If last week’s GRAMMY Award nominations are any indication for gospel music, it seems like gospel is gonna be just fine! Though the list featured some very familiar names, their albums and songs are every bit of deserving of the GRAMMY nod. If you’ve stayed up at night wondering about the future of gospel music, worry no more!
Millennials take the blame for so much these days. But according to the Recording Academy, they’re also due some credit for the success of gospel music, this year! The youngest nominee in the gospel category is 20 and the oldest is 47. Koryn Hawthorne is 20 (her birthday is December 26th, Jekalyn Carr is 21, Tori Kelly is 25, The Walls Group ages range from 21-28 and Jonathan McReynolds is 29. At 47 and 48 respectively, Brian Courtney Wilson and Kirk Franklin are the only non-Millenial/Generation Z artists nominated this year!
Jonathan McReynolds, Jekalyn Carr, Tori Kelly, Koryn Hawthorne and Brian Courtney Wilson populate this year’s field for Gospel Song of the Year. On the Album side, the list has one addition, The Walls Group. Millenials, dominate the gospel GRAMMY noms, y’all…!
The sound is reflective of their respective generations, too! Ask any child who Tori Kelly is and they may not know who you’re talking about until you start singing “Don’t You Worry Bout a Thing“. Earlier this year, Kelly shocked her fans when she announced her plans to release a gospel album. If you’re coming to gospel music, who better to hold the door open for you than Kirk Franklin?Kelly teamed up with Kirk Franklin who dug deep into his mixed bag of previously unrecorded hits to help finalize Kelly’s album that grew from its initial single: “Help Us to Love” ft. The Hamiltones. Their collaboration “Never Alone” and Kelly’s Christian/Gospel album “Hiding Place” is up for Best Gospel Song and Album. Kelly features Jonathan McReynolds on “Just As Sure” and Lecrae on “Masterpiece” but really shines on the soulful “Sunday” and “Psalm 42” a song I wouldn’t be surprised if it made an impact on the Christian (CCM) charts and radio.
Jonathan McReynolds’ “Cycles” and album “Make Room” are nominated in respective categories. McReynolds’ album is replete with songs for believers in what many consider the “tweener” stages of spiritual maturity. No one can truly put an age on spiritual maturity but, you know the stage in your spiritual life he’s singing about.
The devil, he learns from your mistakes-even if you don’t!
The eruption you hear from the crowd when McReynold’s sings that line is the collective revelation of the next line: “that’s how he keeps you in cycles…” A whole sermon in 15 seconds! Teaming with Doe Jones of Forever Jones, the two sermonized a life lesson set to life music as only McReynolds can. Songs like “Better“, “Graduate” and “Make Room” make you want to be a better believer! In fact, they play like a spiritual report card, if nothing else! In Dallas earlier this year, McReynolds intimated that he discovered his need for more grace in the process of writing this album! Whether you need grace or a jaunt toward spiritual maturity, “Make Room” challenges believers to do just that in their spiritual life, earning the album and single “Cycles” a GRAMMY nom this year.
She draws almost an immediate comparison to Pastor Shirley Caesar, but this past year, Evangelist Jekalyn Carr has turned the comparisons into mere recollections. She has come into her own as an artist, author and entrepreneur. She hasn’t even begun to evolve and though she’s been in the conversation for the better part of the last five years, she just recently turned 21. Also making a huge turn with her maturation and evolution is her musical output!
If you made it through Jekalyn Carr’s “It’s Yours” without at least tapping your foot, snapping your fingers or clapping your hands, you probably need a wellness check. Jekalyn Carr has delivered possibly her best album yet with “One Nation Under God”. Considering the current political climate, some listeners weren’t quite sure what to expect from Carr. Once the album dropped, all speculation went out the window!
