Associate Editor Troy Lilly chats with Y’Anna Crawley, season two winner of BET’s Sunday Best, about the release of her debut album, The Promise, which hit stores this Tuesday…

Troy: How are you?

Y’Anna: I’m good. How are you?

Troy: Great! It’s really good to talk to you, and not just because we’re both from the DMV [DC, Maryland, Virginia], but you are DC’s rising star.

Y’Anna: Oh, yeah?

Troy: It’s kind of like first we had Wale and now… we have Y’Anna.

Y’Anna: Wow, that’s big!

Troy: So, it’s been a little while since you won season two of BET’s Sunday Best, which kind of introduced you to the nation. How has life been since you won the title?

Y’Anna: Everything is just so awesome. I’m still pinching myself – literally! It’s humbling, it’s exciting… just everything that I ever thought it would be. God showed me a long time ago that I would touch many hearts with my voice. And now it’s like, “Wow, God…” Everything that you told me and showed me is right here.

Troy: And now, the release of your debut album, which we’ve been waiting for eagerly. How exciting or terrifying is that?

Y’Anna: It’s really exciting. Just to have my own… like finally it’s my turn. I’ve been singing professionally since I was twelve, backing up people like Chrisette Michele, Raheem DeVaughn – even Aretha Franklin and Natalie Cole throughout high school – and just being in the background for so long, and now I’m in the forefront. I’m so blessed and it’s a wonderful feeling

Troy: The Promise is the title of your debut album.  What does that mean to you and what’s the message you’re trying to convey with your first project?

Y’Anna: The message I’m really trying to convey is that no matter how many times you get knocked down, if you have a passion for something God has given you and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen, remember to stand on His word. Remember to stand on God’s promises always, because He’ll never give it to you if He’s not going to make it come to fruition. God is a man of his word. He really is.

Troy: The first single from the album was “Grandma’s Hands,” which became a fan favorite from your Sunday Best performances. The current single is the title track, “The Promise,” so tell me, how is it different lyrically and stylistically from what we’re used to hearing you sing?

Y’Anna: Like you said “Grandma’s Hands” was kind of a fan favorite and, since it was so popular on the show, they decided to make that the first single. It’s more southern and soulful, but the lyrics of “The Promise” are more uplifting, telling you to persevere and hold on to God’s promises.

Musically, “The Promise” is a crossover, more pop and mainstream than southern soul. And it’s just so befitting, with my life story and everything I’ve gone through. It’s just perfect.

Troy: So “The Promise” has a pop or crossover appeal to it. But you’ve got a very dynamic voice – sometimes sounds like Aretha Franklin and other greats. What other styles did you experiment with on the album?

Y’Anna: I’m trying to give everybody a variety. I got a little hip hop on there, if you like Mary J. – well Mary J. Blige is hip hop I guess, huh?

Troy: Right!

Y’Anna: But I got a little dance tune on there.

Troy: Wow.

Y’Anna: Because there’s so many variations to my voice, I’m just trying to give everybody something so they can say “ok, she’s not just a down home church singer, like she can do everything.” And that’s really what I was trying to capture.

Troy: Did you try anything jazzy or bluesy?

Y’Anna: Well, I did! Actually I did “Sweet Love” over, but it didn’t make the album. But it’s cool ‘cause I’m gonna leak it out some type of way!

Troy: Please, please do! And you can forward me a copy as soon as you do because my parents tell me that I was conceived to Anita Baker!

Y’Anna: Uh oh! My mother played it every day, all day, so Anita Baker is one of my favorite artists.

Troy: Wow, yeah… she’s definitely on my top list as well.

Y’Anna: Yeah.

Troy: There’s one particular song on the album I want to ask you about called “Stronger.” On that song you talk about becoming pregnant at 17 and being an unwed mother. How was it to address such a personal and pivotal moment in your life?

Y’Anna: All songs are birthed out of experience, birthed out of pain, birthed out of joy, or whatever the songwriter has gone through. We were sitting down listening to the track, me and Buster Brown, and I wanted to talk about my life, how I became pregnant and thought the man was going to be husband, but I didn’t get the ring nor the man.

I still had to push through, and everything that happened at that moment made me sad, but now it has made me stronger.

Troy: Yes.

Y’Anna: So we just put all of that into a song. And I believe that’s going to be one of the songs that’s going to really cross over. I’m trying to get Drake to be on it… come on somebody, give me a remix!

Troy: Oh really?

Y’Anna: I believe it. Like really, get me a conscious rapper on the beginning because so many people can relate to it.

Troy: Ok!

Y’Anna: It may not be the same situation, but maybe somebody went through an abusive relationship or an abusive home situation. Whatever you go through only makes you stronger, so you can look back at it and say, “God, I got through that!”

Troy: The concept of “the promise” is not only the theme of your music, but it also expands to your other endeavors, particularly in the lives of young women. Tell me more about that.

Y’Anna: Yes. My [The] Promise Foundation is something that’s very dear to my heart. It’s a safe haven for women to come and talk, and discuss things. We’re going to uplift them and teach them ethics – like beauty ethics – teach them how to look good and dress so they won’t go on thinking that wearing less gets you more attention.

And we’re also going to do scholarships, especially for the young ones that have kids, so they can go back to school if they want to. I was once there so I just want to give back in all of the areas of my life that I grew.

Troy: Wow. That’s great.

Y’Anna: Yes, yes.

Troy: You also have two sons and you’re trying to help young men as well with Mama’s Boys.

Y’Anna: Well, I have my two sons and I’m a single mom. Their dads are in their lives, but I’m not married to them so they don’t see them every day, and it can be hard for a woman to raise boys into men. But there’s nothing like a man being in a young boy’s life.

So I want to bring in some mentors to kind of guide them, have candid talks with them, field trips. And we also want to provide some sort of scholarship for them as well, and I know that if God sees that I’m trying to give back, He’ll provide.

Troy: I’m sure He will as well, and I’m really excited about everything that you’re doing.

Y’Anna: Thank you!

Troy: I wish you the best. And you take care!

Y’Anna: You too!

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What do you think, folks?  Did you guys grab Y’Anna’s new project, The Promise, this week?  What do you think of it?

Let us know!

New Associate Editor Troy Lilly interviewed Fred Hammond for you guys…

In this chat, he talks with Fred about Life in the Word (the new album that hits stores TODAY), Fred’s new relationship with Universal Music Christian Group, and plans for the future.

It’s a great read, so I won’t delay things any further… here’s Troy with Fred Hammond.

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Troy: How are you doing this morning, man?

Fred: Good, man. How you feel?

Troy: Good, good. I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with me.

Fred: I appreciate you, doc, for talking to me.

Troy: First off, I want to congratulate you on the new label, fHammond Family Entertainment, and your joint venture with Universal Music Christian Group.

Fred: Yeah.

Troy: Everyone’s really excited about it. Some people are so excited they’ve let their imaginations run wild about what’s going to happen next. I mean really, really wild!

So, tell me how this partnership came about and what exactly this means for future Fred Hammond projects?

Fred: Well, uh, the label is not as new as is kind of being said. It’s fHammond Music, basically, which was on the Verity/Zomba label.

Troy: Ok.

Fred: Verity and Zomba both gave me an opportunity to learn the inside of executive producing …there’s other levels… marketing, and not just finding the talent, but motivating and molding the talent. Verity taught me to do that.

But when we got to the end of our run, Verity wanted to concentrate on less secondary projects and more primary projects. Fred Hammond is a primary and fHammond is a secondary.

Troy: I see.

Fred: Basically, I got dropped! Naw…I’m just kidding! (laughs)

Troy: (LAUGHS)

Fred: And I didn’t really get dropped. We both mutually agreed, you know, it was time to go. It was a good run. We got Joann Rosario [Condrey] out of it, I had the Singletons and Shea Norman … Joann really shined out of that… but I got a chance to learn at each step.

Troy: Right, right.

Fred: But Universal came along. And see, because Universal is not a label – they’re distribution – they can help develop a label, you know.

Troy: Right…

Fred: They don’t have artists to compete with. They were looking for some talented young labels and people who had music and they said, ‘we can help you.’ And when we met up with each other I felt really good about it. I went there and sat down and I felt like this was the place to be.

They allow me, as a businessperson, to say, “this is the plan and this is the direction we’re going.”

Troy: Wow.

Fred: Sometimes I’m almost asking them permission to do something as a label…

Troy: (Chuckles)

Fred: And they’re like… ‘uh, that’s your label. You tell us what to do.’ And I’m like, “oh, ok!” It’s almost like Eddie Murphy in the movie Trading Places when he walked into the house and said, ‘oh, so this vase is mine …so that means I can just throw it down on the ground,’ – POW! You don’t really believe it at the end of the day.

Troy: The first project on the fHammond Family Entertainment label hits stores on July 27th and is titled Life in the Word. What’s the significance of the title?

Fred: It’s interesting that the first CD that comes out is Word-based. It’s what the whole foundation of the company and the label will be based on – life in the Word. So the actual CD itself is a praise and worship devotional.

There’s little narrated scriptures in between most of the music. Some of them are comedic, some are dramatic. But if you just hear them it’ll remind you… that we should go over into the land because we can certainly take it. Whatever your promised land is, go get it.

Troy: Yeah.

Fred: And like I said, some of them are comedic. I play a preacher on one of ‘em, from a store front church, and I scream, “READ!” (Laughs)

Troy: (Laughs)

Fred: And they start reading and I change the words up on ‘em. So they’re reading, ‘for this’ and I say, “No, for that,” then, “no, for this…” (laughs)

Troy: (Laughs)

Fred: It’s funny, but it’s still reading the Word of God.

Troy: Now, I have to say this: the spoken scriptural interludes on the album are a treat and really take me back to the “Inner Court” days with Radical for Christ… stuff like “The Communion Song” where there’s actual reading during the song,

Fred: Yeah!

Troy: And then like “Hear My Cry”…man! That stuff is just ripped from scripture, kind of like hearing people sing the Bible.

Fred: That’s just my style, man.

Troy: You’re credited with creating the sub-genre Urban Praise and Worship, but you described the Life in the Word project as “the other side” of your style. Do you feel this style and sound will appeal to a new, wider audience, or…?

