A Look at Famous Seventh-Day Adventists

The Seventh Day Adventist church may not be the largest religion in the world, and it may not be one that often comes up as a topic in Hollywood either. The topic of religion is rarely discussed in popular media, especially the upbringing of our current and past celebrities. Believe it or not, the Seventh Day Adventist church has many ties with Hollywood and mass media that we never would have imagined. In the following article, The Pioneer will take a look at some artists that have Adventist ties at some point in their life.

1. First up on our list is Cheryl Renee James, a.k.a.  ”Salt”. Some of us may remember the popular female rap trio Salt-n-Pepa, who were the first female rap group to achieve gold, platinum, and multi-platinum status. Salt had had ties with gospel music and religion far during her youth, but became Adventist later on in her life.  It wasn’t until 2002 when she was baptized into the church during an Oakwood College mission trip to Africa. Today, she is married and has 2 children. She continues to tour with her group, and is moving to Atlanta to be closer to her mother and explore more music-oriented opportunities there.

2. Second on our list is Brian McKnight. McKnight is a famous singer, and was formerly a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist group “Take 6″. McKnight attended Oakwood University, where he met his now ex-wife. His ex-wife and himself were both expelled from Oakwood during their time there and, according to him, allowed him to focus more on his music. He signed a record deal at 19 and went on to pursue a secular musical career apart from “Take 6″. He now is divorced and has 5 children, from ages 3 to 21, and is not an active churchgoer.

3. Next up we have Prince, the rock and roll superstar and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. Prince is one of the greatest musicians of our time, but not many know that he was actually raised Seventh-Day Adventist. Prince wrote his first song at the age of 7, and the rest is virtually history. Prince has sold over 100 million records worldwide, and has achieved multi-platinum status. Prince grew up Seventh-Day Adventist, but today he is a Jehovah’s Witness. Several Jehovah’s Witnesses have confirmed that Prince actually is an active Bible student, and does indeed attend meetings. He is even known to occasionallyparticipate in door-to-door evangelism activities.

 

4. Fourth on the list we have Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Johnson is an NBA Hall-of-Famer, five-time NBA champion, 3-time NBA MVP, twelve-time NBA All Star, and receiver of countless other honors and awards. In 2007, ESPN named him the greatest point-guard of all time. Magic Johnson is nothing short of an NBA legend, and then some, but one thing I did not know is that he was raised SDA. Today, many of his family members still practice Seventh-Day Adventism, and it is rumored he has recently has been active in churchgoing for the past few years.

 

 

 

5. Last, but definitely not least, is superstar rapper Busta Rhymes. Born Trevor Tahiem Smith Jr., he is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and has

achieved worldwide recognition for his spectacular rapping skills. He is best known for his ability to rap faster than other rappers, along with his wild style of dress and personality. Busta Rhymes was actually born to Seventh-Day Adventist parents, but at age 15 converted to “The Nations of Gods and Earths”. Today he is known to be a devout Muslim.