Words by Rachel June
Passionate and trailblazing artist Aaron Cunningham, AKA Cyfë II (s-eye-fee-the 2nd) has just released the awesome album ‘GOD:CHILD’, an insanely special and personal project that breaks boundaries and encapsulates a spiritual journey of faith and discovery. Cyfë II has been making music for years, originally under the guise of ‘Cyfë.’ He felt the urge to change his name when his music style evolved from hip-hop rap to gospel rap.
Born and raised in Denver in a Catholic family, Cyfë II says he “wasn’t raised Christian and never really went to church” but was recently baptised in 2023. A huge part of his music is his new found faith, in which the album GOD:CHILD depicts. He says that he “always had faith”, but “never really knew what that meant.”
Having struggled with drug addiction in the past, Cyfë II humbly admits that he lived a “pretty rebellious life.” This led to the artist getting “deep into new age spirituality” resulting in him becoming his ‘own God’. During this time, Cyfë II “hit a really deep depression for the first time in my life” where “the colours got dimmer.” In this place, he felt God meet with him at a point where he could have “ended his life.” Then, he turned on the radio to the sports channel, and amongst the noise of static, he heard the words “Don’t be afraid, he’s got you.”
“I’m cool on the credit. Give all the glory to God”.
Upon hearing this, Cyfë II started his journey to discover who Jesus was. “I started reading the bible, and I didn’t even know there was a difference between the Old and New Testament.” Whilst reading, he started to “understand and believe it” which is when “everything changed for me”. This was when Cyfë became Cyfë II, signifying the ‘reborn’ aspect of his music.
Cyfë II felt conflicted about his old music that he still wanted to release, but felt divine guidance toward “something better”, resulting in the incredible album GOD:CHILD. Shifting from the rap scene to the Christian rap scene was met with a “lot of love” that “keeps growing.” Cyfë II had heard of Christian rap artists like Lecrae, but other than him “knew nothing about Christian rap”. He had “no idea how big the community was”, and so making this type of music was a true “leap of faith.” He speaks on this, saying “I let God use me” in the writing process.
For Cyfë II, making music isn’t about success, fame or money, since “God provides everything I need”. He advises other artists emerging onto the Christian rap scene to “lean into what God has for you, lean into his word. God WILL provide for you”.
Cyfë II recently came across an article in ‘Rapzilla’ dissecting the album GOD:CHILD in detail, which you can read here. For Cyfë II, this confirmed his decision to walk away from the album with darker lyrics, by seeing the impact GOD:CHILD has had on people. Connecting with fans is his “favourite part” of being a musician.
His new life has meant “putting God first”, I asked him what this meant, and he said, “Consider him in everything that you do”. He says that praying and talking with God is a “serious superpower.”
The future is bright for Cyfë II, as he plans to collaborate with a circle of artists that he really likes, and create the “best music collectively that anyone’s ever heard.” He plans to tour the world and share music with fans, continuing on his spirit-fueled adventure. Follow his journey here.
Cyfë II artist on repeat: Bianca Silver
