Christopher Jose Cooper, professionally known as Soup the Chemist, formerly Sup the Chemist and Super C, is an American Christian hip hop musician, and a pioneer of the Christianhip hop movement. He was a member of the hip hop group Soldiers for Christ, also known as S.F.C., and, as a solo artist, has released two studio albums, Dust, in 2000 through BEC Recordings and Eargasmic Arrangements, in 2003 through his own Beesyde Records label. He published an autobiography, Through My Windows, in 2014, through Dimlights Publishing.
Early life
Cooper was born, Christopher Jose Cooper, on November 17, 1966, in New York, to father George Muhammad L. Cooper and mother Joyce L. Cooper, now Jacquet,, whose grandmother was Lucretia Lee Washington. He moved to Rancho Cucamonga, California, where he was raised, and he graduated from Cajon High School, in 1984.
Career
His music career began in 1984, when he graduated from high school. Cooper's pursuit of Christian hip hop became evident after he watched the film, Wild Style, regarded as the original hip hop music and culture movie. Among Cooper's earliest influences are old school rap acts such as Double Trouble, Run DMC, and EPMD. Then known as Super C, he formed the hip hop group Soldiers for Christ, also known as S.F.C., which, alongside groups such as Freedom of Soul and P.I.D., helped pioneer Christian hip hop. Under Cooper's auspices, the group released four studio albums. Because of his pioneering role in the genre, he is sometimes called the "Godfather of Christian hip hop". He released a studio album, Dust, on January 31, 2000, through BEC Recordings. The song "As the Sun Rises" from Dust features Jon Gibson and samples "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas. The song "Is This a Dream" from the album is the third of Chris Well's five songs in the October 2006 issue of CCM Magazine that is reported to "cast out fear". Cooper wrote an autobiography, Through My Windows, published on February 3, 2014 through Dimlights Publishing.
