Ervin Wilson

Walk into the room like the presence of God when they see me.

Walking through life with a committed purpose, 23-year-old, San Jose–raised singer and rapper Ervin Wilson displays the self-confidence and conviction of someone much older. He sums up this purpose with the motto, “The Authentic Speaks,” which represents all facets of his life, from his music to his spiritual conviction, to the way he walks into a room. It also connects him to his name, meaning “friend to many,” which drives his outlook on daily life. As he explains, “I try to live my life emulating my name’s meanings and try to represent God the best ways I can.” Ervin presents his best possible self to others through his interactions, his relationships, and most importantly, through his music. He relates, “I’ve committed to spark emotion and connection through music. Whenever I walk into the room, I’m taller and vibrant. I want to convey hype [and] fun, but with honest lyrics from my life experience in an attempt to relate to the people that hear it.”

Ervin’s life has been centered around and driven by the Church, but his musical trajectory wasn’t immediate. Ervin actually pushed back when asked to sing by his worship team, instead opting to play drums. Finally, he gave in. His first time singing on stage in 2019 made him feel like he was home. He never went back to the drums and has since hustled to release over twenty singles.

It’s not religion, I am telling you it’s relational.

While he admits his church upbringing made him sheltered musically, it provided him with a strong foundation of support and inspiration from his family, mentors, and his relationship with Christ. This carries him as he traverses new musical territory and slowly lets in secular influences such as YONAS, Travis Scott, and Post Malone, in addition to Christian hip-hop artists Aaron Cole and nobigdyl. Ervin even had the chance to release “Rings (Remix)” with Cole in 2022. While it may be easy to simply apply the label “Christian hip-hop” to his music, Ervin’s lyrical prowess puts him just outside that box. As he puts it, “I am not the typical ‘Christian hip-hop artist.’ I am a rapper/singer who has a relationship with Jesus.” At first listen, you wouldn’t know he was considered a Christian hip-hop artist until you listened very intently and also knew his personal approach to music making.

I am a teacher and doctor, every day I be testing their patience.

Ervin’s lyrics put his relationship with God in perspective, as he experiences the vicissitudes of life. He strives to be real with his words without compromising his morals, which means being able to rap about the hard things in life, even if it may make him sound more secular to his Christian listening fans. “I don’t want to be boxed into the Christian hip-hop box, where I can’t really say what’s on my mind,” he says. His song “My World” explains to those questioning his faith and intention that it is his world the listener is stepping into. Even when he addresses his naysayers, however, he still displays humility and the acceptance that he is still learning.

He raps:

“Never traded all the truth for a lie

Ask the day of, I’ll meet you there tonight

Always ask The Lord to tell me which way - Content Magazine

Rising Christian Hip-Hop Artist Ervin Wilson has stepped onto the scene in high fashion. Accumulating over 100k streams fully independent and releasing songs with the likes of Aaron Cole and nobigdyl, Ervin is on his way. At only 23 years old, Ervin has so much ahead of him and when speaking with him about his inspirations, he said, “My first inspiration is Jesus. He’s the reason why I want to do anything in life and I do my best to try to keep him at the center of all I do. secondly is my earthly father, he’s one of my biggest inspirations. He’s modeled what it means to really be a man of faith. Then my friends Joe, Aaron, Shamir and Jordan inspire me by the way they use their purposes to glorify God. God uses my boys to help and encourage me through the toughest things, and they inspire me every day to remain focused on why I do music, and that is to Love God and others, and be blessed to be a blessing.”

August 19th, Ervin would drop the collab he could only dream of with Christian Hip-Hop sensation nobigdyl, titled “The City Don’t Care”. This high energy song with slapping 808’s is perfect for getting motivated, htting the gym, or fulfilling that need of a “Turn Up”. Ervin comes in very strong on the hook and first verse while nobigdyl follows up with a phenomenal verse that had no errors. This record has done over 51k streams on spotify alone and has put some on notice to Ervin’s music. This young artist is on the rise and if you don’t want to miss the train, we suggest you hop on! - Medium Magazine