Reach Records Drops Christian Artist Gawvi after He Sent Women Unsolicited Sexually Explicit Photos
The record label, Reach Records, has dropped Gawvi, an artist and producer in the Christian hip-hop music scene, after he allegedly sent unsolicited sexually explicit photos to women.
Reach Records was founded by Ben Washer and Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae in 2004.
“Due to behavior that is inconsistent with our core values, we have ended our professional relationship with GAWVI,” Reach Records said in a statement Monday afternoon. “This was a tough decision for us because of the level of complexity and because we invest in our artists not just for their talent, but also as brothers and sisters in Christ.
“This is something we have been processing for over a year and have wrestled with what would be the right way forward. New details that were provided made us realize today’s decision was necessary.”
— reachrecords (@reachrecords) January 31, 2022
According to Variety, the tour from Reach Records, “We Are Unashamed,” was set to include Gawvi. The tour will continue without him and includes Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, Tedashii, 1K Phew, Wande, WHATUPRG and Hulvey.
“We also want our actions to be a reflection of love, care, and concern for those who fail and those who are affected by our failures,” Reach Records said in a statement. “Each of us needs God’s grace, and we invite you to pray for the families and individuals whose lives are being impacted. This is not a chance to throw anybody away. We continue to hope for restoration to be the outcome.”
Gawvi announced recently on Instagram that he was getting divorced after separating from his wife in 2020.
Then a tweet from a visual artist known as Cataphant caught attention. In the tweet, the artist said she had previously made album artwork for Gawvi.
“For my next project, I’m going to make a collage of the unasked-for d**k pics he sent to women while he was still married,” the artist, whose real name is Catalina Bellizzi-Itiola, wrote on Twitter.
Gawvi has not commented on the allegation.
Gawvi, 33, has won or been nominated for several Dove Awards. He was signed to Reach Records in 2016 and released four full-length solo albums. His peak to date on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart was the No. 25-charting “Fight for Me,” featuring Lecrae, in 2018; the song also won a Dove Award in the rap/hip-hop category.
Photo courtesy: ©Jonathan Velasquez/Unsplash
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
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