Manchild

Who is Manchild?

Manchild is a Christian hip hop rapper and an avid contributor to alternative hip hop. His real full name is Gregory Lamar Owens. He fronts the underground/Christian hip hop group Mars ILL, is part of the Deepspace5 collective, and has collaborated with the likes of Christian rappers KJ-52 and John Reuben. Manchild describes the origin of the name Soulheir in "Manchild Speaks": "I used to know this cat named Soulheir / But I offed him, now I use his name often / Manchild is the cat that you wanna be quotin'."

In February 2008, Manchild announced on Mars ILL's forum that he was starting up Manchildinsider.com, originally a subscription only site that featured five new songs for $5 every month, with an option to pay for the entire year for $50. In September, the blog was made public, with only the songs themselves sent privately to members who've signed up for the songs. "After starting up and running an independent label and all it entails, and after essentially being signed to a major [EMI] through Gotee, I knew it was time for a different chapter of releasing new music," Manchild told PerformerMag about why he decided to sell his music this way.