Fred: On this one… it’s a little departure, but it’s not theeeee departure, you know what I’m sayin’? I didn’t wanna shock people too bad. But if they got to listen to “You Are My Dwelling Place” – which I sing on – they’re gonna hear a little alternative and rock edge to it.

Troy: The album features an ensemble of gifted singers such as Lowell Pye, Ericka Warren, Candace Laster, Michael Bethany, and Faith Anderson. What caused you to choose this particular group of singers?

Fred: Man, it’s like these cats…they can really sing! I reached out to Lowell because he’s a friend of mine. I think Lowell has an [amazing] voice. Some people I sit there and like everything they do. Lowell, when he sings, that’s me. He reminds me of John P. Kee, who’s my favorite male vocalist.

Troy: Yeah, probably for a lot of us. (chuckles)

Fred: So at the end of the day, Lowell was a no brainer. And when I asked him he was like, ‘yeah, man, yeah…I’ll do it.’

And then the rest of them kinda sing with me. They go out on the road with me, except Faith, who sings with Kirk [Franklin]. But it was an opportunity and they all jumped at the opportunity. I’ve always had a heart to help people

Troy: How much will we hear you, Fred, vocally on this new record?

Fred: I’m actually singing two songs on there. One of them is a remake, the full version of “Just to Be Close to You” with the verses and everything.

Troy: Yeah, I saw that. So, it sounds like this new album is really similar to the In Case You Missed It… project, which primarily featured and introduced a plethora of guest artists.

Fred: Absolutely. It’s just the same concept. I may even do an In Case You Missed It 2…  on this label. I may take some of my old music that people didn’t’ really catch onto, songs that I thought were great and nobody really listened to…

Troy: (Laughs)

Fred: And let somebody else do it. Folks will hear it and say, “Wow! I didn’t hear that song that way when he sang it.” So there’s an In Case You Missed It 2… coming, a Life in the Word 2 coming.

Troy: Should we expect to see solo projects on this new imprint by some of the guest artists you’ve introduced over the years…perhaps even solo work from Fred Hammond in the future?

Fred: Well hopefully, all of them. Hopefully all of them will get a chance to be able to do their own projects from this – especially in my camp.

And I’m looking to expand this into different voices and different topics.

Troy: Ok.

Fred: My daughter, BreeAnn, is a great vocalist, but I don’t think I should put her out there in the way where she has to go to churches and stand up, and do this and do that. But she can go to youth groups and sing to other 18- and 22-year-olds about what it feels like to be in love and lose love.

They don’t necessarily have to hear it from all from Rihanna, you know what I’m sayin’?

Troy: Yeah!

Fred:  But they can hear it from a woman with “this” instead of that perspective.

Troy: Wow.

Fred: So I want to have new voices. Then I have another guy who’s been out there, another brother. He has a great album. His name is Steve Huff.

Troy: Oh, yeah man! Steve, definitely.

Fred: That’s my dude. We just hooked up and I’m putting him out. He’s got a great album and I believe in it. He’s super urban. – I mean he’s got like 10, 12 songs of “God in Me,” and they’re all killin’! I mean they’re all killin’.

And then there’s another younger guy I got named Silas. He has another sound with another voice, and he’s talking about life. It sounds like a mixture of Hootie and the Blowfish meets…somebody else.

Troy: (Chuckles)

Fred: Honestly, it’s just different sounding music, and it may not all get radio, but there’s a way to get it out. People are getting 50 million hits on YouTube, and you’ve got Pandora radio and Fred radio…

Troy: Yeah, the game is definitely changing.

Fred: Right, the game is changing, and I love gospel radio but I understand that they just don’t have all the room to put everybody out there, so…

Troy: That’s true.

Fred: I’m gonna put out different forms of music.

Troy: Ok.

Fred: I have a jazz CD I’m putting out, but I’m not gonna do “Lord, Help Me to Hold Out” over a piano solo. No, I’m doing a straight-up smooth jazz album. It’s a musician album. I got a group and it’s a jazz CD, just with a Christian guy who happens to be playing jazz.

We’re going to talk about some regular stuff AND still have God and the gospel going in, because believe it or not, God cares about all of that.

Troy: He does.

Fred: He said “cast all your cares,” not your “gospel” cares or your “Christian cares,” but he said every care that you have cast on me, because I care for you.

Troy: After almost 30 years in the business producing, arranging – playing – are you ready to focus on something other than music, or is it still “all about the music?”

Fred: Music is the base, but man, I’m writing books. I figure the world has enough self-help books, so my books are fictional. They’re stories that I’ve met and seen in my lifetime – people dealing with childhood issues, murder. These are things that I’ve seen. Several of my friends have been killed, executed.

Troy: Man! (gasps)

Fred: That’s the kind of life I’ve dealt with, you know. I’ve been in the church and in the streets, so I’m gonna tell the story. But, I’m going to tell you where God shows up, how God heals that moment!

Troy: Right!

Fred: And it doesn’t have to sell a billion books. But it’s going to be unique.

Troy: I’m excited.

Fred: It’s a start, you know? One day, Commissioned had a record called “I’m Going On,” and people were excited. But, we also heard the other side: “it’s not as good as the Winans,” and “you guys aren’t big time…” I heard all of that.

But you still put something out, and you do another one and another one, until you look up and you’ve sold millions of records and you’re doing an interview talking about your first label. (Laughs)

Troy: (Laughs) That’s how it happens.

Fred: That’s it.

Troy: I want to say congratulations again. I hear the vision and I see that you are really taking the reigns, creating opportunities, not only for yourself, but for other people as well. I enjoyed the talk, man, and I hope you did as well.

Fred: Yes sir. Yeah, I appreciate you, man. Keep doing what you’re doing and anything you need to ask, just hit me up. We gotta work together.

Troy: Definitely.

Fred: Very good, man. Thanks.

Troy: You’re welcome. Take it easy.

*     *     *

Niiiiiiiiice!

Glad to hear, officially, what all the fuss is about over Fred and Universal Music.  And, I’m glad to know more about the direction he’s heading, musically– some of those projects (especially that jazz one)… I want them NOW!

So, what did you guys think of Troy’s interview with Fred Hammond?

Troy Lilly, one of your favorite writers at GospelPundit.com, had a little chat that he wanted to share with you folks… I’ll let him tell you aaallll about it… Take it away, Troy!

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Over the weekend, I had the pleasure to spend an afternoon with a new friend. Many of you know her by face and name. Even more of you know her by voice. She’s been featured in a couple recent Goodies posts right here on GospelPundit.com.

I’m talking about the one and only San Franklin.

She was in the Washington, D.C.-area as a guest vocalist, and we talked about friends, music, and ministry for quite a while. In reality, though, “the interview” lasted only a few minutes.  We spent the majority of the time catching up and clowning, as if we were old friends.

I came away from our meeting energized, having experienced a person who is both a dynamic singer and anointed minister with a contagious warm spirit. Some of her words will jump right off the screen.

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Troy: It’s great to get to talk with you. I know you’re very busy, but I’m thankful you took a few moments of your time to talk with me today – I really appreciate that.

San: I appreciate you having me…I’m not that busy (laughs)

It’s great to even be considered to sit down and talk to the audience, talk to you. It’s an honor and privilege.

Troy: So, what brings you to the Maryland/DC area?

San: I was here for Mount Pleasant Church and Ministries. Bishop Johnson in Baltimore, Maryland had a family and friends week – it was all week long and yesterday was the outdoor festival with Vanessa Bell-Armstrong, Lisa Page Brooks, Angela Spivey, myself, Bernard Harris…a lot of people.

Troy: The greats (laughs). Cool. I saw you tweeting because I do follow you on Twitter…

San: (Laughs)

Troy: And I know there are a few people who weren’t here. Tell me about some of your other friends, people that you’re close to in the area, who you didn’t get to see.

San: Oh, I didn’t get to see Jason Nelson, Pastor Nelson; I was supposed to go by his church this morning – he’s a very dear friend of mine…

Troy: Wow, love him!

San: Holla Walla, I didn’t get to see him. Who else? Well…Richard Smallwood (laughs) is a good friend of mine. He actually was in my hometown, Chicago, Ill., at the Edwin Hawkins Love Fellowship Conference.

I’m actually a native of that conference and of that church. You know, I spent 12 years with Bishop Hawkins and that whole movement, and I didn’t get to go to the conference this year because I’m in this area working, so…it’s been great, though, even though I didn’t get to see my friends here, the ministry opportunity was absolutely phenomenal.

Troy: Speaking of ministry, just talking with you earlier, that was something I actually got to hear more about – your opinions and your knowledge. So share a little bit more about what you know and your experiences in ministry versus just singing.

San: Well, something that probably most people don’t know is I’m an evangelist. I’ve been preaching for almost 20 years.

Troy: Wow!

San: Of course I started singing first.

Troy: Right.

San: And most people who minister or pastor, you start with the singing or the musicianship, and then you move on. But, I have found a way – thanks be unto God – to combine both. So when I sing I’m ministering Word, and when I’m ministering Word I end up singing, so they’re one in the same to me.

Whereas, you have some people who separate them – singing ministry and preaching ministry – they’re just one in the same for me, and it’s just ministry, period. So I try to make it an everyday part of who I am and not just when I get before the people or before an audience, but just a part of who I am everyday.

Troy: As it relates to the industry, with you having a ministering background, and with you blending the two pretty easily, what do you think of the state of the gospel music industry and do you feel everyone is able to do that as effectively as you are?

San: I believe in this season we are slowly but surely gearing the industry back to ministry, because I think we had taken the focus off of ministry. We were so focused on our look and so focused on our sound, and our riffs and runs, and the talent moreso than what’s behind the person who’s singing.

Troy: Yeah.

San: We have so many people who are behind the scenes, who are on the underground side of the industry that are really ministering to God’s people, you know, and they’re not always the ones who are elevated or celebrated necessarily.

Troy: Right.

San: There are people on the underground circuit that are laying hands and people are being healed and they’re ministering to people’s mental states and their emotional states and restoring people spiritually, but they don’t get the visibility that some “in the industry” get.

