36 Facts About Conrad Tillard

Conrad Bennette Tillard was born on September 15,1964 and is an American Baptist minister, radio host, activist, politician, and author.

Conrad Tillard was at age 25 appointed Minister of Mosque No 7 in Harlem, a position formerly held by Malcolm X Conrad Tillard became known as the "Hip-Hop Minister," noted for his outspoken opposition to the promotion of gangsterism in hip-hop music lyrics, and for defusing potentially violent feuds between rappers.

Conrad Tillard left the NOI in 1997 when he was 32 years old, and returned to Christianity.

Conrad Tillard became a Christian preacher at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, then the Senior Pastor at the Nazarene Congregational Church, a United Church of Christ, in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, in New York City, and now the Senior Minister at Flatbush Tompkins Congregational Church in Flatbush, Brooklyn.

Conrad Tillard wrote a memoir, was a radio host, and became an adjunct college professor.

Conrad Tillard ran for New York State Senator in 2022, in a Democratic primary campaign for the New York State Senate against incumbent State Senator Jabari Brisport.

Conrad Tillard moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and then to Washington, DC, when he was very young, and grew up in the Christian religion.

Conrad Tillard's biological father was a tailor and part-time jazz musician.

Conrad Tillard attended Lincoln University, which was historically Black, transferred to Middlebury College in the fall of 1984, then to Wesleyan University.

Conrad Tillard earned a Master of Divinity degree in systematic theology and Christian social ethics at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary with a Master of Theology in practical theology.

At 19 years of age in 1984, while he was in college, Conrad Tillard converted to Islam and joined the Nation of Islam.

Conrad Tillard became known as Conrad X, and later Conrad Muhammad.

Conrad Tillard was attracted to the organization because it made him feel strong and proud of being Black, rather than due to an attraction to the religion of Islam; he felt that racism and corruption were problems in the Arab world.

Conrad Tillard was stripped of his position in 1997, reportedly after internal politics and threats of violence by NOI officials, or disagreements with Farrakhan, or over charges of financial mismanagement.

Conrad Tillard resigned from the NOI that year, in a public break, when he was 32 years old.

Conrad Tillard became known as the "Hip-Hop Minister," as he both criticized hip hop lyrics, and defused potentially violent feuds between rappers.

Conrad Tillard appears in the documentary Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes.

Conrad Tillard criticized hip-hop lyrics that portrayed American black communities as degenerate.

Conrad Tillard feuded with Def Jam founder Russell Simmons in 2001, accusing him of stoking violence by allowing the frequent use of words such as "nigga" and "bitch" in rap lyrics.

Conrad Tillard became a fixture in hip-hop after he arranged a meeting and a truce in a feud between rising bands Wreckx-N-Effect and A Tribe Called Quest.

Conrad Tillard counseled Sean "Diddy" Combs during his feud with rival Suge Knight, and criticized him for what he saw as his mistreatment of Shyne Barrow.

Conrad Tillard served as a radio talk show host on urban adult contemporary FM radio station WBLS.

In 2001, Conrad Tillard criticized the Reverend Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders, calling them "hired guns" for not condemning rappers Sean Combs or Shyne Barrows.

Conrad Tillard organized another summit in Harlem at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

In 2002, having reverted to his birth name, Conrad Tillard sought to run for US Congress in New York's 15th congressional district in Harlem in Manhattan against 32-year incumbent Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel.

Conrad Tillard initially sought to run as a Republican, but was unable to secure the party's nomination.

Conrad Tillard ultimately failed to qualify for a position on the ballot for the Democratic nomination for the Congressional seat, as he did not produce 1,250 valid signatures to qualify for the primary ballot; of the 1,652 signatures he filed, only 630 were deemed valid.

Conrad Tillard was selected in 2005 and 2006 by Beliefnet as one of "The Most Influential Spiritual Black Leaders" in the United States.

In 2009, Conrad Tillard went on to become the Senior Pastor at The Nazarene Congregational Church, a United Church of Christ in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, which is one of the oldest African-American congregations in New York City.

Conrad Tillard was selected that year as "Pastor of the Year" in Brooklyn by Church Women United.

In 2016, Conrad Tillard became an adjunct professor in the Black Studies Department of City College of the City University of New York.

In 2018, Conrad Tillard became the Senior Minister at Flatbush Tompkins Congregational Church in Ditmas Park in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York.

In 2022, Conrad Tillard launched a campaign for New York State Senate in District 25 against freshman State Senator Jabari Brisport, a member of the Democratic Socialists.

Conrad Tillard ran as a more moderate and centrist candidate than Brisport, and was critical of his support of socialism.

Conrad Tillard said the comments were decades old, and did not reflect the man he now was.

Since then, Rev Conrad Tillard has been a minister and pastored prominent churches.