“You Will Win” preceded her book release by the same name, “Stay With Me” and “It’s Yours” were sent to radio and inspired listeners everywhere. Though the radio singles performed well, the complete project is stellar and a step above “The Life Project” which netted a GRAMMY nomination for “You’re Bigger” (Gospel Performance/Song). Because recorded music now exists in a singles driven industry, many listeners are oblivious to the greatness on this album. “In This Atmosphere” features Donald Lawrence, “On the Cross” features Pastor Steve Hare of REACH Radio, “Never Alone” not only features a deep groove, it features Cachet Morganfield and Nariah Smith returns on “Gonna Be Great“. The Life Project featured a combined choir and they return on this album for: “We Are One“. Top to bottom, this album is a winner (see what I did, there?) so it’ll come as no surprise to see Carr win this award season!
Sometimes I watch too much television. Other times, I don’t even have the television on. My favorite drama on now is “Greenleaf“. A few seasons ago, I watched a performance of a song that I didn’t even remember until I met an artist who recorded the song! In an interview with Koryn Hawthorne, I immediately remembered hearing the song on the show! In an interview with Angela Jollivette, she spoke to us about the decision to insert “Won’t He Do It” and other gospel songs and artists into the season. The song burst onto the airwaves and has ridden the wave of popularity all the way to a performance on the Soul Train Music Awards and a 2018 GRAMMY nomination! Congratulations to Koryn, and her wonderful team at RCA Inspiration!
One unforgettable note about Koryn Hawthorne: when asked about her decision to sing gospel music following her time on “The Voice“, she made a decision to honor God with her voice if she was ever able to reach this stage of her music career! A decision worth celebrating!
You’re probably wondering how The Walls Group ended up in the 2018 GRAMMY Awards Best Gospel Album category, you’re not alone. You also probably haven’t listened to “The Other Side“. Don’t feel bad though, the group has been rather quiet since last November’s release. Rhea got married and had a baby, big bro Darrell is singing and writing all over the industry, the little brother and sister are growing (way) up and wait, there’s more Walls’???
The Other Side featured a variety of genres, brought together by the brilliant minds of the Walls’ and super-producer Warryn Campbell. The first single from the album: “My Life” was a straightforward anthem letting everybody know that the kids on the couch in the living were all grown up, now! Their song selection also changed. If you were expecting more fun, innocuous music from the Walls’, you ended up on the ‘other side’ of their intended audience. It’s fair to surmise that their new content has in a way displaced them from their initial dedication as a “novelty” group. The Walls Group is a group comprised of young adults, now! Songs like: “And You Don’t Stop” “Word” and “The Other Side“(a song about Heaven) show us just how mature this young group is. Listening to this album is the aural equivalent of growing pains. With growth comes maturity and with their vocal and maturity in life, The Walls Group has earned their latest GRAMMY nomination!
Alas…what more can be said about Brian Courtney Wilson’s “A Great Work“? His album is so good, that it inspired an entire ongoing series here at SMG: The Gospel Music Series. It changed the way I listen to gospel music and helped me understand that not all gospel music is for Sunday morning nor should it be judged by its Sunday morning-worthiness! The name says it all…it’s a great body of work! From the first track to the last, the album is his best to date! For those of you familiar with Wilson, you remember his last album was also GRAMMY nominated. He’s no stranger to GRAMMY nominations but this should be his year to win! Brian Courtney Wilson is a world class singer! For some reason this is overlooked in gospel music, today. Flat foot singing, he doesn’t have fireworks going off in the background, no dancers on the side of the stage, but he does dress well and sing in pure, sincere excellence!
In R&B, we’d call him a crooner! His smooth voice rarely ventures into a squall and his spiritual conviction mirrors his musical approach. “A Great Work” is an album for believers who as the Apostle Paul ‘know whom they have believed’ (2 Timothy 1:12). Wilson hasn’t shied away from addressing social ills, either. “Heal” was the first single from the album and confronts the current condition of our blood that ‘runs in the street‘. The song bemoans the state of our union and hopes that all generations can find a way to not only heal the current ills, but to live together in harmony.
