By Abigail Aguilar-
Willy Gonzalez bagged groceries at the local supermarket for tips in the Dominican Republic. When he got to 300 pesos (about $5), he would stop bagging groceries and go get drugs. One day, somebody witnessed to him while he smoked: Don’t you realize you’re killing yourself?
Have they never spoken to you about Jesus? Seek him. He died on the cross for you. Turn your life over to him.
With piercing eyes of compassion, the man looked at Willy. “My body went limp. I was burdened and heavy ladened by sin,” Willy remembers. “I left crying and looking at Heaven. The blunt I had fell to the ground. As I cried, I felt free. I felt Heaven. From that day, I have been redeemed.”
That’s how Redimi2 (the Redeemed ones) was born. Today Willy is the face of the Christian music/rap group that has shaken the Spanish-speaking world for 20 years with piercing words inviting people to salvation.
After two decades of preferring “ministry” over music career, he finally got his first Latin Grammy nomination for best Christian album in 2024 for “Maverick.”
Willy Gonzalez was born in poverty, the first of seven children in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic. His dad, of Protestant background, love the ballads of Spain and bought a new 8-track every payday. His mother, Catholic, liked the meringue of the Caribbean. As a result of his eclectic tastes, Willy has been able to cross over to Latin pop.
His mother and father separated, and Willy was shaken. He lived with his dad and tried to persuade both Mom and Dad to reconcile. As a result of the breakup, Willy was hurt and confused and fell into drugs.
Jesus got him out of drugs.
With music in his blood, he pioneered Christian rap in the Dominican Republic. At the time among evangelicals, hip hop was seen as a taboo genre. He started the band with his brother, who dropped out. He was left alone.
He traveled and requested opportunities to sing and rap at Christian youth events. He built a following with hardscrabble work and emphasis on ministry. Twenty albums later, he is married with one child and is internationally recognized as one of the greats of Spanish Christian music.
Unlike so many other Christian artists who want to be known first as musicians, Willy says he’s a minister first. His latest works have been aimed at kids because they are the future of the world.
He cries at the slightest moment of nostalgia or beauty.
After living 4-and-a-half years in Puerto Rico, Willy, his wife, Daliza, and daughter, Samantha now live in Atlanta, Georgia.
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