And so I think God is having to switch us back to ministry-minded people because we focus too much on talent which doesn’t destroy any yokes, it doesn’t break any bondages, you know what I’m saying, which doesn’t bring us to a state of wholeness, which is where I believe God wants his people.

Troy: Wow, yeah.

San: I think God has to shift us back to that because we’re losing…we’re…what do we say out on the Internet, “epic failing” (laughs)…

Troy: (Laughs) Yeah, that’s a Twitter thing!

San: When it comes to ministry, you know what I’m saying, we #EPICFAIL (laughs)

Troy: (Laughs)

San: So I think God is trying to get us back to a place in ministry where we’re effective and relevant.

Troy: What’s going on at home for you, back in Nashville?

San:  Back in Nashville I’m Minister of Music at a church called Perfecting Faith Ministries with Pastor Dale Jones. It’s a great church.  In this season it’s a great place for me to call home. It’s always good to have somewhere you can come and be settled.

Other than that…I’m working on my project. Everyone says, “when is your project coming out, when is your project coming out?”

Troy: Yes, we want to know.

San: And I want it out just as much as everybody else does. I told God years and years ago, if I cannot produce a project where someone puts it on and is instantaneously healed of a disease, or a worry or broken relationship, then I don’t wanna record. Everybody’s making music…everybody’s putting out a cd…I want to be able to minister and make a difference in somebody’s life.

God spoke to me and said that “every song on your project will speak to you” relating to somewhere I’ve been in my life. Like the single “Arise”… I was listening to that song after coming out of a divorce, thinking I had failed…I remember the words of the song ministering to me: “Today is the day of a new horizon, there’s new life.”

Troy: Yes.

San: For my project, for me, I want to meet the needs of God’s people. I want to be relative and transparent. People are looking for someone to say “I’ve been where you are and I understand, I feel your pain, and I can get down there with you.” Because that’s what I want to do, it’s taking me a little longer produce than I would like.

Troy:  Well, it sounds like it will be worth the wait.

San: I hope so.

Troy: We appreciate that. Sometimes with people coming out with stuff back to back, we question the consistency…

San: Yes, yes (laughs).

Troy:  We appreciate you letting it be a slow, churning process for the better end result.

San: I think it’s like ice cream…

Troy: (LAUGHS)

San: (Laughs) You know what I’m saying – I love sweets! But I say that because you can get ice cream, but if you know anything about homemade ice cream, old time, down South…

Troy: Grandma’s ice cream (laughs) mmmm.

San: Grandma’s ice cream where you have to put it down in the bucket and put the salt on the ice, and you have to churn that thing, and sometimes your arm gets tired from turning, but when it comes out it’s the best thing you’ve ever tasted in your life.

Troy: I can’t think of a better analogy than that. Last thing.

What advice would you give to someone who’s trying to nurture their ministry and let that lead, and avoid being persuaded by the pressure of the industry to just put something out?

San: To anyone in the industry…that’s been in the industry for years waiting on God to move, or just came in the industry waiting on God to move (laughs), it goes back to the old formula. Seek you first the kingdom of God and [all] of his righteousness, and everything else will be added unto you.

Troy: That’s right!

San: And I think transparency is the key. Being true first to yourself. As long as you remain transparent to yourself, it’s easy for you to be transparent to others. I think transparency brings about GREAT ministry.

Troy: With that I’ll say I was blessed to be in your presence for this short period of time…

San: Aww. Thank you.

Troy: I want to thank you again for sitting and talking with me candidly and openly.

San: Aww, thank you for having me.

*     *     *

I really enjoyed that interview!  Shout-out to Troy for makin’ it happen and for doing an impeccable job on it!

Were you familiar with San’s ministry? (you should be– I featured her last month!)

Here, I’ll help… peep this video–

Talk to me! What do you think?!

In addition to Regina Belle, I caught up with J Moss while at the McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Concert in Chicago this weekend. It was really great to see him– J is a humble, straight-up kinda guy and I LOVE him for it.

We chatted about how the tour has been going for him.  J shared that he loves the opportunity to partner with McDonald’s for such a great series of concerts and, even more, for the fact that a portion of proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald House.

J’s also thrilled for the exposure to a new audience that may not know of his music– Regina Belle’s fanbase. This was a chance to minister to a new group of folks who might not have otherwise paid much attention to the gospel message as delivered by J Moss.  Praise God for enlarged territory!

Plans for a new album on the horizon???  Nope, not yet.  J’s still riding the wave of his latest release, Just James, and it’s as fresh and exciting to him as the day it was released.  His latest single, “Rebuild,” is making a significant impact on radio and on the internet, as is the incredible “REmix” of the tune (click here to listen and see why I love it so much).

The PAJAM team was in full effect in Chicago– besides J, I got to see Paul “PDA” Allen and Walter Kearney, as well as the fellas of 21:03.  Great time with one of the hottest camps in gospel music!

On Wednesday, I recapped my great trip to the McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour on its Chicago, IL tour stop.  While I was there, I caught up with songstress Regina Belle and chatted about a few things.  What initially stood out to me was how cool and down-to-earth she is (I think I may have dubbed her my auntie in my head).

Regina Belle says that the experience with McDonald’s and the Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour has been great.  Incidentally, her first job was at a McDonald’s, so she’s kinda having a full-circle moment.

We chatted briefly about the success of her radio hit, “God Is Good,” at which time she shared that it was the last song to make her debut gospel album, Love Forever Shines.  Her brother wrote the tune after hearing her full album and remarking that it didn’t have anything from their childhood, their roots, on it… and it needed to.  She had no idea how incredibly successful it would be at radio and in churches every Sunday morning!

She also shared some of a recent testimony with me– how she was diagnosed with a brain tumor last year (though it had been growing since childhood), in the midst of promoting her album.  “It was one of the most ‘alone’ moments I had ever had in my life,” she recounted.  “That’s when I had to make the things that I talk about and sing about… that’s when I had to make them work for me.  I had to exercise my own relationship with God.”  Even now, after having recovered from the grueling multiple surgeries, she is clinically deaf in her left ear.  Her joy and commitment to her calling, though, remains unfettered– she’s not stopping!

Of course, we touched on the whole “R&B turned gospel artist” issue that seems to plague anyone who records a gospel album after experiencnig even a modicum of success in mainstream music.  Belle set the record straight: “I could make waaaay more money, with no hit record– actually, with no record out at all– by continuing on in R&B.  I am here because of a calling and, trust me, I fought God tooth and nail.”  She is grateful for the road she traveled, especially because she gets to go back to areas that other church people aren’t able to go– and she takes the gospel message with her.

Before we parted, I had to prove to her that I was a bona fide Regina Belle fan from back in the day by bringing up her soundtrack work from the movies Tap and Leonard 6 (y’all don’t know nothin’ about that).  She certified me a “for real” fan.

Regina Belle is working on a new gospel album, which will incorporate musical discussions about some serious social issues facing the world today.  The project will feature assistance from J Moss, Chris Walker, her brother Bernard Bell, and Micah Stampley, among others.

And that’s about it!  Regina Belle was a delight to chat with and I’m excited for what she’s doing and for what’s to come!

How about you???

Kirk Franklin’s new book, The Blueprint, hits stores TODAY.  I strongly encourage you to check it out (even more– BUY IT).  It’s a great book, with great insights and new perspectives that have life-changing potential.

Click here to check it out and to make a purchase.

In the meantime, consider this post like an “In Case You Missed It…”

I’m reposting my interview with him from a few weeks ago, in which we chat about the book and some of the concepts in it.  Enjoy!

*     *     *

 

EJ:  Hey, how’s it going, man?

KF:  I’m doing good, how you doing, man?

EJ:  I’m good!  Thanks for taking a quick minute to chat with me.  I really appreciate it.

KF:  Thank you.

EJ:  I wanna get started by congratulating you on the upcoming release of your new book, The Blueprint.

KF:  Thank you, sir.

EJ:  I got my advance copy, thinking I’d just take a look at a few pages… I read through it in one day.  I mean, it drew me in like a good phone conversation or something.  I just kept wanting to know more, so kudos to you on writing so well.

In The Blueprint, you basically say that a lot of us go through life without referencing the blueprint or the how-to manual on how to best live our lives.  What was the impetus for writing your book?  Why now, and why this concept?

KF:  Well, it’s very obvious to me– just as I look at the fruit that we bear and grow in society– we are not getting a clear picture of what God’s plan is for our lives because we don’t have a clear picture of His Word.

Most people have not really had a chance to be taught the Word or to study the Word in a way that is non-religious, or non-ritualistic.  So, we don’t really have a chance to see His plan for our lives clearly, in light of His true blueprint for our lives.

EJ:  Yeah.

KF:  So, we spend a lot of time trying to figure it out on our own, trying to interpret what we think God says… what I think God is saying, what I feel God says.  And we end up missing a whole lot because we focus on what we feel instead of what He said.  And then, we don’t adjust what we feel to what He’s said.

We spend time in life going around in circles because of our interpretation, or our lack of interpretation.

EJ:  Absolutely.  How long did it take you to write it?

KF:  It took me a year.

EJ:  Wow.

KF:  Yeah, man.

EJ:  What was the process for gathering information and deciding “this is something I’ve gotta talk about, but this is something I’ll save for another book”?

KF:  Well, you know man, a lot of it was just my own life experience.  And it was different sermons that I’ve preached, or discussions that I’ve had, lectures at colleges… and just watching life, itself.  Watching life and marriage, other people’s lives.  I spent a lot of time just watching.

And I saw how disconnected people are in society when it comes to their faith, and how their faith affects their lives.

EJ:   In the book, you give lots of blueprints for different stages of life– whether you’re single, married, parenting, struggling in your faith… it seems that there’s something for everyone.  And you address it all, as you said, through life experiences… when did you begin to conquer life for yourself in these areas and, from there, start to think “man, that worked… I’ve gotta share this with people”?

KF:  Just when I started seeing the fruit of it in my life.  When I started seeing those life lessons– whether being taught by my pastor or other teachers in my life, or just reading– when I started seeing those fruits growing in my own personal life, I started getting excited about it.  I wasn’t just hearing it, but I was actually seeing it work.  And when you see it work, you get excited about it.

