It was a good one.

SaulPaul spent New Year’s 2009 on the road traveling to Phoenix, Arizona. Less than 3 hours after arrival he was in Downtown Phoenix performing at First Friday, the nation's largest, self-guided art walk! After moving the crowd and spreading the word about Tower to Tower, he did some more shows and then watched his alma mater UT beat the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl.

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After Arizona, SaulPaul returned to Austin, TX to participate in the 16th annual FronteraFest. FronteraFest is a theatre festival showcasing plays and theatre productions. SaulPaul debuted his 1 Man Play version of Tower to Tower and was awarded best of show honors! Next SP traveled to Tampa, Florida where he participated and performed in TWO Super Bowl week activities all while impacting the local community. He even got invited to do what he does at the same venue as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as well as NFL Hall of Famer Steve Young. Most importantly though was the life impacting message he shared with the youth at the Tampa Bay NFL Y.E.T Center.

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The next Big Deal of 2009 was the launch of SaulPaul’s ReRoute Magazine. Christian hip hop explored new territory on March 21, 2009 with the first ever gospel rap showcase at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas. And ReRoute Magazine launched as the official host of the after party.

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In April, SaulPaul was just about concluding his first foray into teaching. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention his first book, Dream in 3-D got published. Officials at Huston-Tillotson University caught wind of it and asked him to format it as a year long curriculum he could teach to middle school students. And that’s just what he did. It went extremely well. Right around this time, SaulPaul was honored to receive the Texas TRIO Award for his work in Texas and across the United States. In high school SaulPaul was a participant in the Talent Search program for first generation college students. As the whole world knows, or soon will, SaulPaul graduated from college after being incarcerated in the Texas state prison. He was there because of the bad choices he made. He graduated from the prestigious University of Texas at Austin because of the better choices he made. And God’s grace. It’s why he does what he does. It’s why he’s not just a rapper. But a “Musician with a Message”. But back to the Year End Review…

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In May, SaulPaul went on a Michigan tour with his extremely talented and uniquely fresh band…Psalm Fresh.

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In June, SaulPaul wrote a few new songs and shared them with campers at a Christian Sports camp in Leakey, TX called Stillwater Sports Camp. It’s was pretty amazing to say the least.

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In July, SaulPaul visited another Christian Sports Kamp. The famous KAA. Kids Across America. He spent a week there performing and impacting the lives of the Kampers and before he left he was invited back for 2010! He also was strongly encouraged to write a song for the Kamp. He did, they loved it and now you can be on the look out for it in 2010. But that’s the future, we talking about the past.

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In August, SaulPaul had his first official book signing. The date? 08.08.08. It was a great turnout. And following the book signing, he performed an acoustic concert at Viva Chocolato. High end stuff. It was NICE!

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In September, SaulPaul embarked on his first multi-city headlining tour. It covered four states! He visited Buffalo, NY - Toledo, OH - Branson, MO - Chicago, IL. While on tour he partnered with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and performed his song In Loving Memory. It went so well, he was invited back to every city he visited.

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In October, SaulPaul was asked by the powers that be at ESPN Radio to create three intros for their new and improved drive time radio show. He did it and they loved it.

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In November, SaulPaul returned where it all began. Beeville, TX. This is the hometown of the Garza Unit SaulPaul was initially incarcerated at. He left in shame and returned in glory. Okay…it sounds dramatic but it’s true. They even wrote about it in the local paper. It was a good weekend.

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And in December, SaulPaul returned to Los Angeles, California. The last time he was there he took a meeting with Warner Brothers about having his story made into a feature film. Not really feeling the timing or situation was right, he ended up leaving and returning to Texas to do it independent. Just looking at the last year, it seems like he made a good move. Stay tuned to SaulPaul.com for all the most recent updates. This journey isn’t over yet. From talking to SaulPaul, 2010 has much more in store. From more touring to a new studio album, as SaulPaul often says, “We bout to get it poppin’!”

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