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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday March 7, 2007 - 3 Rapping Reverend delivers priestly message By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF There's nothing ordinary about Rev. Stan Fortuna. It's not just his thick New York Bronx accent, or the fact that his arms move wildly and his pony-tail sways when he's preaching. This Catholic priest is also a rapper. Known as `The Rapping Reverend,' Fortuna is an internationally-renowned performer and priest who travels North America and Europe bringing his message ­ part 50 Cent, part comedy ­ to youth. "Listen up to what I'm sayin' on the microphone, No more draggin' you down to the zipper zone," he rapped in his song about abstinence until marriage, The Zipper Zone, during a performance Monday at Holy Trinity Catholic school. That track is included on Sacro Song ­ Fortuna's third rap album. "Don't wait to fall on ya back to get down on ya knees," he continued, swaying in his grey robe and strumming his guitar, "Thank God for your body, pray for self-control, live according to God's will, achieve a higher goal." The Franciscan Friar had the 1,200 Holy Trinity students packed to the rafters in the school's gym tapping their toes to his beats and rhythms, laughing and in awe during his hour-long performance. It opened with a musical prayer to God that started off in reggae and morphed into rap. Then, Fortuna shared his story and his messages of faith. "When I was your age, I went to a Catholic high school and all that, so you know, I've been through and I've done that," the 49-year-old priest said. "One of my regrets is really wasting time. I really wasted a lot of time, man, when I was your age. "I don't have many regrets, I have a few, and one of them is that I didn't push and go beyond myself." Even if the message didn't strike some students, the means of the message did. Comedy, jazz, rap, hip hop, reggae ­ Fortuna struck every chord. This was his second Oakville performance, after a show for more than 700 youth Saturday at Mary Mother of God Parish. Monday capped off his tour of the GTA with school visits in Oakville and Burlington. A professional bass player, who fell in love with music in Grade 2 after he received his first guitar as a Christmas present, Fortuna later became a Franciscan Friar and incorporated his two loves as a rap-rhyming, hip hopping Catholic priest. Introduced as "one of the coolest priests ever" by students' council copresident Erin Gamble, Fortuna took the stage and left few subjects untouched. Hard porn versus soft porn, Einstein, shootings, Dennis Rodman, potty training, the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal ­ he even told students about his God daughter, born to a mother addicted to crack. "My God daughter was a crack baby, shaking during birth. Addicted to crack from the start," he told a captivated audience. It was all part of one of his main messages: "If you think you're garbage, you're going to act like garbage, you're going to feel like garbage, you're going to start hanging out with garbage." Marijuana, alcohol, lewdness, arrogance, slander, folly, the importance of self-mastery and genuine love ­ Fortuna covered it all. He told a story about a 19-yearold kid in his neighbourhood in the South Bronx who was shot after stealing a winter jacket. "The bullet caught him in his spine," Fortuna said. "Paralyzed, waist down." That was one of many stories that had students in awe, and one of the reasons ­ other than his performance skills ­ that he's so wellreceived. "He doesn't mince words, it's the truth," said Gamble, who helped organize the Rapping Reverend's visit. "It was really fun, really wild. It grasped the kids' attention. He has the ability to speak the truth, and do it in a really captivating way. It's what we need to hear." And compared to other speeches and sermons, Gamble says youth like herself get a lot more from performances like Fortuna's. "It's just more interesting, it's more mind-grabbing than what we usually see or hear," she said. "It was a really refreshing message." While he'll include messages like, "By love, God has revealed himself and given himself to us," Fortuna also mixes it up with humour and includes subject matter that captures the attention of his young audiences. LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER LET'S RAP: Father Stan Fortuna, The Rapping Reverend, delivered his message of faith to more than 700 youths at Mary Mother of God parish on Saturday. "It's all about love. If you love ice cream, you get a couple scoops. If a guy's with a girl, he says, `Lemme get some love. Couple scoops, baby,'" said the smiling priest, drawing laughs from the students, and then reinforcing the message of abstinence before marriage as God's divine will. "Honey, you're beautiful, but put your clothes back on," he said, smiling. "Don't settle for an impoverished sense of love." Fortuna wanted to be a priest from a young age, but after discovering the priest at his parish married a nun, his faith dwindled. "To make a long story short, I kind of went off the deep end, bungee jumping with no bungee cord," he said. Years later, Fortuna returned to the church and was ordained in 1987. "That losing of myself," he said, "was my greatest gain." He worked to achieve his vocation and told students ­ in whatever field ­ to do the same. "When they say nothing comes for free, they ain't kidding ­ know what I mean?' "If it's not a part of you making a gift of yourself, you ain't gonna get it." And, Fortuna reminded students through rap, if they do choose to pursue post-secondary education, to make good use of it. "If you go to university and get a degree, you're making your sixfigure salary, you're driving your BMW or your humvee," he rapped, "I've got news for you, it's easy for smart people to be ignorant, can't you see." That performance ­ and many others ­ had students cheering and clapping. "He's the main event," said Colleen Gamble, who organized Fortuna's visit at Mary Mother of God Parish on Saturday. "This guy is big, he's internationally known. We're lucky to have him here." Fortuna capped off his Monday performance with a blessing and these words for students: "If you're not sure what to do, take a look at yourself, man. Don't be afraid." All proceeds from Fortuna's performances and CD sales go to Francesco Productions, a nonprofit company he began in 1997 to record and distribute evangelical music and videos. 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