As a settled soul, a song like “Noise” is the cure for life’s many questions. You may not have experienced it yet, but at a certain point in life, you will! When those questions come, they’ll challenge your conviction to the which you’ll need the confidence that God is doing ‘a great work’ in you. When all else fails, sing the scripture! That’s exactly what Wilson does and it’s phenomenal, as the second single and title track from the album, I’m certain you’ve the GRAMMY nominated song (Best Gospel Performance/Song). Wilson teamed up with Bishop Marvin Winans on “My Witness Is In Heaven“- doesn’t get much smoother in gospel than that…and not one to be behind the times, don’t miss the trap choir on “Increase My Faith“.
Perhaps my favorite song from Wilson’s album is: “Our Father Is Kind” a song he says was inspired by a conversation with Kirk Franklin. “Our father is kind” was Franklin’s answer to Wilson’s query for the success the artist, producer, composer and de facto face of gospel music. Franklin has remained busy since that conversation.
Last year, Franklin celebrated Wilson, Pastor Travis Greene and Jonathan McReynolds as the future of men gospel music. Franklin will once again face off with Wilson for GRAMMY consideration as producer, co-writer and featured artist with Tori Kelly and label executive (Fo Yo Soul) with The Walls Group. Kirk Franklin is again in the mix at GRAMMY time, but as suggested by the 2018 GRAMMY gospel categories, the kids are alright and the future of gospel music will be just fine!
GRAMMY season is officially upon us with the announcement of the 2018 nominees. This year’s category features some surprises and some well deserved recognition. The gospel category seems to always leave the category open to questioning for some, but for others a sobering reminder of the gulf that exists between the GRAMMYs, Billboard Awards and the Stellar Awards, respectively.
Gospel music is in the middle of an evolution. The doors are wide open as one sound is ushered out and another welcomed ‘home’. Gospel artists are making music that sounds like and appeals to church, once again. The 2018 GRAMMY gospel category is somewhat reflective of that with this year’s nominees. Here are this year’s nominees:
Best Gospel Performance/Song:
You Will Win-Jekalyn Carr
Won’t He Do It- Koryn Hawthorne
Never Alone- Tori Kelly ft. Kirk Franklin
Cycles- Jonathan McReynolds
A Great Work- Brian Courtney Wilson
Best Gospel Album
One Nation Under God- Jekalyn Carr
Hiding Place- Tori Kelly
Make Room- Jonathan McReynolds
The Other Side- The Walls Group
A Great Work- Brian Courtney Wilson
The Recording Academy can’t go wrong with either artist chosen as a winner. These artists and their work is phenomenal and have each connected with their fans and overall listeners on such a level, that has driven gospel music back to alerting heights!
Koryn Hawthorne didn’t win on “The Voice” but she made a promise to God that if she was able to return to that level of exposure, she would only use her voice for Him. Isn’t it amazing to see how richly God rewards those that honor Him? Many people first heard “Won’t He Do It” on the groundbreaking series “Greenleaf” on OWN. Since initially airing on the weekly drama, the song has taken on a life of its own, landing on this year’s GRAMMY nominations list!
Remember Jonathan McReynolds‘ “Cycles” challenge that had everybody trying that ridiculously difficult ad-lib at the beginning of the song? Everybody ‘tried it’, but few came close! Jekalyn Carr released a book by the same title as her anthem “You Will Win” and people all over the world declared themselves ‘winners’ right along with her! Carr celebrated her first Dove Award win earlier this year. A GRAMMY win would be great for the young singer who has found herself in the same categories with legends and current contemporary leaders in Billboard, Stellar and GRAMMY award consideration!
Tori Kelly surprised everyone with a gospel album, but she made it clear that this album is genuine and from her heart. She celebrates both a “Best Song” and “Album of the Year” nomination, this year! The Walls Group has somewhat quietly become industry stalwarts. In short order, they’ve reached ‘the other side’ of their young career, their parents, college graduates, and seeing life through their own lens now. Their content reflects their maturation. No longer just ‘kids who can sing’, The Walls Group is here to make a statement! They can still sing anything and as a group harmonize better than any assemblage, to date. Well, let’s just say their vocal prowess is reminiscent of what we love in the Winans and The Clark Sisters! Their nomination is well deserved and truly earned!
