Jackie Hill Perry (née Jackie Hill, born June 21, 1989) is an American poet, writer, and hip hop artist who initially garnered popularity for her performances of spoken word pieces such as "My Life as a Stud", "A Poem About Weed", and "Jig-a-Boo" at the Passion 4 Christ Movement (P4CM). She has written for various Christian ministry organizations, such as The Resurgence and John Piper's Desiring God, on the topic of Christianity and homosexuality. She signed to the Portland, Oregon-based Christian hip hop label Humble Beast in January 2014, and released her debut album on November 4, 2014, available both commercially and for free. Hill married fellow spoken word artist Preston Perry in March 2014; the couple currently has four children.

Hill believes that an encounter with sexual abuse as a child contributed to the confusion over her gender identity she faced while growing up, and her discovery at age seventeen that she was a lesbian. She lived a life of sexual promiscuity and struggled with drug and pornography addiction, until her conversion to Christianity in 2008. Her self-proclaimed status as a former lesbian has sparked controversy, with many gay rights activists stating that sexual orientation cannot be changed and that Jackie Hill Perry's experience lends credence to the idea of conversion therapy. Jackie Hill Perry maintains her belief that God can transform lives and that he empowers believers to resist temptation. She signed to Reach Records on June 13, 2024.

Biography

Early life (birth to 2008)

Jackie Hill Perry was born Jackie Hill on June 21, 1989, in St. Louis. ^[1] She was raised without a father in her home and experienced sexual abuse at the age of five. ^[1] Hill attended church until she was ten. She said an encounter with sexual abuse, school bullying and a lack of attention from boys contributed to her struggle with gender confusion. ^[2] Since the age of four, Hill thought she should have been born a boy, and at age six she started imitating male tendencies, such as standing up to use the toilet. ^[3]

At age 17, she started pursuing multiple serial relationships with other women. ^[2] Hill's second girlfriend suggested that she become a stud, a woman who takes a masculine role in a lesbian relationship. ^[3] Hill began to gain attention from girls when she assumed the stud role, explaining that "I was never the 'cute chick' but when I became a stud, it seemed like every girl wanted me. I would be in straight clubs and have girls throwing themselves at me. For a girl that's insecure and craves to feel loved, that was like a drug for me." ^[4] Hill Perry abused drugs and became addicted to pornography. ^{[1] [2]} In October 2008, she converted to Christianity. ^[5]

Conversion and current activities (2008–present)

As recounted in her poem "My Life as a Stud", Hill states that "...one day, the Lord spoke to me. He said, 'She will be the death of you.' In that moment, the scripture for the wages of sin equal death finally clicked." ^[2] Hill left her girlfriend, returned to church, and started writing poetry. She performed her first spoken word piece at a P4CM poetry conference in 2010, and met Preston Perry, the man who would eventually become her husband. ^[2] Over time, Hill gradually lost interest in women, and Preston proposed to her in August 2013 through the spoken word poem "The Covenant". ^{[2] [6]} The couple married in March 2014. ^[2] Hill Perry attributes that change in her sexuality to God's transformation of her life. ^[2]

Record label Humble Beast announced on January 7, 2014 that it had signed Hill Perry as an artist. ^[7] She has appeared as a guest musician on several Christian hip hop recordings, including Because You Asked by Swoope and Instruments of Mercy by Beautiful Eulogy. ^{[7] [8]} Her debut album, The Art of Joy, was produced by Beautiful Eulogy and released on November 4, 2014 ^{[9] [10]} Hill Perry is also a staff member of the Legacy Movement ministry. ^[11] In 2016, Hill Perry, JGivens and John Givez were featured on Lecrae's "Misconceptions 3" from the album Church Clothes 3. ^[12] Hill Perry and her husband are part of "Poets in Autumn,” a worldwide tour of Christian spoken word artists including Ezekiel Azonwu, Chris Webb, Joseph Solomon and Janette...IKZ. They create collaborative and individual pieces that address topics in the Christian faith. ^[13] In 2019, Hill Perry and her husband started a podcast called "With the Perrys." They offer insight on relationships, theology, politics, race, and parenting. ^[14] On June 13, 2024, it was announced that Hill-Perry had signed to Reach Records. ^[15] Alongside the announcement, she released a new single, "First Draft". ^[15]

