Hoping to help take his career to the next level, a Lacombe based rapper has been nominated in two categories by the Canadian Gospel Music Awards, for rap song of the year and music video of the year.

Caleb Bloomfield, stage name Xempt, submitted his song Road to Greatness simply as a way to get his name out there, and was surprised when he learned it had been nominated for two awards.

The husband and father of two daughters said his songs deal with issues lots of kids in smaller communities can relate to, such as boredom, which can often lead vulnerable youth down the path of substance abuse.

“Lacombe’s a beautiful town but without a doubt there is a problem there, you know what I mean, it’s a small town with nothing to do. Growing up as a kid there that’s just kind of what we did because there wasn’t anything else to do ya know. The main goal is to try and call these kids out of that and call these kids into something that’s greater.”  

His music touches on his some of his personal issues from his past including drug use, which led to run-ins with local law enforcement.

He says he hopes his music helps to inspire others.

“A lot of people are caught in a lot of dark situations just with the way they were brought up, or drugs or alcohol or whatever the case, and there is a lot of hopelessness in the world today and the main thing is just to speak a message of hope ya know, and let the people know what there is a way out, and there is hope and there is a reason to live.”

The Canadian Gospel Music Awards take place on January 24th, 2019 at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton.