Background
Wiley was born in 1956 and grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
Wiley was born in 1956 and grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
A University of Oklahoma graduate, Wiley began a career as a jazz drummer in 1979 and wrote a song called "Basketball". This tune would later go on to be recorded by mainstream rapper Kurtis Blow and become a Number. 71 hit (in 1985). By 1982, Wiley was performing rap music with Christian lyrics at a time when Run DMC"s breakthrough to the mainstream was still a year away.
In 1984, Wiley took a job as chaplain at a juvenile detention center.
In 1985, Wiley released Bible Break and saw its title track reach the Number. 14 spot in 1986 on Christian radio.
A 1988 article in Spin magazine nicknamed the young chaplain the "Grand Master of Rap". He then released two more albums for the Star Song label which were better received garnering a Number.
13 hit with "Peace", a duet with Renee Garcia from the 1990 album Rhythm and Poetry and Number.
14 "Attitude" from 1991"s Rhapsody. The latter album sought to bring in fans of more traditional gospel by including harmonies from gospel group Witness on the song "Real". He is also the Assistant Vice President, Director of Christian Ministries, Assistant Professor of Religion, at Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma where he teaches full-time.
At the time of this recording, Wiley was a member of the crusade team at Kenneth Hagin’s Rhema Bible Church in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
