It seems the misbehaving of entertainers has reached an all-time
high. Mel's making drunken ethnic slurs, Lindsay's partying too hard to
punch the clock, and Tom's getting the bum's rush for ... well, for
just being Tom.
I know many readers tire of negative
entertainment stories in the press. So I decided to seek the positive,
the pure, the unblemished. Who in the entertainment world is doing good
works -- something to cheer us all up before we stash away the
barbecues and patio lanterns?
After months of sleuthing and
networking, Backstage tracked down one decent, clean-living
entertainer. His name: Robert Downey Jr.
No, just kidding. His
name is Stan Fortuna, but many call him the "Rapping Reverend." You
see, Father Fortuna is a Roman Catholic priest from the South Bronx who
knows how to lay down a rhyme or two, fo' shizzle.
He has just
released his third rap disc, Sacro Song 3, on his own Francesco
Productions organization. I'm certainly no rap expert, but to a
Volvo-station-wagon-driving arts writer it sounds pretty darned
convincing. Fortuna spits it with a keening whine, bringing to mind --
oh, let's see -- Eminem. But while Slim Shady raps about doing
improbably rude things with Bette Midler's decolletage and the like,
the Father's mind is on higher matters.
"Don't get suspicious of what I'm sayin', I'm praying," he raps on the song Got the Mike On?
"St.
Michael archangel defend us in battle/Cause Adam and Eve they still be
bitin' the apple/And we spiralling down, down, down."
Big time
hip-hoppers such as Kanye West (Jesus Walks) sometimes touch on
religious topics, but I'm fairly sure this is the first time St.
Michael the Archangel has surfaced in a rap tune. Still, Father Fortuna
has street cred. He raps about sex, poverty and drugs from first-hand
knowledge. His order, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, works with
disadvantaged folk living in the South Bronx. All proceeds from his
albums go to Francesco Productions, helping the poor and needy.
"I'm
talking about abortion, I'm talking about forgiveness, chastity,
purity, the Eucharist, sacrifice," said Father Fortuna, 49, chatting
over the phone from the Bronx in his thick New York accent.
Born
to a working-class Italian-Greek family in Yonkers (his dad drove
truck), Fortuna was given a red electric guitar for Christmas in Grade
2. Eventually he became a respected jazz bassist. He still keeps his
hand in -- his combo will play New York's Birdland nightclub this fall.
He
got hooked on rap years ago, as a student living in Spanish Harlem.
Fortuna was fascinated by street corner rappers free-styling over their
beat-boxes.
"I went, whoa, this is amazing!"
As a jazz improviser, it was a small step from musical notes to words. Ultimately, Fortuna took his raps to the public.
He
doesn't play secular nightclubs or bust rhymes during mass, rather, his
raps are included in talks he gives to Catholic conferences, high
schools and the like. Still, the Father knows how to get down. He wears
Nikes under his grey habit and often sports a Yankees baseball cap or a
bandana.
Not everyone in his church thinks it's wonderful; some think he's "well-intended but misled." On the other hand, he has the support of Father Benedict Groeschel, a well-respected elder who founded the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. And besides, Fortuna notes that he's simply following the suggestion of Pope John Paul II, who 20 years ago urged priests to take the gospel to the streets.
He once met the late Pope and presented him with a rap CD. "I don't know if he ever listened to it and stuff like that," Fortuna said. He admits his rap following is relatively small, just a trickle of folk who see his shows and find his albums on the web. In the mega-million-selling hip-hop record industry,
Fortuna's not even a blip. Still, he's not discouraged. "Rather than a small voice in the wilderness," said the Rapping Reverend, " I see myself as a counter-cultural light shining in the darkness."
Father Stan Fortuna's website is: www.francescoproductions.com © Times Colonist (Victoria) 2006