[bbfan1991]

A vicar from Devon has collected thousands of hits for an online video in which he raps the story of the nativity.

Reverend Gavin Tyte posted a three-and-a-half minute clip retelling the tale of Jesus's birth to a beatbox backing.

The 40-year-old dresses as an angel and a shepherd in the new video to 'The Beatbox Nativity', a song that he first recorded last year.

"I set about creating a new video that could be played in churches and youth clubs," he said. "I love writing and wondered if it was possible to write the Bible in rap."

Tyte has been beatboxing since the age of eight and performed the technique professionally before becoming ordained.

"I have hung out with rappers for a long time, but trying to turn each verse into a rhyming verse is really tricky," he admitted. "You are constrained by what is written and what sounds good, so it does not flow as well as if you were rapping from scratch."

Earlier this month, Tyte won an online competition known as 'The Nativity Factor' with 'The Beatbox Nativity'.

Youtube video