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One of KJ-52's favorite pastimes is poking fun at his own self. His sometimes hilarious autobiographical raps are often filled with self-deprecating humor, and even today, he admits that his career just doesn't add up: "A white dude from the suburbs doing Christian rap and driving a minivan? None of that makes sense. No one says, 'That's the formula, right there!' But at the end of the day, it just proves God did it." Another thing that "proves God did it" is the restored bond between KJ—whose real name is Jonah Sorrentino—and his parents, who divorced when he was 9. His relationship with his parents was rocky for years, especially through his teens and early 20s, but his desire to reconnect with them sparked much of the material on his latest CD, Behind the Musik: A Boy Named Jonah (BEC/Uprok). The album has a number of songs, including the title track, about his parents and family, plus several interlude interviews with his mom and dad. We recently caught up with KJ to talk about the new album—and how his relationship with his parents has been restored.

Your last album, It's Pronounced Five-Two, was pretty autobiographical, but this new one even more so. What's up with all the self-revelations?

KJ-52 The main reason was that once people connect with your music, then they usually want to go to the next step—knowing all the little things about you and trying to connect with you as a person.

Why did you decide to make your parents such a big part of this album?

KJ-52 The original idea was to tie it into a song, "Behind the Musik," that was more or less my life story. I recorded my dad saying some things, but he went too long. Then a light came on, and I just thought, rather than just have that in one song, what if I made that the entire theme throughout the record. So I took it to the next step and taped my mom too.

You were six when your parents separated and nine when they divorced. How did that affect you as a child and as you headed into your teen years?

KJ-52 I basically just internalized a lot of it. I don't think I necessarily knew exactly what was going on, but I knew I wasn't happy. Looking back now, I think I was dealing with the symptoms of a deeper problem—just what gets played out in a lot of kids' lives. But coming to Christ, you're able to look at your life in a different way, and that's what began that process of healing, of Christ just cleaning you up.

Were you an angry guy as a teen?

KJ-52 It was more of a held-in anger—meaning I would just be normal and then if you said the wrong thing, I would just explode. I didn't walk around angry all the time, but I just had these fits. It even scared me because I couldn't even seem to control it. A teacher would say the wrong thing, and next thing I knew I was yelling at the teacher—and then I'd end up at the principal's office. I'm like, How did this even happen? I can't even remember how I got here. So, yeah, I can definitely describe myself as a kid that was angry.

When you had these outbursts, did you blame them on your frustrations over your parents' divorce?

KJ-52 It was a combination of a lot of things—not just the divorce, but also not getting along at home with my stepfather. But honestly, I think that part of it is just adolescence, period. The struggles of being a teenager, with all that dumped on top, just made a powder keg, I guess you'd say.

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