THE Archbishop of York was nicknamed a "hip hop master" after hanging out with a Christian rap crew at Bishopthorpe Palace.

Dr David Hope watched a performance by hip-hop trio Overtone, who will be spreading the Christian gospel through their music to school pupils across York.

The band - made up Matt Osgood, Tim Burnage and Kerstin Gresswell - work for the York Schools and Youth Trust (YOYO) and were invited to the palace for a show in front of senior teachers.

"The archbishop is clearly a hip hop master," Matt said.

"He has been very supportive and a real encouragement to us.

"We often find that young people see Christianity as boring, irrelevant and out of date. But they can relate to our music."

YOYO trustee Derek Wooldridge said: "This is about the joy that the Christian faith brings to young people. It's far more important than worrying about funding for the Minster."

Updated: 09:33 Thursday, June 26, 2003