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George Moss Biography

A text message changed George Moss’ life forever.

“Bad news. Two lines,” it read. With those four words, George learned that in a few short months he would be a father.

Becoming an unwed parent was the last expectation George had when he met his girlfriend several years earlier at a high school football game. What started as a friendship slowly progressed into a relationship. However, after a year of dating the relationship became physical eventually resulting in an unplanned pregnancy. It was October 2001 and George was just 19 years old.

At the time, George was living the life of the average post-high school teenager. He held a part-time job and attended classes at Grand Rapids Community College, studying business administration. In addition to work and school, he was active at his church home, Messiah Missionary Baptist Church, in Grand Rapids, MI. At Messiah, George had started a music ministry. Together with several other young men from the congregation, he stepped into the burgeoning genre of Christian hip-hop. Using a musical style that was popular with the congregation’s youth, George brought the gospel to them in a new way. Children looked up to him and their parents thought of him as a good role model.

Unfortunately for George, his image soon changed as news of his girlfriend’s pregnancy quickly spread. It wasn’t long before people who didn’t know him personally, knew about his situation. One day a former classmate who he hadn’t seen since the first grade approached him in the mall and said, “I heard you’re going to be a dad.”

Taken aback by this encounter George began to consider giving up his music ministry. He feared being a single father would not allow him to be the role model he once was and that his ministry called for. However, he couldn’t put the mic down immediately. There were still performance commitments to fulfill.

In the months leading up to his son’s birth, performing became convicting. In his heart hip-hop still felt like George’s calling, but voices of doubt in his head told him otherwise. He began to think of himself as hypocrite whose sins made him unworthy to spread the gospel. Conflicted, George did the only thing he could do. Pray. Looking to God for answers about the direction his life should take, he reflected on the music ministry he’d built for the last few years. He remembered receiving the $75 check for his first show and knowing it was more than just money, but rather a calling. He realized that the nagging doubts were lies and that his personal sins couldn’t stop God from using him. Being a single father did not have to be a deterrent to being a musical ambassador for Christ. He simply needed to change his mindset. George determined that he couldn’t keep up a false image of his life simply to be a role model. Trying to hide from his mistakes was useless. Instead, he would let God use his life as a testimony for others.

On June 10, 2002 George Dominque Moss IV was born. With a new family to support, George began working full-time at a local fitness center. Initially, it was the perfect job as the 3rd shift hours allowed for weekend touring. Eventually, though, the demands of a new baby, music, and the job became too much to successfully manage. Something had to be let go, and since he couldn’t return the baby George decided to quit working at the fitness center and pursue music full-time.

In Fall 2003 George hit the road on a month-long 29 city tour across the country as one half of the hip-hop duo UN1ON. Along with Michael Fuggitt, another solo MC George had started performing with in early 2001, UN1ON was formed. For the next two years the group toured regularly doing more than 100 shows a year. In 2004 their self-titled EP was independently released. Although the CD was popular, it received no attention from any record labels.

In late 2004 Michael heeded the calling to go to South Dakota for a full-time ministry opportunity. Having been on the road for the better part of two years, George decided to stick close to home for a while to be close to his son, who was now an articulate, playful toddler.

Although the record industry didn’t take notice of George’s work with UN1ON, others were definitely paying attention. In 2005 he was asked to co-star in two Christian films. George shot the romantic comedy God Help Me, quickly followed by the action adventure Squad 77. Opportunities in Christian radio also came George’s way. He developed a career as DJ at WayFM in Grand Rapids. A weekly radio show turned into a daily gig as the evening DJ.

Being busy with films and radio didn’t take George away from his original ministry. A solo album was always in the plan and in 2007 George began writing and laying tracks for his debut album. In Summer 2007 the first single “Whoa” was released. With the help of Shy Carter, George crafted an infectious song with a percolating beat and lightning quick flow. “Whoa” created a huge buzz on both Christian and mainstream radio stations, even holding the 1 spot on the Hype radio network for three weeks in a row.

With the success of Whoa, George put in extra hours to complete the album, finally completing it in December 2007. On February 29, 2008 the autobiographical and deeply personal All or Nothing was released. The March 7 CD release party was a grand scale event, featuring a full concert for over 600 fans. Shortly following the album’s release radio began picking up the album’s second single “Transparent.”

As momentum continues to build behind All or Nothing, George is focused on continuing to follow God’s calling for his life. He still remembers when people used to look at his ministry and see him. Now all he wants is for people to look through him to see the real purpose of his music: Christ.

-LA