EJ:  Most definitely.  I wanna take a moment to chat about some of the specific topics you address in the book and I’m gonna try to do it without giving too much away.

KF:  Okay.

EJ:  At one point in the book, you revisit your interview with Oprah and some of the backlash you received from people who thought you were telling too much of your business.  You said– “It all made me realize how uncomfortable we are with people telling on themselves, revealing painful things.  We’re much more comfortable when we see people get busted for something, because then it’s easier to disconnect.”

You continue to be extremely transparent in this book and in your life– often blatantly so– how important is it for people with platforms to be transparent?

KF:  Well, I just believe that’s the only way people can grow.  When I watch my teachers stand, there’s a part of life that I learn.  When I watch my teachers talk about how they’ve fallen, there’s a part of life that I learn.  So, if I only hear from my teachers how they stand, when I FALL, I don’t know how to.

EJ:  Sure.

KF:  So, as I communicate those moments where I’ve stood strong, but also those areas where I’ve been weak, I provide a blueprint on how to fall and what that looks like, so that it doesn’t look foreign when it happens to you.  Because it’s not IF it happens to you, it’s always when it happens to you.

EJ:  Absolutely, man.

KF:  A lot of times, for example, with me… I spent so much of my life thinking I wasn’t a Christian and that I wasn’t good enough because when I would fall and make mistakes, it was like “ok, something must be wrong with me.”  Because I never had nobody model out that we all fall.

So, I think it’s very important that people can have something to look at, so that when they have those moments of temptation or depression, or struggle and anxieties in life, they can look at something and say “okay, no… this is COMMON because Kirk told me…”

EJ:  Yeah.

KF:  And you know, it’s very sad that we don’t do it more because when you look at Scripture, you’ve got blueprints of it all throughout Scripture.  You’ve got Paul talking about his thorn, or you’ve got blueprints of David with Bathsheba, or blueprints of Jacob getting caught up, you’ve got blueprints of Moses losing his temper, and blueprints of Abraham having Ishmael.

You’ve got blueprints all throughout the Bible of great men that failed so that we could learn what not to do.  But then, here in the 21st century, you never see it.  You never see it ’til they fall.

EJ:  Yeah, and then it’s just written about from the standpoint of “look at what HE did!”

KF:  Yeah!  Yeah.

EJ:  That’s insightful.  Umm… this is gonna sound weird, but I really enjoyed the chapters where you talk about sex. *laughs*

KF:  No, no!  *laughing* It’s not weird because if you are a man or woman trying to live out your faith, sex is something that is one of the hardest things to learn from the church in terms of “how do I apply this?”

EJ:  Absolutely.  And for me– I’ll be married 2 years in July– the chapters where you talked about sex were particularly profound because you opened up in a way that not many people would.  You opened up– and God bless your wife, Tammy, for being transparent along with you, because SHE’s ministering to people through this book.

KF:  Hmmm!

EJ:  But you opened up your bedroom to millions of people, letting everyone in on how your physical intimacy was struggling at one time.

How do you, and even your wife, deal with the fears of being so transparent all the time?  It’s gotta be rewarding, but how do the two of you fight the initial fear of “wait, everyone’s gonna know THIS, now?”

KF:  You know, I don’t really have that problem, man.  For me, it’s so therapeutic.  Talking is very therapeutic for me.  VERY therapeutic.  Of course, you go through certain moments, but for the most part, it has been very much a blessing to get stuff off my chest.  It’s just very healing for me.

EJ:  Do you feel like– because we talked about people not seeing HOW to fall– do you feel like, particularly in the gospel community, there are not enough examples of mentorship among the artists?  Everyone knows that scandals have hit– is there enough seeing one another fall among the artists?

KF:  There’s not enough mentoring across the board, man.  The whole purpose of having grandparents, pastors and those figures in our community is so that we wouldn’t have to have a cycle of mistakes.  It’s supposed to be about “each one, teach one.”  So when we don’t have that, we just continue a cycle of failing because everybody is trying to figure it out on their own.

And it’s so unfortunate, man.

EJ:  Absolutely.  And I’ve found that, in my own circles of accountability, when you have someone being transparent, it just opens the door for others to say “okay, well, that’s me too!”

KF:  Yeah.

EJ:  And that’s where healing is.  But where does that start?

KF:  I hope that transparency becomes contagious.  That as people begin to see how therapeutic it can be, other people begin to say “me, too” and it will be a domino effect.  Now, it may not always be at the level that everyone can see it like it’s prime time news, but hopefully, when we get the chance to look, we can see that people’s lives are becoming affected.

EJ:  I love that.  I’m just about done, but I wanna touch on some of the great idioms you’ve got in this book– the need to “sanctify your sexuality,” that life is not about the “boom boom boom,” and my personal favorite, “embrace the non-sexies.”

KF:  *laughing*  Yeah!

EJ:  I think I need a t-shirt that says that!  Can you briefly tell the readers about the non-sexies?

KF:  There are things that God has put into every one of our lives to develop character.  The biggest thing we’re missing in our society is character development.

EJ:  I hear that.

KF:  You’ve got artists that don’t have essence, you’ve got people that don’t have essence– entertainers, politicians… You can be smart and educated, but if you don’t have character, you’ll fall, you’ll go for anything, you’ll change your morals and values based on how much you’re getting paid or getting slid up under the door.

But when you have character, you’d rather stand for something than fall for anything.  And the way to develop character is to embrace the things that God has put in your life that are NOT the things that will give you the top spot, NOT the things that are always for the applause and for the world to see.  It’s those non-sexy things.

EJ:  I love that, man.

KF:  For example, standing up at the United Negro College Fund and writing a check, well that’s sexy.  That’s gonna be on the news the next day.  Or, you know… being a person who flies down to help the people in Haiti when all the cameras are gonna see it, that’s sexy.

But dealing with your crackhead sister, when she done stole your microwave for the third time?!  And you gotta go down to the holding cell and deal with her crackhead behind, and be committed to her as her big brother?  THAT’s non-sexy.

But that’s something that God has put in your life that you’ve gotta deal with.

EJ:  Wow.

KF:  Or, your child who may be having a hard time sleeping in the bed at night. *chuckles*  And he’s scared and he keeps messing up your love-making nights and you’re only in town for three nights.  But you’ve got to put your child’s fear over your physical needs for a few nights.  That’s non-sexy.

EJ:  *laughs* Yeah, that’s definitely not sexy.

KF:  Those things that have nothing to do with the press, nothing that anybody’s going to clap for or give you awards for… it’s the things, like yesterday…

Flying in town from doing your Hollywood meetings and what not, and your daughter has a track meet an hour and a half away from your house.  And the track meet is supposed to start at 3:00 and you get there, but it doesn’t start until 6:00.  And so, you’re there from 3 to 6, sitting outside and it’s hot.  And you don’t got nowhere else to go because you’re in the middle of the country and you’re sitting there for 3 1/2 hours waiting for the track meet to start… and each one of your child’s heats are like an hour or an hour and a half apart.  So, you sat out there from 3:00 to 10:30.

EJ:  Dude.

KF:  Nobody’s gonna write about that.  That’s not gonna be in no publication, but it’s gonna be on your daughter’s heart.  She will REMEMBER that moment and she’ll never forget it.  But that was a non-sexy moment.

EJ:  Absolutely.  As I was reading about that concept in the book, I thought it’s kinda like “being faithful over a few things…”

KF:  Yeah!  There it is.

EJ:  My pastor here in Franklin, TN said “if you can’t scrub toilets and help in the parking lot when it’s raining, don’t ask to be on the worship team.  Don’t ask to be up here where you can be seen.”  If you can’t serve at the base level…

KF:  That’s right.  And the problem is, it’s human nature to always want to go to the place of being seen.  You want to go from the womb to being seen.  And the problem is that, if you don’t embrace those MIDDLE areas, those non-sexy areas, when you get to the place of being seen, you’re not going to LAST there because you didn’t do the character development.  That’s why you’re in today and gone tomorrow.

EJ:  Wow.  That’s good stuff, man.  Is this the last book?  How much more do you have in you that you didn’t get to say?

KF:  I don’t know, man.  We’ve gotta wait and see because this was such a new process for me.  I’d never done anything like this before, so we’ve gotta see.  It’s like I dumped it all into this book. *laughing*

EJ:  It’s great.  My wife was out while I was looking at it and when she got home, I was like “you have to read this book.”  She took a look at an excerpt and said “I’m reading this today.”

KF:  Oh, wow.

EJ:  I told her “it’s like talking to a good friend who knows you really well– it’s conversational and has these sidebars about fried chicken, and they don’t have anything to do with what he’s talking about…”

KF:  *laughing*

EJ:  “But at the same time, you turn the page and he’s diggin’ all in your heart, like ‘I KNOW you… I KNOW you feel this way… and it’s tacky’.”

KF:  Wow.

EJ:  So, it’s like talking to an accountability partner who knows you and loves you, so he’s able to cover you and show you yourself.  I don’t do a lot of book reviews on the site because a lot of the stuff I see is just… not based on stuff that can be an anchor.

But I’m excited about this book for you because it’s gonna be really helpful for people.

KF:  Wow.  My brother, that is such a great compliment, man.  Thank you.  I’m very humbled by that.  Very humbled by that, sir.  Thank you.

EJ:  No doubt.  My last question, man– when readers turn the last page of The Blueprint and set it down, they’re gonna have that feeling– you know, that reflective moment that you have when you finish a book, like “that was good” or “what the heck does THAT mean?!”

KF:  *laughs*

EJ:  What do you hope people will be thinking in that reflective moment after The Blueprint?  When they close the book, you want them to sit back and say…

KF:  I hope and pray that everybody will say everything that you just said.

That’s my prayer.  That everybody will say everything the way you said it– talking to a good friend, talking to somebody who was raw and real with you, but was very loving… someone who will make you laugh and cry and think at the same time.

It was almost like Kirk came over to the crib and just kicked it with you.

EJ:  Yep!

KF:  Y’all talked about sex, y’all talked about parenting, about being a man, about religion… talked about hopes and dreams.  You know, “Kirk just left the crib and we had a good time.”

