Today we’d like to introduce you to Terrence Ford.
Terrence, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m a rapper/singer, producer, and youth speaker living in Atlanta. I perform under the name “GodFrame,” which means ‘made in God’s image.’
This is gonna sound cliché, but I think it’s safe to say my journey with music began when I was a little kid. My parents tell me that I was notorious for beating on pots and pans as a two years old like they were drum sets – sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor having the time of my life, haha. But my earliest memory of music was when my cousin taught me how to beatbox when I was in kindergarten. Once I realized I could make sounds like that, I was hooked.
My mom raised me in church too, so I was always around gospel music. I remember being 8 or 9 years old, sitting in on a choir rehearsal, and out of nowhere the lyrics to one of the songs hit me right in the chest. I don’t remember the words, but I remember the Lord telling me something like ‘these words are true — and I love you.’ The next thing I know, I was crying uncontrollably. Everybody at church thought something was wrong with me, but I was just overcome with joy.
As the years went on, I learned piano and saxophone and eventually how to make beats. I still remember the first time I got my hands on this little playstation game called MTV’s Music Generator – which was basically a DAW (digital audio workstation) where you could produce whole songs inside the game – and I was like holy crap…this is a thing!?
I started rapping in middle school. Nothing serious – just me and my cousins making up rhymes about goofy stuff. (Laughing) my rap name was ‘MixMasta212′ back then, and ’til this day I still don’t have a clue where I came up with that hahaha. Then in high school, two of our classmates passed away from car accidents, and I remember everyone being so devastated. The only thing I knew to do was make music. So I wrote a song with one of my friends Mannie Cooper and dedicated it to them. When people at our school heard it, so many people were encouraged, including the families of our classmates. I think that was the first time I knew that my words could make a difference in people’s lives – and I’ve made it my mission to do that since then.
In college, I got more serious about my faith and decided to work in youth ministry for about eight years. My time as a speaker and youth pastor was tough work, but I’m glad I did it. I always enjoyed interacting with and influencing young minds, and that’s why I still speak to students and student workers today. My music’s geared to a younger demographic too. I can’t help it. There’s so much power in being able to make a positive impact on these kids while they’re young. Their minds are sponges, and the Arts and Entertainment industries can play a major role in shaping which direction they go in.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Life’s not perfect (and never will be), so I’ve definitely overcome some challenges along the way. One of the biggest was my relationship with my dad. He and my mom’s marriage ended when I was a toddler, and for many years I only knew him from a distance – you know the phone calls, birthday presents in the mail, holiday cards and stuff. As I grew up and learned that infidelity was the reason for the divorce, I became bitter and angry. I dodged most of his calls and didn’t really want to get close to him.
But when I got to college and started to get really strong in my faith, I was convicted and my heart got soften. I realized that if God forgave me for all my dirt, I needed to forgive my dad. And so one day I called him up and we talked about everything I was feeling – and I told him I was sorry for shutting him out and that I forgave him for how things went down.
Now (I’m 31) he and I are like good friends. We talk all the time, visit as often as we can, and it’s almost like he never left. That experience is my reminder that no relationship is too broken that God can’t repair. You just have to be willing to forgive and do the hard work of being intentional to come back together again.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
As an artist, producer, and youth speaker I wear a lot of hats. I love writing, releasing and performing pop rap songs, creating beats for other artists, and encouraging young people with my messages. With technology being so crazy, I’ve found a lot of success in the social media realm. It’s really fun connecting with people through my weekly vlogs on YouTube and my music videos. There’s no barrier to the connection now.
If you know me in real life, you know I’m really goofy. I like to laugh and have fun and put a smile on people’s face. So I like to let people see the real me online. I’m not this dark and mysterious rapper – I smile and laugh A LOT haha. I just know my mission here is to help bring hope to the world. There’s a lot of darkness out there. Life can be tough for folks. So I’m determined to play my role by spreading God’s love and joy everywhere I go.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I probably would’ve made and given out a LOT more free music in college (freestyles, etc.), and I would’ve spent more of my free time strategizing, networking, and building my music and media businesses.
I’m married with two kids and a full-time job now, so my time is often occupied with other things. But if I’d known what I know NOW about building a fanbase, touring, merch and having a successful music career, I would’ve been way more ahead of the game than I am now.
I’ll get there though – it’s just gonna take some time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.godframe.com
- Email: booking@godframe.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/godframe
- Facebook: facebook.com/godframe
- Twitter: twitter.com/realgodframe
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