Stance on homosexuality

Jackie Hill Perry maintains that she is an ex-lesbian, and that her transition to heterosexuality is among the changes God worked in her life. On July 31, 2013, Christian hip hop radio show Wade-O Radio published an interview with Hill Perry where she spoke out against the Macklemore song " Same Love". ^[3] Citing 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, she stated that "The word of God itself, apart from Jackie Hill, testifies that people can change. So if the word of God is the word of God, then we need to deal with that and believe that it's true. I think we've made God very little if we believe that he cannot change people. If he can make a moon, stars and a galaxy that we have yet to fully comprehend, how can he not simply change my desires?" ^[3] This stance has been criticized by many, particularly gay rights activists. According to The Washington Times, Hill Perry's experience "runs counter to pronouncements by gay rights groups that exclaim sexuality as an inherent, immutable characteristic", and, even further, comes amid "wide-ranging reports about the psychological dangers of so-called ' reparative therapy,' which aims to change the orientation of homosexuals." ^[2] Hill Perry estimates that about 40 percent of the messages she has received over social media have been negative. ^[2] When Hill married Preston Perry in March 2014, one critic accused the couple of both being gay and marrying to "play God to a bunch of ignorant people." ^[2]

Jackie Hill Perry, in her 2013 interview with Wade-O Radio, clarified that she does not believe that every Christian with a homosexual disposition will lose those desires. "If God chooses not to change my desires, he has promised to give me his Holy Spirit that will help me flee from them. There are people who were alcoholics for 20 years, went through rehab and they don't drink anymore, but sometimes they may be tested. If they see a bottle of whiskey, they're going to want that whiskey, but they have a choice." ^[3]

However for more clarification as stated above she mentions being tested or tempted.

In an 8/20/2018 article from [[[Christianity Today|[Christianity Today]] Jackie Hill Perry: I Loved My Girlfriend—but God Loved Me More]

Jackie gives more clarification about her stance on homosexuality. See her quoted below.

“Jackie: Homosexuality might have been my loudest sin, but it was not my only sin. God was not about setting me free from one form of slavery only to leave me enslaved to other idols. By calling me to himself, he was after my whole heart. His intention was to turn it toward him and transform it as only he could, enabling me to be holy in how I expressed my sexuality and everything else. When God saves, he saves holistically. So my repentance would not be singular. That night, I knew that it wasn’t just my lesbianism that had me at odds with God—it was my entire heart.”

Also in a Podcast interview with [Lecrae aired on 3/12/24 The Deep End With Lecrae B-Side titled "Jackie Hill Perry Gets Deep With Lecrae".

"Lacrea- Do you feel like historically you've been misunderstood or you were did you have the clarity you have now when you first started like addressing this in public when everyone was like oh she's talking about what it's like to have been gay."

"Jackie: What do you mean by misunderstood like."

"Lacrea: Like well I say on one end of the spectrum I feel like the lesbian Community has pushed back on you yeah and maybe for different reasons right maybe it was because they felt you weren't compassionate or maybe it was because you felt like like you could pray the gay away like where you like there's" 

"Jackie:  That's the primary criticism"

"Lacrea: Yeah okay which is a misunderstanding okay so that's what I'm saying like like misunderstood because okay so what would you say like if that's the Mojo they trying to put on you is oh she think you can pray the gay away "