What can I say about Brian Courtney Wilson??? One listen to his album and I was inspired to write! Literally…I had an epiphany as I listened to his album and it was this: his music is for grown up believers. Not by age, but in spiritual maturity! Ruminate on that for a moment. So much music is made and it lives on the surface of Christianity, but his music and especially “A Great Work” exists on such a higher plane that the listener is both changed and challenged! Something listeners have clamored for, for years!
His nomination in both categories is a ‘tip of the cap’ in regard to the great work of his latest album, “A Great Work“. As stated earlier, the Recording Academy has quite the job on their hands this year, and I couldn’t be more glad!
To see a full list of all the nominees, visit the GRAMMY website.
“That’s what this album is: when I’m singing these songs, I feel like I’m safe!“
Inside the Hiding Place Tori Kelly takes us deep within her journey of faith with her newest project, “Hiding Place“. The imprint of her faith is abundantly clear as she puts her signature sounds on sacred soul, contemporary christian and gospel styled songs. Kirk Franklin took the reins of the project as producer and has steered Kelly in the right artistic direction, punctuating the best of her vocal capability with each song choice and arrangement. The album is also another gem for Franklin who remains at the top of the gospel music hierarchy as an artist, producer and songwriter. He co-wrote four of the eight songs with Kelly, a first for him but you can sense his masterful musical movement throughout the project.
Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
Psalm 32:7
While speaking about the album on SoulProsper Radio “On the Record” Kelly says about her faith: “This is real to me, my faith is real and I can’t help but sing about it. I hope that people are somehow affected, even if they don’t necessarily believe what I believe, just that they would hear my heart and be encouraged…be uplifted and somehow know that there’s a God that loves them and will help them get through whatever they’re going through.”
Tori Kelly burst on the scene with her debut Unbreakable Smile in 2015 which premiered at #2 on the Billboard 200. From there, her star rose even higher with her soaring rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry Bout a Thing” on the critically acclaimed animated film “Sing”. The song was a hit with not only children but their parents who have more than likely heard a fair share of covers, though nothing like Kelly’s ownership of it in the film as “Meena” the singing elephant.
Nationwide insurance rolled out a series of commercials starring Kelly singing and playing the guitar and coupled with the enormous success of “Sing”, fans couldn’t get enough of Kelly. Then, she appeared on the 33rd Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards with The Hamiltones singing “Help Us to Love”. What at the time seemed as another project for Kirk Franklin was the precursor to and first single from “Hiding Place”. Also appearing on the album with Kelly are: Jonathan McReynolds and Lecrae. Last year, Kelly and Lecrae teamed up on “I’ll Find You” which caught many fans of both artists a little off guard, despite blazing the Good Morning America and MTV TRL stages on the way to spending 29 weeks on the Billboard chart and resting atop the chart following its July 2017 release.
Watch “Just As Sure” from Tori Kelly featuring Jonathan McReynolds. You can watch more videos from “Hiding Place” on Tori Kelly’s VEVO channel.
“Masterpiece” (ft. Lecrae) opens the album with a flash bang and quickly draws listeners in with “Help Us to Love” and continuously reveals a little more with each track until its beautifully soaring closes “Souls Anthem (It Is Well)” The album is a complete amalgam of her range and style but the first taste we get of what we know of Tori Kelly meets us on “Sunday“. She doesn’t wait to worship on the weekends and brilliantly tells us what’s beyond we can see, “don’t let Sunday fool ya, here’s my hallelujah. Every single day, I’m running to your grace.”
When presented with the idea of a duet, one name came up, that of Jonathan McReynolds. “I’ve been a fan of Jonathan for so long…we were in the studio with Kirk and this was the first day that we started working together and he played me this song and we were both like ‘you know, this would be a really cool opportunity for a duet, who should we get?’ I was like, ‘do you know Jonathan McReynolds?’ Before I could even process what was going on, he had him on the phone and he was asking him ‘hey do you want to come out tomorrow to do this song with Tori Kelly?’ right away and he was there the next day.”
The two match wits on the acoustic guitar driven ballad celebrating God’s love for us: “Just As Sure” and in the process perform one of the sickest runs in music in tandem! If you think you had a hard time re-creating McReynold’s intro to “Cycles“, you’ll surely need some practice on this one! Continuing to cover all the bases of gospel music today, Psalm 42 forays into the realm of contemporary christian music as Kelly confesses the refrain “I need you Lord!”
