Ocoee High School alum to perform at Rolling Loud

“Ayy 2000 est. O-C-O-E-E”

If you hear that in a Christian rap song, you know it’s Ocoee’s own Caleb Gordon. 

Gordon decided to include the year in his artist tag to signify not only because it’s the year in which he was born but also to show God can use you at any age. 

Ocoee in the tag was meant to show success can be for people no matter where they live. 

As Gordon’s music career has progressed, he never has forgotten his hometown.

It was at Ocoee High School where he was given the freedom, encouragement and support to try new activities and discover new passions. He went from playing baseball for the school to basketball. Later, he dropped basketball to focus on music and launched his music career in 2018.

“We fear trying things because people try to say, ‘Hey, you can’t do this,’” he said. “And it’s like, nah, I actually can do that. I can try to be more than I am. I can try new things and see if it works out. If it doesn’t work out, then, at least I can say I tried. I think that was a pivotal thing in my experience, and I think that is just the community we’re able to build here (in Ocoee).”

With his success, Gordon has given back to Ocoee High School, providing new equipment for both the baseball and football teams over the past few years. 

The 2018 Ocoee High School grad went from rapping in the hallways to hitting the stage at Rolling Loud Sunday, May 10, at Camping World Stadium, showcasing his Christian rap with hopes of bringing people closer to God. 

Courtesy photo

‘I’m gonna try God’

As a junior at Ocoee High, Gordon was rapping any time he could, singing about whatever came to mind and spending his spare time in the recording studio at school. 

He had decided to take a break from playing basketball. He only had one scholarship offer to play at a college in Naples, Florida, but when he arrived on campus for a tour, he said God was telling him it wasn’t the right fit. 

He returned to Ocoee uncertain of what the future would hold.

Upon graduation, he had some decisions to make. 

He wasn’t going to college. His dad wanted him to join the Army. His mom was trying to help him figure out his next steps. 

“I just had a breaking point,” Gordon said. “I was sitting there at my lowest, depressed. From there, in that moment, I was like, you know what? I’m gonna try God. I’m gonna step away from everything I’m doing just so I can reset my mind. As I was able to do that, it’s like He led me right back to music, because I didn’t want to do anything until I knew where He wanted to send me. He sent me right back to church, and then he sent me right back to music.”

Gordon never had a musical background other than he spent his days in middle school freestyling in the hallways when he could. His dad also played rap music a lot. 

It was his love for poetry and language arts, the ability to string words together to a rhythm and beat that pushed him toward the style. 

He had a pivotal moment in sixth grade when his father took his phone during church services and told him to go to the front of the church during service and rap. 

“Everybody was lit,” Gordon said. “They were excited. They were like, ‘Yo, this is fire.’ That moment showed me I can actually do something about it.”

Gordon took his seat and didn’t perform in front of an audience again for years, but it gave him the confidence to know he could. 

It was in church Gordon found his passion for music, and after doing research on the music industry, he noticed most rappers avoided religion in their music. 

Gordon felt God compelling him to bring faith to rap. 

“This is extreme, but I really have to tell myself, what are you willing to die for because you can live for a lot of things, but until you know what you’re willing to die for, you don’t really know what you want to do,” he said. “It’ll be the last thing you do. So I was like, you know what, I’m gonna bring faith into my music in a way where people’s lives can be transformed. I want to do that for the rest of my life.”

Photo by Megan Bruinsma

Passions combine

Gordon decided to take his education a step further by majoring in sound music technology at Valencia College, where one of his teachers helped him set up his LLC. 

It was there he started diving deeper into music and connecting his faith to it. 

Then, he discovered an artist who was dropping songs every week, and he decided to do the same — just like a pastor does a sermon each week. With every new song, he learned new beats, new mixes and more. 

Today, Gordon said he’s still finding his voice. 

“When I started, it was just being authentic, not trying to put on for nothing but just being like, I’m from Ocoee, Florida,” he said. “I don’t have to go fake it like I’m from Atlanta, New York or LA. I’m from here.”

“West Orlando Flow” became one of Gordon’s most popular hits and has gone viral on multiple platforms. The music video features scenes of Ocoee and Winter Garden. He wrote the song based on his lived experiences in 2020. He said “West Orlando Flow” was his most authentic song where he was able to be himself, share his story and his city. The message of the song: It doesn’t matter how much you have or where you live, God can meet you where you’re at and that’s OK. 

“People care more about real than they care about people flexing all that other stuff because that’s not real,” he said. “You have to live life to create so I always challenge myself to go outside and live life so I can get the things I need to create the next song. If I don’t feel it, I don’t go in the studio. There’s no point.”

Last year, Gordon’s song “War” peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs, becoming his first song on the Billboard charts. He said “War” is a nod to his mother playing reggae music all day, which he has grown to appreciate. 

Gordon said it hasn’t always been easy being Christian, but as he’s seen more friends and others come to Christ while listening to his music, he has an immense sense of pride.

“It feels good to my spirit,” he said. “It allows people to realize on this walk, they’re not alone. It makes them feel like there’s somebody out there who I can relate to. I think it’s encouraging. That’s what I’m here to do, just encourage people.”

Throughout his music career, Gordon has been on two other tours, with his third tour, The Eden Experience, kicking off Wednesday, July 15, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The tour will end with its last stop in Orlando Saturday, Sept. 26.

But before he goes on tour, Gordon will perform at the sold-out Rolling Loud.

“I believe everybody doesn’t have to be a pastor, (but) I feel like this is where I minister,” he said.