EJ:  Absolutely.  And I believe they will.  From one man to another– thank you for this book.  And, lemme say, it’s something for me to read over and over again.  It’s not like “I read it, so I’ve got it down.”  It’s more of a reference book to me.

KF:  Wow.

EJ:  Yeah, man.  It’s a way to check-in as I go.  So, it’s really awesome.

KF:  Praise God.  Praise God.  Thank you, brother.

EJ:  No, thank you for taking a moment to chat with me.  I know you’re busy, so I appreciate you for spending time with me.

KF:  Thank you, man.

EJ:  My pleasure.  Take care.

KF:  Okay.  Bye.

*     *     *

There you have it– again!  Don’t forget, you can click here to purchase the book.  I advise that you do so!

Anybody got it?  Planning to get it?  Talk to me!

As you know, I typically feature books that are worth reading in the Good Read section of the blog.  But for this particular author, I figured “why not… I may as well just go’n ahead and interview him…”

SIKE!  Are you kidding?!  I got a chance to chat with Kirk Franklin about his new book, The Blueprint (in stores on May 18th), and I wasn’t about to pass that up. 

He needs no introduction, except that I might stress that he’s a cool dude who’s written an incredibly honest and helpful book that I encourage you all to get as soon as it comes out.

Without further delay, here’s my chat with Kirk Franklin…

*     *     *

EJ:  Hey, how’s it going, man?

KF:  I’m doing good, how you doing, man?

EJ:  I’m good!  Thanks for taking a quick minute to chat with me.  I really appreciate it.

KF:  Thank you.

EJ:  I wanna get started by congratulating you on the upcoming release of your new book, The Blueprint.

KF:  Thank you, sir.

EJ:  I got my advance copy, thinking I’d just take a look at a few pages… I read through it in one day.  I mean, it drew me in like a good phone conversation or something.  I just kept wanting to know more, so kudos to you on writing so well.

In The Blueprint, you basically say that a lot of us go through life without referencing the blueprint or the how-to manual on how to best live our lives.  What was the impetus for writing your book?  Why now, and why this concept?

KF:  Well, it’s very obvious to me– just as I look at the fruit that we bear and grow in society– we are not getting a clear picture of what God’s plan is for our lives because we don’t have a clear picture of His Word.

Most people have not really had a chance to be taught the Word or to study the Word in a way that is non-religious, or non-ritualistic.  So, we don’t really have a chance to see His plan for our lives clearly, in light of His true blueprint for our lives.

EJ:  Yeah.

KF:  So, we spend a lot of time trying to figure it out on our own, trying to interpret what we think God says… what I think God is saying, what I feel God says.  And we end up missing a whole lot because we focus on what we feel instead of what He said.  And then, we don’t adjust what we feel to what He’s said.

We spend time in life going around in circles because of our interpretation, or our lack of interpretation.

EJ:  Absolutely.  How long did it take you to write it?

KF:  It took me a year.

EJ:  Wow.

KF:  Yeah, man.

EJ:  What was the process for gathering information and deciding “this is something I’ve gotta talk about, but this is something I’ll save for another book”?

KF:  Well, you know man, a lot of it was just my own life experience.  And it was different sermons that I’ve preached, or discussions that I’ve had, lectures at colleges… and just watching life, itself.  Watching life and marriage, other people’s lives.  I spent a lot of time just watching.

And I saw how disconnected people are in society when it comes to their faith, and how their faith affects their lives.

EJ:   In the book, you give lots of blueprints for different stages of life– whether you’re single, married, parenting, struggling in your faith… it seems that there’s something for everyone.  And you address it all, as you said, through life experiences… when did you begin to conquer life for yourself in these areas and, from there, start to think “man, that worked… I’ve gotta share this with people”?

KF:  Just when I started seeing the fruit of it in my life.  When I started seeing those life lessons– whether being taught by my pastor or other teachers in my life, or just reading– when I started seeing those fruits growing in my own personal life, I started getting excited about it.  I wasn’t just hearing it, but I was actually seeing it work.  And when you see it work, you get excited about it.

EJ:  Most definitely.  I wanna take a moment to chat about some of the specific topics you address in the book and I’m gonna try to do it without giving too much away.

KF:  Okay.

EJ:  At one point in the book, you revisit your interview with Oprah and some of the backlash you received from people who thought you were telling too much of your business.  You said– “It all made me realize how uncomfortable we are with people telling on themselves, revealing painful things.  We’re much more comfortable when we see people get busted for something, because then it’s easier to disconnect.”

You continue to be extremely transparent in this book and in your life– often blatantly so– how important is it for people with platforms to be transparent?

KF:  Well, I just believe that’s the only way people can grow.  When I watch my teachers stand, there’s a part of life that I learn.  When I watch my teachers talk about how they’ve fallen, there’s a part of life that I learn.  So, if I only hear from my teachers how they stand, when I FALL, I don’t know how to.

EJ:  Sure.

KF:  So, as I communicate those moments where I’ve stood strong, but also those areas where I’ve been weak, I provide a blueprint on how to fall and what that looks like, so that it doesn’t look foreign when it happens to you.  Because it’s not IF it happens to you, it’s always when it happens to you.

EJ:  Absolutely, man.

KF:  A lot of times, for example, with me… I spent so much of my life thinking I wasn’t a Christian and that I wasn’t good enough because when I would fall and make mistakes, it was like “ok, something must be wrong with me.”  Because I never had nobody model out that we all fall.

So, I think it’s very important that people can have something to look at, so that when they have those moments of temptation or depression, or struggle and anxieties in life, they can look at something and say “okay, no… this is COMMON because Kirk told me…”

EJ:  Yeah.

KF:  And you know, it’s very sad that we don’t do it more because when you look at Scripture, you’ve got blueprints of it all throughout Scripture.  You’ve got Paul talking about his thorn, or you’ve got blueprints of David with Bathsheba, or blueprints of Jacob getting caught up, you’ve got blueprints of Moses losing his temper, and blueprints of Abraham having Ishmael.

You’ve got blueprints all throughout the Bible of great men that failed so that we could learn what not to do.  But then, here in the 21st century, you never see it.  You never see it ’til they fall.

EJ:  Yeah, and then it’s just written about from the standpoint of “look at what HE did!”

KF:  Yeah!  Yeah.

EJ:  That’s insightful.  Umm… this is gonna sound weird, but I really enjoyed the chapters where you talk about sex. *laughs*

KF:  No, no!  *laughing* It’s not weird because if you are a man or woman trying to live out your faith, sex is something that is one of the hardest things to learn from the church in terms of “how do I apply this?”

EJ:  Absolutely.  And for me– I’ll be married 2 years in July– the chapters where you talked about sex were particularly profound because you opened up in a way that not many people would.  You opened up– and God bless your wife, Tammy, for being transparent along with you, because SHE’s ministering to people through this book.

KF:  Hmmm!

EJ:  But you opened up your bedroom to millions of people, letting everyone in on how your physical intimacy was struggling at one time.

How do you, and even your wife, deal with the fears of being so transparent all the time?  It’s gotta be rewarding, but how do the two of you fight the initial fear of “wait, everyone’s gonna know THIS, now?”

KF:  You know, I don’t really have that problem, man.  For me, it’s so therapeutic.  Talking is very therapeutic for me.  VERY therapeutic.  Of course, you go through certain moments, but for the most part, it has been very much a blessing to get stuff off my chest.  It’s just very healing for me.

EJ:  Do you feel like– because we talked about people not seeing HOW to fall– do you feel like, particularly in the gospel community, there are not enough examples of mentorship among the artists?  Everyone knows that scandals have hit– is there enough seeing one another fall among the artists?

KF:  There’s not enough mentoring across the board, man.  The whole purpose of having grandparents, pastors and those figures in our community is so that we wouldn’t have to have a cycle of mistakes.  It’s supposed to be about “each one, teach one.”  So when we don’t have that, we just continue a cycle of failing because everybody is trying to figure it out on their own.

And it’s so unfortunate, man.

EJ:  Absolutely.  And I’ve found that, in my own circles of accountability, when you have someone being transparent, it just opens the door for others to say “okay, well, that’s me too!”

KF:  Yeah.

EJ:  And that’s where healing is.  But where does that start?

KF:  I hope that transparency becomes contagious.  That as people begin to see how therapeutic it can be, other people begin to say “me, too” and it will be a domino effect.  Now, it may not always be at the level that everyone can see it like it’s prime time news, but hopefully, when we get the chance to look, we can see that people’s lives are becoming affected.

EJ:  I love that.  I’m just about done, but I wanna touch on some of the great idioms you’ve got in this book– the need to “sanctify your sexuality,” that life is not about the “boom boom boom,” and my personal favorite, “embrace the non-sexies.”

KF:  *laughing*  Yeah!

EJ:  I think I need a t-shirt that says that!  Can you briefly tell the readers about the non-sexies?

KF:  There are things that God has put into every one of our lives to develop character.  The biggest thing we’re missing in our society is character development.

EJ:  I hear that.

KF:  You’ve got artists that don’t have essence, you’ve got people that don’t have essence– entertainers, politicians… You can be smart and educated, but if you don’t have character, you’ll fall, you’ll go for anything, you’ll change your morals and values based on how much you’re getting paid or getting slid up under the door.

But when you have character, you’d rather stand for something than fall for anything.  And the way to develop character is to embrace the things that God has put in your life that are NOT the things that will give you the top spot, NOT the things that are always for the applause and for the world to see.  It’s those non-sexy things.

EJ:  I love that, man.

KF:  For example, standing up at the United Negro College Fund and writing a check, well that’s sexy.  That’s gonna be on the news the next day.  Or, you know… being a person who flies down to help the people in Haiti when all the cameras are gonna see it, that’s sexy.

But dealing with your crackhead sister, when she done stole your microwave for the third time?!  And you gotta go down to the holding cell and deal with her crackhead behind, and be committed to her as her big brother?  THAT’s non-sexy.

But that’s something that God has put in your life that you’ve gotta deal with.

EJ:  Wow.

KF:  Or, your child who may be having a hard time sleeping in the bed at night. *chuckles*  And he’s scared and he keeps messing up your love-making nights and you’re only in town for three nights.  But you’ve got to put your child’s fear over your physical needs for a few nights.  That’s non-sexy.