"Jackie: Yeah I think some of it I don't even I'm not even mad because I think I use language that conversion therapists and evangelicals have used right and so I think the assumption is because she's using the same language she must be communicating the same method and I'm not and so some of that is okay I can get why you assume that some of it that also is is y'all lazy you haven't read my book if you read my book and you listen to my messages I will consistently say that God does not , like heterosexuality is not the fruit of the spirit self-control is because now we're assuming that to be heterosexual means you are ethically right and that's not true because half of the pastors that's fallen in sin are heterosexual right ultimately. What I'm saying is that God Saves you for himself and in Saving you for himself he frees you from the penalty of sin and the power of sin so as you continue to experience Temptation and most likely you will you are now freed from its power so you don't have to be a slave to it that's ultimately what I've been saying because that's what the Apostle Paul says that's what Jesus says that's what the Bible says like we serve a see a savior who was tempted in all respects yet without sin and so now in Hebrews 4 . It says now we have a great high priest who  empathizes with us so let's go to him when we're weak the problem is we don't want to keep going so it's easier for me to identify Myself by my sin instead of pursuing the Savior until the day I die that takes time that takes endurance that takes effort and it takes Faith to say that you are better than everything I feel that's what I've been trying to say Lacrea.”

This aligns exactly with what Jackie stated in In an 8/20/2018 article from [[[Christianity Today|[Christianity Today]] Jackie Hill Perry: I Loved My Girlfriend—but God Loved Me More].

Jackie said it is easier for people to do this- IDENTIFY MYSELF BY MY SIN. So she is stating that some people identify themselves by their sin. Meaning people identify themselves as homosexual, gay, queer etc which is their sin. She stated that is not good and that instead we should continue seeking the Lord Jesus Christ and his strength to overcome our sin to make us a new creature in Christ with new desires and affections.

Jackie Hill Perry is LGTQA+ Non-Affirming. In her co-hosted Podcast with her husband Preston perry With The Perrys titled Why Jackie Wouldn’t Attend a Gay Wedding the question is asked Why Jackie Wouldn’t Attend a Gay Wedding Jackie answers.

"I think God cares about marriage uh because he created it that's one so he he cares deeply about it two when you get to Ephesians 5 you see that Paul says that this mystery is profound and that he's talking about marriage and that it refers to Christ and the church meaning when God created marriage he created it as a symbol or even a sacrament to reflect God's marriage to what the church would be because of Christ Jesus right and so if it's a symbol that then presents the gospel it's even more important right um because now I want to make sure that I'm honoring this mystery that God made to reflect what his son did yeah um so that's too so all of that kind of gives me a reverence for marriage and then when you add in the fact that to me being present at a w W can often communicate agreement affirmation support y um even covenantal accountability in some spaces like my pres here says I'm going to support lift up pray for this Union and so to me my presence in the room can communicate something that I don't actually want to be communicated because I can't support it yeah I can't affirm it I can't I if I pray for it I'm praying that God breaks it up I'm not praying that it it's you get what I'm saying like I can't I can't I can't.”

Influences

In an interview with The Gospel Coalition, Hill Perry cited Mali Music, Propaganda, and Ebony Moore as "a few people who inspire me to be great at my craft." ^[16] Theologically, she names pastor John Piper as a major influence, and even based Art of Joy on Piper's book Desiring God, where Piper explains his concept of Christian hedonism. Hill Perry states that

Aside from the doctrines of grace, it's one concept that has really renewed my mind when it comes to faith and sin. Now, when I look at certain sins, it's not, 'Oh, I'm just doing this because I want to.' No, what in this sin do you think will satisfy me that God can't? It makes my processing of my issues a lot deeper, and it's also expanded my view of God. ^[17]

Writing

Jackie Hill Perry has written for various Christian ministry organizations, focusing on reconciling issues of homosexuality with Christianity. Among these are her articles "Love Letter to a Lesbian", written for Desiring God, a ministry of John Piper, and "A Christian Response to the Same-Sex Marriage Ruling", for The Resurgence, a ministry of the now-defunct Mars Hill Church. ^{[18] [19]} Hill Perry also released her own book, Gay Girl Good God, which was published September 3, 2018. She is also author of a Bible study for women and teen girls "Jude: Contending for the Faith in Today's Culture.". ^[20] Hill Perry released her second book, Holier Than Thou: How God's Holiness Helps Us Trust Him, in 2021. Hill Perry's third book, Upon Waking, was released in 2023.

Discography

Studio albums

• The Art of Joy (2014)
• Crescendo (2018)

References

Citations

Additional references

• A brief TGC report on "Jig-a-Boo"
• NPR report on formerly gay Christians
• Rapzilla interview

See also

Spoken word

External links

• Official website