Tenroc Was Driving a Church Van When God Told Him to Make an Album

Tenroc has spent his life making hits for other people. Grammy nominated producer and songwriter, he has worked with Rihanna, Jonas Brothers, Julia Michaels, Renee Rapp, and others — building songs, polishing them, handing them off, and going back to do it again. He never wanted to be the one out front. Then, about a year ago, he was driving a church van full of youth with his wife in the passenger seat when he heard God say something that changed everything.

God's personhood, misdirected worship, and why the universe is not listening when you talk to it: Tenroc shares the story behind God Is a Person, his debut solo album releasing July 17, and why every song on it was deliberately written to be impossible to apply to anyone but God. He also breaks down Celebrity Is Dead, a song born from a conversation with his wife about why fame ruins both the person being worshipped and the people doing the worshipping, and why the whole album is designed to start with you wherever your emotion is and carry you out of it by the last note.

Highlights

• The moment God spoke to him while driving a church van and why his first attempt to rationalize his way around it failed
• Why God specifically told him to make songs that were explicit about Jesus and said His name out loud
• Celebrity Is Dead and why humans were never created to receive worship — and what it does to both parties when they try
• Why every song was written to be impossible to apply to anyone but God, including rewriting verses that felt too generic
• What God Is a Person means — not just that Jesus is God, but that the universe is not a person and is not listening
• Why the album has an 80s pop and rock sonic profile that anyone can enjoy regardless of their faith background
• What it is like to be a producer who gets to make the product, hand it off, and then go back to make another one
• Why he believes every song needs to begin in an honest emotion but cannot leave you there

Resources / Links / CTA

• 🌐 Tenroc website: https://www.praise-jesus.com
• 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tenroc
• 🎵 Single: Call My Name (Yahweh)
• 🎵 Album: God Is a Person, releasing July 17
• 🌐 Follow, share, and explore more of Crosswalk Talk
• 👉 Follow, share, and subscribe for more faith-driven conversations on Lifeaudio

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.