EJ:  *laughs* Yeah, that’s definitely not sexy.

KF:  Those things that have nothing to do with the press, nothing that anybody’s going to clap for or give you awards for… it’s the things, like yesterday…

Flying in town from doing your Hollywood meetings and what not, and your daughter has a track meet an hour and a half away from your house.  And the track meet is supposed to start at 3:00 and you get there, but it doesn’t start until 6:00.  And so, you’re there from 3 to 6, sitting outside and it’s hot.  And you don’t got nowhere else to go because you’re in the middle of the country and you’re sitting there for 3 1/2 hours waiting for the track meet to start… and each one of your child’s heats are like an hour or an hour and a half apart.  So, you sat out there from 3:00 to 10:30.

EJ:  Dude.

KF:  Nobody’s gonna write about that.  That’s not gonna be in no publication, but it’s gonna be on your daughter’s heart.  She will REMEMBER that moment and she’ll never forget it.  But that was a non-sexy moment.

EJ:  Absolutely.  As I was reading about that concept in the book, I thought it’s kinda like “being faithful over a few things…”

KF:  Yeah!  There it is.

EJ:  My pastor here in Franklin, TN said “if you can’t scrub toilets and help in the parking lot when it’s raining, don’t ask to be on the worship team.  Don’t ask to be up here where you can be seen.”  If you can’t serve at the base level…

KF:  That’s right.  And the problem is, it’s human nature to always want to go to the place of being seen.  You want to go from the womb to being seen.  And the problem is that, if you don’t embrace those MIDDLE areas, those non-sexy areas, when you get to the place of being seen, you’re not going to LAST there because you didn’t do the character development.  That’s why you’re in today and gone tomorrow.

EJ:  Wow.  That’s good stuff, man.  Is this the last book?  How much more do you have in you that you didn’t get to say?

KF:  I don’t know, man.  We’ve gotta wait and see because this was such a new process for me.  I’d never done anything like this before, so we’ve gotta see.  It’s like I dumped it all into this book. *laughing*

EJ:  It’s great.  My wife was out while I was looking at it and when she got home, I was like “you have to read this book.”  She took a look at an excerpt and said “I’m reading this today.”

KF:  Oh, wow.

EJ:  I told her “it’s like talking to a good friend who knows you really well– it’s conversational and has these sidebars about fried chicken, and they don’t have anything to do with what he’s talking about…”

KF:  *laughing*

EJ:  “But at the same time, you turn the page and he’s diggin’ all in your heart, like ‘I KNOW you… I KNOW you feel this way… and it’s tacky’.”

KF:  Wow.

EJ:  So, it’s like talking to an accountability partner who knows you and loves you, so he’s able to cover you and show you yourself.  I don’t do a lot of book reviews on the site because a lot of the stuff I see is just… not based on stuff that can be an anchor.

But I’m excited about this book for you because it’s gonna be really helpful for people.

KF:  Wow.  My brother, that is such a great compliment, man.  Thank you.  I’m very humbled by that.  Very humbled by that, sir.  Thank you.

EJ:  No doubt.  My last question, man– when readers turn the last page of The Blueprint and set it down, they’re gonna have that feeling– you know, that reflective moment that you have when you finish a book, like “that was good” or “what the heck does THAT mean?!”

KF:  *laughs*

EJ:  What do you hope people will be thinking in that reflective moment after The Blueprint?  When they close the book, you want them to sit back and say…

KF:  I hope and pray that everybody will say everything that you just said.

That’s my prayer.  That everybody will say everything the way you said it– talking to a good friend, talking to somebody who was raw and real with you, but was very loving… someone who will make you laugh and cry and think at the same time.

It was almost like Kirk came over to the crib and just kicked it with you.

EJ:  Yep!

KF:  Y’all talked about sex, y’all talked about parenting, about being a man, about religion… talked about hopes and dreams.  You know, “Kirk just left the crib and we had a good time.”

EJ:  Absolutely.  And I believe they will.  From one man to another– thank you for this book.  And, lemme say, it’s something for me to read over and over again.  It’s not like “I read it, so I’ve got it down.”  It’s more of a reference book to me.

KF:  Wow.

EJ:  Yeah, man.  It’s a way to check-in as I go.  So, it’s really awesome.

KF:  Praise God.  Praise God.  Thank you, brother.

EJ:  No, thank you for taking a moment to chat with me.  I know you’re busy, so I appreciate you for spending time with me.

KF:  Thank you, man.

EJ:  My pleasure.  Take care.

KF:  Okay.  Bye.

*     *     *

BAM!  Don’t you wanna read this book?!

I’m serious– it really drew me in and held my attention for hours.  It’s powerful… and I loved it.

It was a joy chatting with Kirk– he’s passionate about what he’s written, and he KNOWS what he’s talking about.  He didn’t just come up with a bunch of quotes for a book or an interview… he lives it and it just kinda pours out of him.

Anyway, tell me what you think of our talk.  Does the interview make you more interested in the book?  Who’s picking it up on May 18th?

Talk to me!

I caught up with Brian Courtney Wilson the other day.  Aside from being an absolutely great dude with a great voice, his album sales have been consistently good, proving that he’s gonna have some staying power in this industry.  I love that.

With the exception of this week, his debut album, Just Love, has stayed within the top 15 at Billboard since its release last JUNE, when it debuted at #2 on the chart!

Brian was recently nominated for two Dove Awards and I wanted to catch up with him to see how he’s taking everything in, how things have been, and what he’s got planned for the near future.  I even touch a lil’ bit on how he felt after being passed up for nods at the Stellar Awards.

It’s just a quick chat, but I think you’ll enjoy it!  Here’s Brian Courtney Wilson…

*     *     *

EJ:  Hey man!

BCW:  Hey, EJ!  What’s going on, man?

EJ:  All’s well.  How are you?

BCW:  I’m doing good.

EJ:  Good, man.  Well let’s get to it– what’s going on?!

BCW:  Aww, man.  The record’s been doing well– it’s been in the top 15 since we got started and I’m happy about it.  It’s just what was in my heart.  When I recorded it, I wasn’t sure that anybody was gonna receive it, you know?  But people have been receiving it and that’s been really gratifying to see.

EJ:  That’s awesome, man.  You’ve had great success at radio and great sales.  I’ve not seen you far from the top of the charts since you started and there are people who’ve been in the game for years that still can’t get there, so you’ve definitely made an impression on people.

BCW:  Thank you, man.

EJ:  I need to ask you– you’re signed to Music World, which is Mathew Knowles’ company.  This is just a question that I’ve gotta ask… you know, we’ll deal with it and move on.  Do you ever get to hang with Beyonce?

BCW:  *laughing*  Man, the last time was probably two years ago and I would call that an “interaction.”  It was more like she flew in, said hello and flew out.  She’s doing her thing.

EJ:  Nah, that’s cool. *laughs* It’s something I think the people have needed to know, so I figured I’d ask… like, “how often does he interact with Beyonce, or with Mathew.”

BCW:  Well, I just met up with Mathew yesterday.  We sat down and talked for a long time about the direction of the album and my career– where we’re going next.  And Solange, Beyonce’s sister, she reached out to me the other day, just wishing me well.  But, you know, I didn’t get into this to hang around them.  It’s cool that they’re there, but I’m hard after God.

EJ:  I love it.  Lemme ask you– you’ve got two Dove nominations, one for New Artist Of The Year and another for Urban Recorded Song Of The Year for “Just Love.”  What does THAT feel like?

BCW:  Man, it feels extremely gratifying.  For real.  Especially… you know, because we got missed for the Stellars.

EJ:  Oh yeah, well I’m coming to that in a minute. *laughs*

BCW: *laughing* I KNOW you are!  But for the Dove Awards to come out and acknowledge what I’m doing– and we don’t have any Christian radio airplay to speak of, that I know about– so, for them to reach out and say that we’re doing something worth acknowledging, that really means a lot.

EJ:  Sure.

BCW:  And it means a lot for our supporters because they have the opportunity to vote for Best New Artist… To be able to tell the supporters “hey, they’re thinking about giving us an award for what you’ve been listening to, for what’s been enriching your life…” It means a lot to them as well.

EJ:  Absolutely.  Now, for my clarification– did you say you were “missed” by the Stellars or “dissed” by the Stellars?

BCW:  I said “missed!”  It’s hard to diss me, man.  I try to stay as humble as possible, so I just figured that they knew what they were doing and knew who they wanted to nominate.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed with how it went down, but it wasn’t devastatingly disappointing.  It would have been nice to get that, because you’re only Best New Artist once.

EJ:  Right.

BCW:  And I knew that we had done a lot of good work, and we put up a lot of good numbers.  But beyond the numbers, I’m talking to the people everywhere we go, listening to their stories, and I’m getting messages on Facebook that what we’re doing is enriching lives.  It seemed stellar to me.

EJ:  Yeah, and I remember the day of the press conference, as I’m sending out my tweets, kinda being surprised.  Not to rehash any of that drama, but by the time I got home, a lot of people were blowing up Twitter and my blog about YOU not being on the list, in particular.

BCW:  Really?  Is that right?

EJ:  Oh yeah, they were about to cuss over you and J Moss, but J will be eligible on this year’s ballot.  Was there not a moment where you kicked somethin’?

BCW:  Nah, man.  Absolutely not.  The reason being– a year before that album came out, I wasn’t even sure if it would come out at all.  I wasn’t even sure if I’d made the right to decision to step out on faith and do music.

By the time the nominations came around, we had already gotten so much love from radio and from the supporters… that was already a reward in and of itself.

I was a little disallusioned by the process, but I just figured that maybe I didn’t have a full understanding of what was going on and what we needed to do to make sure that we were acknowledged by the Stellars.

EJ:  Yeah, I don’t think anyone did.

BCW:  And I remember the blogs you did.  My wife and I both were like “man, this is so insightful.”

EJ:  Thanks, man.

BCW:  But the other thing that I have to remember, as an artist, is that I wasn’t the only one who felt that he was passed over or missed.  So it wasn’t just about me.  If there are things that need to be done or corrected– and I’m not saying that there are… you know, Don Jackson has been doing this a long time and I think he knows how to run his company.  But if there are things that need to be corrected, I pray that they are because the Stellars are important.

