JTH: Will The Collective be putting out another group album?
Stephen: The Collective is Timothy Brindle, Zae da Blacksmith, and I. We probably wont; I’m not sure. That project was intended to be a one-time deal for us to gather the money needed for our mission trip to Europe. Now that the trip is over, it is difficult to gather and find that synchronized timing that made it possible for us to do that trip. Tim is super busy. He is in seminary and has six kids. It was fun. I did enjoy doing it, and it would be cool to do it again, but I don’t know what The Lord’s plans are.
JTH: Can you talk about The Collective’s mission trip to Europe in summer 2013? How did it go? What are some memorable experiences from it?
Stephen: The mission trip in Europe was amazing. It was cool. We got to meet up with missionaries in other countries and aid them in whatever work that they were doing. Manchester was cool; the concert, meeting people there. Poland was especially dope. DJ Essence and Zae da Blacksmith had already built a relationship and passion for Poland in previous years, which is what compelled them to want to do it with us last year. We spent a lot more time there doing stuff in prisons and at schools. We got to talk to middle school students and share the Gospel with them. Amsterdam was dope. We did an open mic night near the red light district. We got to meet some people there. Paris was cool. We walked around Paris with a sound system, setting up shop, and preaching the Gospel, doing songs. For me, it was life changing being out of the country and seeing so many different cultures that I was unfamiliar with and being a part of God’s mission. I saw how God was using other people in other countries to reach people for His namesake. There was also the cool part of being in another country, eating different food, enjoying the sites, architecture, and different kinds of cars. It was a fun trip.
