 he has seen thousands come to Christ through Gospel Hip-Hop. He realizes the importance of reaching youth “speaking in their own language.”
Joyful Noiz, one of the few emerging Christian hip hop groups in the mid 1990s, inspired Brother E to form a ministry called Power and Dominion (PAD). This consisted of Brother E on microphone, some teenagers who played bass and keyboards, an intermittent singer and a drum machine. By 1999, PAD had contributed three songs to a compilation CD, All IV Jesus. Later, he collaborated with Bert Bocachica and Manny Badillo in a ministry called Brothers Inc. 4 Da' Lord. This mixed music, testimonies and a live DJ.
As a result of his ministry as an urban-evangelist through hip hop, Brother E has been a major contributor to the Storytellas ministry at Crossroads Tabernacle under Rev. Joseph Henry Cortese. The Storytellas ministry is a Gospel Hip-Hop/Rap ministry that encompasses music, rap, dance, drama, comedy and multi-media in evangelistic efforts. The ministry is evangelistic in nature, ministering in the streets during the summers and in various prisons in the Tri-State area.
In 2007, Efrain was appointed the Associate Pastor at Promised Land church in the Bronx under the ministry of Rev. Sixto M. Carrion.
Other achievements
Efrain Alicea, aka Brother E, grew up going to Catholic school and was heavily involved in church activities. As a young man Efrain ran a youth retreat program under the auspices of the Catholic Youth Organization in New York City. However, He had no personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
On May 4, 1991, Efrain visited a small Spanish Pentecostal church in the South Bronx named Iglesia Sion Pentecostal. It was here that he finally gave his life to Christ. Soon, Efrain became the English Sunday School Teacher and Youth Director. He began his youth efforts with a core group of only four young people and in less than six months it grew to over sixty youth per Tuesday evening. He also worked with both the Bronx Section and the District Youth Ministries of the S.E.D. of the Assemblies of God as the Fine Arts Coordinator during this time.
In May 1993, in the midst of prayer, Efrain believed that God gave him some words. As he wrote them down he realized that these words were a song. His first efforts at singing this song were humorous. Two weeks later, after saving his lyrics in his nightstand, Efrain, again in the midst of prayer, heard a beat in his head. It was an infamous hip-hop beat called “Big Beat.” It was then that he took out his words and began to rap his new lyrics, realizing the Lord had given him a song to rap, not sing.
Beginning in June 1993, Efrain, under the name Brother E, began rapping several songs he believes God had given him. He formed a ministry called Power & Dominion, recruiting teens from his church and forming a band that ministered in the Tri State area. Since 1993 he has seen thousands come to Christ through Gospel Hip-Hop. He realizes the importance of reaching youth “speaking in their own language,” and considers himself an urban-evangelist.
As a result of his ministry as an urban-evangelist through hip hop, Brother E has been a major contributor to the Storytellas ministry at Crossroads Tabernacle under Rev. Joseph Henry Cortese. The Storytellas ministry is a Gospel Hip-Hop/Rap ministry that encompasses music, rap, dance, drama, comedy and multi-media in evangelistic efforts. The ministry is evangelistic in nature, ministering in the streets during the summers and in various prisons in the Tri-State area.
In 2006, Efrain was appointed the Associate Pastor at Promised Land church in the Bronx under the ministry of Rev. Sixto M. Carrion.
In 2008, Efrain, Erika and a dedicated core team opened The Elements, an urban church in the heart of the Bronx. The mission statement reads: Leading the urban culture to Christ by cultivating relationship.
Brother E also serves as the Assistant Coordinator of Rap Fest. Rap Fest is a free, open-air, annual Gospel Hip-Hop event in the South Bronx that brings together Gospel Rap Ministers from all over the world.
Efrain has studied as an undergraduate student at Columbia University and also graduated top of his class in 1995 from the Spanish Eastern District (S.E.D.) of the Assemblies of God Bronx Bible Institute. In 2006 Efrain became a chaplain with the United Chaplains State of New York where he is now an instructor teaching on Urban Chaplains. He holds a Masters in Theology from The Impact School of Ministry, a satellite school of The Christian University.
Efrain is married to Erika Alicea. They were joined on August 16, 2003. Erika is a teacher with the public school system in New York City. Efrain is also the father of Jason Alicea and Isabel Rose.
Discography
Storytellas
*Hip-Bop Live at Crossroads - Storytellers (July 12, 1999)
*Strong as Death - Storytellas (June 8, 2000)
*Parakletos - Storytellas (January 30, 2004)
*The Man - Storytellas (November 11, 2005)
Other releases
*All IV Jesus Compilation CD - various artists (released 1999)
*Annette Sings - Annette Cuchiarra (1999)
*Rap Fest '99 - various artists (September, 1999)
*Calling of the Camps - various artists (November, 2000)
*Warfare Camp Mixtape - various artists (December 13, 2003)
*Rap Fest Presents - various artists (December 25, 2007)
*Rap Fest Presents Volume II - various artists (December 25, 2008)
Videos
*Rap Fest 2001: Volumes 1 & 2 - concert video collection (2002)
*Rap Fest 2001 Music Video - Can't Nobody Tell It (2002)
*Rap Fest 2002: Volumes 1 & 2 - concert video collection (2003)
*The G.Squad: Hip-Hop on a Higher Level - documentary (2006)

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