Episode 380 – Tedashii: Billboard Christian Rapper Turned Entrepreneur

What does it look like when a #1 Billboard artist discovers that reaching the top wasn’t the finish line—it was just the beginning? Tedashii, Christian hip-hop artist and entrepreneur, joins Justin Forman for a very personal conversation. From Baylor University talent shows to touring with MercyMe, from the height of his career to receiving the call no parent ever wants—Tedashii’s story will stop you in your tracks and send you back into your calling with new clarity.

Tedashii unpacks the entrepreneurial evolution from donor-based missionary model to intentional, Kingdom-minded business builder. He shares how grief over the loss of his one-year-old son Chase became the turning point that moved him from running from insecurity to running for something eternal—a nonprofit called Chase Life, a vision for a youth Fast Pass program, and music that heralds the name of Christ rather than just uplifting it.

This episode goes deep on identity: what it costs to wrestle with who you are across racial, cultural, and spiritual lines, and why the enemy uses shame to shut down the very people God has called to create. Tedashii’s message for entrepreneurs is simple and searing—you are not a lousy version of someone else. You are the only version of you that will ever exist. Act like it.

00:00 Running for something—not just to or from

00:41 Artist or entrepreneur? Where Tedashii started and where he is now

01:26 From missionary to entrepreneur: meeting the needs of people

03:26 Music as a two-way highway: faith, creativity, and authenticity

06:03 How Tedashii’s songwriting process evolved over time

07:19 The first song: elementary school to Baylor talent show

09:44 The Nicodemus moment: a football player at the door at 2 AM

10:58 What’s changed in Christian music over 20 years

13:39 Why Tedashii believes revival is coming—and who will spark it

15:51 Running from, running to, running for: the entrepreneurial journey

16:36 The MercyMe tour and the Billboard #1 album “Black Light”

17:51 The insecurities underneath the success

18:31 The phone call: the loss of his son Chase

19:45 The Fast Pass vision and Chase Life nonprofit

21:14 How grief transformed his music and his mission

23:01 Identity: biracial, Japanese name, and a lifetime of wrestling with belonging

24:01 The Search for Significance and the shame narrative

25:35 Imago Dei: you are a rarity, not a lousy someone else

26:16 The encouragement for every faith-driven entrepreneur

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