EJ:  That’s a great response and outlook to have, man.  What would you say has been one of the greatest challenges you’ve faced, breaking into the gospel industry?  I ask from the standpoint of you being a new artist and not necessarily having a bunch of established artists endorsing you out the gate.  You know?  There wasn’t a whole church or Bishop T.D. Jakes’ endorsement, or some GMWA feature and guest solos for years… what has been the greatest challenge coming in as a virtual newcomer?

BCW:  I think the challenge was before everything broke.  It was the waiting and believing that what you’re waiting on is actually worth waiting on.  Because like you said, no one like T.D. Jakes was callin’ me to say “man, your music… we need to have it out there.”

Now, I have people in my life that were doing that– great people, but you may or may not have heard of them.  They showed me love and respected what I was doing.  But that was the challenge– waiting.  And not aborting what God was doing before the people got to hear it and experience it for themselves.

EJ:  And I’m glad you endured.  How often are you traveling?  What is your gig-load like each month?

BCW:  I probably get 40-50% of the month.  I’d like to do more.  It’s been picking up, but I want to get to 60-70% of the month.

EJ:  So, what is next for you– are you back in the studio soon, are you riding this album out for a while?

BCW:  Well, we’re gonna do a couple more singles and we’ll look at putting out a new album next year.

EJ:  Sounds great, man.  I know it’ll be great.  Umm… I think that’s all I’ve got for ya– just wanted to touch base and see what’s up with you.

BCW:  You do a great job, man.  I follow what you say and it always makes great sense to me, so I appreciate that.

EJ:  Well, I appreciate you for that, man.  I’ll talk to you soon.

BCW:  Alright, man.

EJ:  Alright, bye.

*     *     *

And there you have it!

I’m very proud of Brian– he’s such an incredibly humble dude with no frills or pretenses… what you see is what you get.  And that’s refreshing.

It doesn’t hurt that his voice is dope, either. LOL

Peep this video of him singing one of my favorites from him– “Already Here”…

Do you guys have his album?  If not, click here to listen/make a purchase.  If so, what do you think of it?

And what did you think of our chat???

Marvin Sapp is one of the most sought-after artists in gospel right now.  But it wasn’t until the release of his seventh solo project, Thirsty, that Marvin Sapp reached heights of commercial success that many gospel artists will never see.

One thing that I like most about this man of God– success hasn’t changed him.  I first got to know him about 7 years ago and he’s the same laid-back and humble dude today as he was back then.

Now, with today’s release of his newest album, Here I Am, Marvin Sapp offers us more great music with his powerful ministry.  If you saw my review of the project yesterday, you know how much I enjoy it.  It’s got some great new material, with great production and vocals… definitely a favorite of mine right now.

I caught up with Pastor Sapp to talk shop about his new project.  We also chatted about the public criticism of how he handled himself on The Mo’Nique Show on BET… (I LOVE what he had to say about that!).  Plus, he shares some of the things that he’s got lined up for 2010.

Here’s Marvin Sapp…

*     *     *

EJ:  Pastor!  How are you?

MS:  I’m good, man.  How about yourself?

EJ:  I’m doing well, thanks.  And thank you so much for taking some time to chat with me– I know you’ve got a lot going on.

MS:  This is easy.

EJ:  Aww thanks.  I’m thrilled that you thought of lil’ old me.

MS:  *laughing*

EJ:  Well, I’m gonna get right to it.  You’ve got a new album, Here I Am, and I’ve gotta tell you– I love it.

MS:  Man, thank you so much.

EJ:  I really do.  With live recordings, artists always run the risk of not having the music translate well once it’s on an album, but most of your albums have been recorded live, right?

MS:  Yeah, I would say at least 60% of ‘em.

EJ:  Yeah, so you’re pretty much a pro at this by now… how do you capture that experience so well, so that it translates?

MS:  Well, I think I try to keep the experience.  What a lot of people do is they go into the studio and, when they do all their fixes, they try to fix everything and make it perfect.  I try to leave mistakes in there, you know, some little things… some little nuances to ensure that “live” feel.  And to keep it real.  So, that’s been our kind of signature, and it works for us.

EJ:  Good stuff.  I’ve heard some people say “he’s coming out with something again?  So soon?”  But they fail to realize that your last project, Thirsty, was actually released in 2007.

MS:  3 years ago!  Ain’t that hard to believe?

EJ:  Yeah, I think you were just about due.  Question– do you get annoyed when people call the song “Never COULD Have Made It?”  That irks me!

MS: *laughing*  Nah, I don’t.  It’s funny, man!  People call it “Never Could Have Made It,” “Never Should Have Made It”… I heard someone call it “Never Wanna Make It,” or something… the fact that it’s on their minds is the biggest compliment.  It really is.

EJ:  Fair enough.  So what was your goal with this album, musically?  Especially given that you worked with Aaron Lindsey again, were you trying to recreate some of the magic of the last album?

MS:  You got it, man.  We went to the same venue, used the same musicians, the same background singers… we added some different things to it, but our focus was to try to create the same anointing.  And myself, Aaron Lindsey and Myron Butler, we work so well together.  We just come together and we create magic.  You know?  It wasn’t broke, so there was no need to fix it.

EJ:  I hear that.  With your live recording in November, you may have been the first gospel artist to stream your live recording over the internet, is that right?

MS:  Yep!  First gospel artist ever to stream and allow people to get a bird’s-eye view of what we were doing.  I mean, it was great.  It was different… we’re really trying to capitalize on this multimedia piece and this 21st century move.  It’s working for us.

EJ:  It really is.  But did you ever worry about people having too much access– not necessarily like they were gonna steal music, but that they would have opinions about it so early in your process?

MS:  Nah, not really.  And I think the reason I wasn’t worried is because we were just giving little snippets, not so much that they could formulate concepts about the entire thing.  But even with that, no negatives… we got no negative responses out of the 5,000 plus people.  Everybody said they enjoyed it.

EJ:  Nice.  Well, the new single “The Best In Me,” has been moving like wildfire.  And I remember, at the recording, a lot of us thought, commercially, “that’ll be the one and it’s gonna be big.”  Did you know that song would be so popular?

MS:  Nope. *laughs*

EJ:  *laughing* Not at all?

MS:  Not at ALL.  Man, you can’t gauge this stuff.  “Never Would Have Made It” was a phenomenon.  It just shot out the box.  “The Best In Me,” same thing.

I’m looking at it and I say “thank you, God, because again, you showed us how You take the foolish things to confound the wise and how, if you keep it simple, it’ll work.”

EJ:  Absolutely.  It doesn’t always take much.  Now, Here I Am is your 8th solo project?

MS:  8th solo album, yep.

EJ:  Wow.  Most gospel artists don’t even get to number eight, let alone have some of the success you’ve had.  How have you grown as an artist?

MS:  I think I’ve just matured.  I mean, I’m 43 now.  Since I started at 22, I’ve become a different guy.  I’ve kinda found my niche.  I know what my listening audience enjoys hearing me do and I’m smart enough to give them what they like.  I’m not trying to figure out, trying to broaden myself and all that kinda stuff…

At this point, I’ve got 900,000 people that love to hear me sing the kind of music that’s like Thirsty.  So, this new album was gonna be Thirsty on steroids.

EJ:  Ha!

MS:  You know?  We tried to accomplish another level of what we did before.

EJ:  Sure.  And how do you define your music?  What is your lane?

MS:  Man, I’m churchy but funky.

EJ: *laughing*

MS:  That’s just me.  I’m churchy because I try to make sure that my lyrics are Christ-centered and Biblically sound, but I’m funky, you know?  We like to add some flavor to it.  And it works for us.

I don’t know if I can fit into any particular genre– I don’t know if I’m traditional, I don’t know if I’m contemporary, I just know I’m “church.”

EJ:  Well put.  Like I said, I’ve been lovin’ this album since they sent it to me and I can’t stop listening to it.  I trust that they’ll go out and buy it this week.

MS:  Man, I hope so.  You know, I ain’t never been into records, but it would just be awesome to see a gospel record take the #1 spot on hip-hop and R&B.

EJ:  Yeah, it would.

MS:  It hasn’t really happened like that since the Kirk Franklin “Stomp” record, and that was years ago.

EJ:  Well, you’d be the one right now to do it.

MS:  We’ll see.  We’ll know next week.

EJ:  Absolutely.  Listen, I wanna give you an opportunity to respond to something that recently buzzed around the web for a minute– your appearance on The Mo’Nique Show.

MS:  *laughing*

EJ:  Now, some folks criticized you for not… well, I dunno what they really wanted… but they didn’t like the way that you handled Mo’Nique’s use of profanity with you.  Maybe they wanted you to rebuke her or kick her in the head and walk off stage, I don’t know.

MS:  *laughs*

EJ:  But what was that experience like and do you wish you had responded differently?

MS:  Well, let me be honest– when I look at the show, there are a whole lot of things that I think I could’ve done differently.  However, number one, everyone needs to realize it was a late-night show.  Number two, I think everybody must realize that it was her show.  And number three, if I would’ve rebuked her or checked her, they probably would’ve never seen the show to have anything to write about.

EJ:  Hmm.  Yeah.

MS:  Now, I understand where I was going and who I was dealing with.  And people assume that there was not conversation behind closed doors as it pertains to her spiritual walk and her spiritual life.

EJ:  Absolutely.

MS:  Umm… I know Mo’Nique.  I know Mo’Nique, not just in front of people, but I have had the opportunity to have conversation with her behind closed doors about her spiritual walk and her desires and her struggles… things of that nature.

Because of that, I can tell her “you just be YOU.”  There are some areas of her life that she’s ready to change and there are some areas of her life that she isn’t ready to change.  And as a man of God, it is my responsibility to just make sure that I live the life in front of her that models Christ.

EJ:  For sure.

MS:  Sometimes, some of the best messages that you would ever preach aren’t Scripture as much as it is your life– you’ve gotta have a life that shows.

But what I want to tell the Body of Christ is that you may feel that the way I dealt with her was absolutely wrong.  And I can say to them “that’s your opinion and there are some things I could’ve done differently.”