Next up, the pensive “Questions” asks the queries many of us seek answers to. “What if the healing never comes? Do we stand and curse the Heavens or lift our hands and feel the sun? The mystery’s not clear just once your voice I’d love to hear, what happens when the healing never comes?” While we all have questions, some of us are in deep despair. To that, Kelly and Franklin team up to let you know that you’re “Never Alone“, This is Franklin’s sweet spot and his imprint is all over the track which features a choir taking it home. Franklin has termed the sound of “Hiding Place” as “hope-pop” and “Never Alone” is its definitive track as it features all the elements of classic pop and gospel collaborations. In short, it’s the quintessential Tori Kelly and Kirk Franklin collaboration. This song could also work as a ccm/gospel crossover and would certainly do well on the airwaves for either audience.
Kirk Franklin got his start as a choirmaster and the choral arranging on “Soul’s Anthem (It Is Well)” stands tall. Reminiscent of the evolution of gospel music spurred by his groundbreaking work with “The Family”, you’ll hear Franklin’s undeniable imprint in its purest, modern form as the choir accompanies Kelly a cappella.
“I want them to know that, no matter what they’re going through, there’s a God who loves them so much and so unconditionally, and there’s always a reason to feel hope. That’s what I really believe in, and I want everyone out there to hear my heart.”
The second single from Tori Kelly’s upcoming project, “Never Alone”.LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 24: Tori Kelly (2nd R) and The Hamiltones perform during the 33rd annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards at the Orleans Arena on March 24, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Earl Gibson III/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Tori Kelly; The Hamiltones
In March when Tori Kelly performed “Help Us to Love” at the Stellar Awards, I honestly didn’t think much of it. In fact, I thought it as an anthem for the times and lauded Kirk Franklin as one of the most brilliant writers of my lifetime. I asked The Hamiltones about the collaboration and it all seemed to be a singular occurrence.
The other day I saw Kirk and Tori Kelly again and before I could even think about it, I saw track listings…! The level of excitement that hit my life was off the charts! We’re talking about Tori Kelly, the voice behind one of the best covers of “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” that was featured on a cartoon! She is a bonafide singer! And if you watch any television at all, you know that she can play-too!
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 24: Tori Kelly performs during the 33rd annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards at the Orleans Arena on March 24, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Earl Gibson III/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Tori Kelly
So, what can you expect of her forthcoming project featuring…gospel music? Besides cameos by the writer and producer dancing in all the videos-Mr. Franklin, there’s a duet with Jonathan McReynolds and a feature by Lecrae you definitely want to keep your eyes and ears out for! Definitely more ‘grown up gospel‘ we’ve been craving here at SMG!
oh, & there’s an album 🙂 pre-order tonight @ midnight + get the first track ‘never alone’ pic.twitter.com/Bs5E4R8tWR
Earlier this year, Snoop Dogg owned the airwaves and chats with his Bible of Love compilation. I will argue that Tori Kelly’s album (due out September 14th) is just as exciting. Crossover isn’t what it used to be, now secular artists are returning to their church roots and TK’s album is sure to be a worthy journey, home!
Kirk Franklin has done it successfully for years and it has become his M.O. In his heyday, Kirk collaborated with everybody because as a gospel artist he was equally attractive to mainstream audiences! Who could forget the R. Kelly collaborations and interpolations of secular hits made his own! His biggest was “Stomp”, the remix featured Cheryl “Salt” James who dropped one of the hottest verses of the time on the song, part of Franklin’s top grossing album for nearly 20 years. On his next album, “Lean On Me” featured secular artists R. Kelly, Mary J. Blige and Bono. The world hadn’t yet known Bono as a believer so that was huge, especially to gospel music fans. His latest crossover offering? “God Help Us to Love” featuring Tori Kelly and the Hamiltones.
