Cory Condrey Interview (September 11, 2008)

Cory Condrey, the Atlanta based gospel deejay known to listeners from San Diego to Washington, D.C., as Coco Brother, is getting married. Condrey let the news slip, then talked openly about his engagement to gospel singer Joann Rosario of Chicago. "I'm getting married Dec. 31," said the radio impresario whose syndicated show "The Spirit of Hip Hop" fuses urban sounds with heavenly lyrics. The two had been in orbit around each other for a couple of years, with Rosario working the gospel circuit and Condrey playing her music and even airing an interview with her that his producer had conducted. But the two had never met face to face until earlier this year. She saw Condrey interviewing a mutual friend on a YouTube video and sent him an e-mail, thanking Condrey for his work in promoting good values and the gospel. Condrey, who answers his e-mails personally, responded. "He hit me back and said, 'I've heard a lot about you. We need to catch up,' " Rosario said. What happened next, the couple calls divine destiny. Condrey was on the phone two weeks later with the man he had interviewed on the YouTube video. Rosario's name came up, and the men rang her in on a conference call. "And that was it," Condrey said. Over the next few weeks, more text messages led to phone conversations, which grew longer and longer as the months progressed. When Rosario came to Atlanta for a concert last July, the two met for dinner and both agreed to continue the relationship. Condrey went to Chicago to meet Rosario's family Labor Day. Rosario said they plan to live in Atlanta. Joann Judith Rosario (born June 3, 1974)[1] is an American gospel/CCM singer, and a pastor. Rosario was born in Chicago to parents of Puerto Rican background. Her father is a pastor and she sang in his church as a child. Under her fathers ministry, she recorded several live Spanish language worship albums and is known for introducing the gospel vocal sound to the Spanish Christian market. Her professional career began in 1997 as a background singer for Marvin Sapp, then left in 1999 to be a member of Fred Hammond's Radical for Christ. Hammond helped her launch a solo career in 2001 with her Spring 2002 debut album More, More, More. In 2003, Rosario was diagnosed with nodules on her vocal folds, and took an extended hiatus to treat the condition.[2] She released a follow-up effort in 2005 and a third in 2007. As a licensed Christian minister Joann travels internationally, preaching and singing in English and Spanish. She is now pastoring in Douglasville GA, RainFire Church Maranatha which was launched in March 2014. Joann's latest book is Father, Here I Am and is a 40-day devotional for women.