However, let me remind them of Galatians 6, verse 1, where it declares that if you find someone overtaken with a fault, y’all that are spiritual are supposed to restore such a one in a spirit of meekness considering yourselves.

EJ:  Right.

MS:  And the reason that I say that is because for every individual that blasted me because I sat there and allowed her to cuss and be herself, if you felt that I was wrong, you were JUST as wrong as she was for blasting me and not saying “we need to restore this brother in a spirit of meekness, considering ourselves.”

EJ:  That’s so true.  And I think that, a lot of times, people are so quick to judge situations that they’ll never even have to encounter.

MS:  And it’s 5 minutes.  It was 5 minutes sitting on a couch.  I can’t go into somebody else’s house and tell them how to act in their own home.  And I stand on the point that there are a lot of things that I could’ve done differently.  There are things that I could’ve said, things that I could’ve done.  And I have admitted that.

However, the Body of Christ needs to understsand that if we’re going to win the lost, sometimes our message has to be our lifestyle and not what we say.

Half of the people that talked about me like a dog would never have this platform.

EJ:  Exactly.

MS:  And half of the people that talked about me like a dog will never get the opportunity to sit at a table with Mo’Nique and witness and share Christ with her.  Because she wouldn’t even entertain their company.  She couldn’t even receive them.

And she told me, before I got on the show, “I’m never going to invite a preacher here, Marvin.  The only reason why I’m bringing you, as a preacher, is because I like your spirit and because I know you.  I know that you’re going to keep it real with me.  We’ve talked about spiritual things before, so I know where you stand and you know where I am.”

EJ:  Wow.

MS:  So, with that in mind, you’ve gotta keep it like that.  We’re losing a generation of people because we’ve got so many people judging the Body.

I didn’t cuss.  I didn’t swear… *laughing*  I didn’t do nothing but say “the Blood of Jesus” and “be yourself.”  Because it’s between you and God, ultimately.

EJ:  Right.  And He’s not surprised…

MS:  You know He’s not.  And then what’s really funny– I told somebody recently “y’all act like you ain’t never heard anybody cuss before.”  My mother could out-cuss Mo’Nique. *laughs*

EJ: *laughing*

MS:  *laughing* On any given day!  But people have a lot of opinions.  In a nutshell, there are a ton of things I could’ve done.  If I had checked her, they wouldn’t have anything to write about because they would’ve never seen the show.  And I never would’ve gotten the opportunity to do what I was assigned to do, and that was to sing “Praise Him In Advance.”

And many, many people received a blessing from that.  That was my focus and my goal, and I accomplished it.

EJ:  Cool.  Now, I know that you’re judging How Sweet The Sound again this year.  I can’t even believe the types of sold-out crowds they’re getting.  That’s been a great experience for you?

MS:  It has been the most phenomenal experience that I’ve had since I’ve been in the industry.  And let me tell you why– Verizon Wireless has spent MILLIONS of dollars, not on a national secular artist who already has billions in record sales, not on a national gospel artist who is making millions in record sales… but they have spent MILLIONS of dollars and invested it into the local, urban church.  That’s what blesses me about Verizon Wireless.

EJ:  Wowww.

MS:  They get it.  They get that the local church is STILL the backbone of the community.  And they’re willing to spend money to celebrate the power that the local urban church has.  I think that’s what blesses me more than anything about Verizon.  And that’s why I’m glad that this is the 3rd year that I’m a part of what they do– they get it.

EJ:  Hmm.  You make me wanna switch from T-Mobile… on that note.

MS:  *laughs*

EJ:  *laughing*  You know?  Like, what Y’ALL doin’?!

MS:  They get it, man.  And people are switching because of that.  I don’t know secular artists who had the set– that set that they built…

EJ:  It’s beautiful.

MS:  It’s gorgeous!  And it’s all for the inner city church.  And if you make it to be a part of the local show, the blessing is that, no matter what, you win.  You leave with money.  EVERY choir leaves with a minimum of $3,000.

EJ:  WOW.

MS:  So, you might not win the $15,000, but you’re not leaving there empty-handed.  They get it!  So, I appreciate what they do.

EJ:  Awesome.  Well, what else have you got lined up for 2010?

MS:  Well, I’ve got 3 books that I’m trying to get published.

EJ:  THREE?!

MS:  Three, actually. *laughing*  I wrote one called “Stepping Out On The Promise,” then I wrote another book called “Diary Of A Psalmist,” then I have “Never Would Have Made It: The Reflections Book” that has a workbook that comes with it.

And, they’re all at a publisher’s now.  Hopefully, we’ll get approval and get at least “”Never Would Have Made It: The Reflections Book” out before the year is up.

And, we’re in the process of adding 18,000 square feet– a performing arts center with classrooms for 200 people– onto our [church's] 7-acre campus, connecting it to our Family Life Center.  I just met with an architectural firm a couple of months ago, trying to get the plans to put senior housing on our property as well…and, man, I’m just trying to be a good husband and father and create streams so that I won’t have to rely on music forever.

EJ:  That’s awesome.  Awesome.  And thank you for saying that… I trust you’ll mentor the guys coming up, too, so that they don’t think that once you get your album…

MS:  Man, half of these gospel artists don’t even have health care.  So, it’s mind-blowing to me that we think that the key to our success is just focusing on one stream of revenue, thinking that it’s going to be the stream that takes us over, forever.

We need to understand that music is seasonal.  I’m hot now, but it ain’t gonna always gonna be this way.  And I ain’t no idiot… I know that.  So, that’s why I’m trying to remain humble in the process so that, when someone else comes along, I won’t walk around here like “they don’t deserve it.”  It’s just their time.

EJ:  That’s great stuff, man.  Well, you already know that I’m a big supporter.  I’m so proud of you and all that God is doing through you.  And I know you’re gonna have a great release week and a great run, a great 2010, all that…

MS:  Thanks, man.  I appreciate that.

EJ:  And you take of yourself, running around and doing all that out there.

MS:  Man, I got you.  I’m about to go sleep right now, in the car, cuz we’re stuck in traffic, so it’s gonna be a minute. *laughs*

I’ll talk to you later, man.

EJ:  *laughing* Ok, take care.

MS:  Okay, bye bye.

*     *     *

And that’s my chat with Marvin Sapp.  As I’m sure you can tell, he’s one of the most down-to-earth artists in the game.  I’ve got lots of love for him.

Again, both the CD and DVD are in stores TODAY.  Click here to check out my review.  Click here to order your copy NOW!

And lemme know what you think of the interview!

I interviewed Karen Clark-Sheard on Friday.  I’m telling you guys, but I’m partly reminding myself, because it was just a little incredible.

She had just shared advance music from her upcoming album (click here for that recap), so life was already feeling a little surreal.  But to realize that we now sat across from each other in a conference room, me with a BUNCH of questions and her with a willing heart to answer ‘em… FOR REAL?

I’ll admit that I kinda broke protocol and became the UBER-FAN for a minute before launching into the interview, telling her how I used to watch her when I was a kid and blah blah blah… whatever!  I have no regrets EXCEPT for the fact that I totally forgot to grab a photo with her.

So, what did we chat about?  LOTS.

The Clark Sisters were in Nashville on Thursday night for the taping of a TBN Christmas special.  It was actually historic for them because it was the first time that The Clark Sisters have ever had their own TBN program (she shared that they’ve always been invited by other hosts, but never had their own special).  The 30-minute musical program will PROBABLY air sometime next week– I’ll let you know details when I get ‘em.

We chatted briefly about her new album and its direction.  Karen went the studio route for her upcoming album, All In One, instead of doing a live album because, as she explained, “it was just time” to do it this way.  She’s been writing more and the studio afforded her the opportunity to really take her time and put her heart into her writing, a gift that she’s not always felt comfortable with.

Compared to Twinkie Clark, and more recently to Dorinda Clark-Cole, Karen shared that she often ”felt inadequate” as a songwriter.  She was encouraged, though, when God allowed her to win a GRAMMY for Gospel Song Of The Year in 2008 for her hit “Blessed And Highly Favored.”  “It was God’s way of saying ‘don’t question the gift’ that was placed inside of me,” she recounted.

In addition to her GRAMMY win, Karen has recently started her own label, Karew Records.  She’s incredibly proud of it because it’s truly a family affair– even her kids, J Drew II and Kierra, have positions in the company.  The first project on the label was the Clark Family Christmas album, which will be followed by her own project.  After that?  Expect to see a new album from The Clark Sisters.

Take note– despite all of the hard work and success, Karen really doesn’t see herself as a celebrity.  As hard as I tried to explain that she’s considered one of the greatest female vocalists alive, she kinda doesn’t get it.  LOL

Instead, she tries to remain as accessible as possible, especially because of her role as a pastor’s wife.  “The people of our church need to be able to reach me and have access to me,” she shares.  That attitude hasn’t been without its problems, though, as she has also had to change her mobile number in the past.  “People would call and just be breathing on the other end, or they’d call and play one of my songs and hang up,” she shared.

I asked Karen why she doesn’t have a Twitter account yet and she said she wasn’t sure about using technology much because she’s seen how negative it can be.  “I saw how some people had hurtful things to say about Kierra for doing the track ["God In Me"] with Mary Mary.”  Apparently, Karen even reached out to encourage Mary Mary after fans came down on them for not featuring Kierra on the BET Awards.  “We weren’t even thinking about that stuff.  Kierra was just so happy to have been included in the song, she didn’t care about all of that.  She’s just happy for them.”  Karen shared that it’s sad to see how nasty things can get on the internet.

Still, I tried to convince her that the web has some merits and, no promises, but we may see a Karen Clark-Sheard Twitter account soon… y’all can thank me later.

Before we wrapped up her chat, we talked a bit about the new track that she recorded with Aretha Franklin.  It was actually completed a while ago, but the opportunity was unreal to Karen because Aretha is her favorite singer.  I got the impression that the song, which will be on Aretha’s upcoming project, turned out very well.

Aaaaand that’s about it.  To say that I enjoyed interviewing Karen Clark-Sheard would be an understatement.  At its core, though, it was just a really great conversation.

Hopefully, you guys got some cool info out of it, too.  Whatd’ya think?