Kirk Franklin performs in Dallas during his “Twenty Years in One Night” concert. Franklin combined 20 years of hits in one concert tour, performing with an incredible lineup of singers and musicians. Photo Credit: Fred Willis, SoulProsper Media Group
The trend continued as Donald Lawrence brought on Missy Elliot, Faith Evans and Kelly Price to sing along with the Tri-City Singers. Kelly Price was a professed believer even though she sang R&B but to see Faith Evans singing with the choir was a bold and daring move. We liked the music and we gave it a pass. Pre-dating Kirk Franklin’s collaborations with Chance the Rapper and Kanye West, rapper and Pastor Levy collaborated with Lil Boosie on “God Got Me“. The song is interesting because it was one of Boosie’s first recordings following his bout with cancer, which is referenced in the song’s hook. While many CCH artists are looked over for collabs with singers, an emerging sub-genre in the gospel community is trap gospel which puts gospel verses over a bed of “trap music“, like Erica Campbell’s “I Luh God“.
Other artists have done similar to varying results. Last year, Nicki Minaj joined Tasha Cobbs-Leonard on “I’m Getting Ready”. The song is great, so great that when Robin Roberts invited Cobbs-Leonard on the Good Morning America set, she performed it. I noticed that she performed the song without Nicki Minaj and I loved it! I really did…in fact, her entire time on the GMA set Cobbs-Leonard and her team were the embodiment of 21st century ministry.
Charlie Wilson openly talks about his faith, a second chance on life and how blessed he is to be able to do what he does. Last year he recorded a song called “I’m Blessed” that featured a verse by rapper TI. Problem is, on the rap verse, he uses profanity. Many of my internet radio colleagues added the song without the profanity edited out. What listeners heard on their station and shows was TI saying: “…devil you a d*mn lie…” during his verse.
Snoop Dogg Photo Credit: Earl Gipson III
Then, Snoop Dogg announced plans that he would be putting together a gospel album. The album is great. Sonically, it’s top notch. The production on it is superb, the songwriting is well crafted and the overall thought process behind it is actually genius. My problem with the album is that it’s more crossover than gospel. Of course, the way the industry would have it, it’s billed as a gospel album in part mainly to the contributions on the project…gospel royalty from top to bottom.
The songs on the radio gave me pause, though. “Blessing Me Again” with Rance Allen actually sounds like a Rance Allen song…the rap in my opinion takes away from the song. I’m a fan of Snoop Dogg but I like him more in the role of “curator” than collaborator on this song. “One More Day” with Charlie Wilson has an accompanying concept video that puts the two in a prayer circle around a comatose young lady with Snoop leading the prayer. I actually would like to see that song on urban adult contemporary radio and not the gospel channels.
Wait, does gospel crossover music even exist, anymore? It seems to have disappeared and everything is played on the gospel channel. The problem I have with these new crossover offerings is this: way too many of the secular collaborators apart of the song speak from a different context. For instance, Tasha Cobbs-Leonard speaks from a worshiper’s perspective and Nicki Minaj raps about boats, money and people talking about her. It’s purely conjecture, but I’m not exactly sure that’s what Todd Galberth had in mind when he wrote the song!
Here are a few suggestions I have:
“Blessing Me Again” with Snoop’s rap on it is sent to Urban/Rhythmic Radio, the version without the rap is sent to Christian/Gospel radio.
“One More Day” is sent to Urban/Rhythmic radio.
“I’m Getting Ready” without Nicki Minaj is sent to Gospel radio, the version with her rap is sent to Urban/Rhythmic radio.
Tamela Mann “Through It All” with Timbaland is sent to Urban/Rhythmic radio.
Perhaps I don’t understand radio, that may be true. However, consumers aren’t as “dumb” as the industry believes we are. Consumers speak by turning the channel and not buying product, sometimes labels and artists just don’t “listen”.
I believe that the slightest changes will actually help artists and labels create a broader audience, if only for the “life” of a single song. Who knows, you may even win someone to Christ or worst-case scenario, get a new fan for your artist.
What do you think about the placement of music? Should gospel radio play every version, or should artists create different versions for different radio formats? Add your take in the comment section, below!
