Word has it that gospel artist Melinda Watts is deep into the planning stages of her first conference to empower teenage girls.  It’s called the Dream Girlz Gathering and it’s going down August 19-21, 2010 in Vineland, NJ before hitting the road and hitting several cities across the nation.

The schoolteacher-turned-gospel-artist (by way of gmc’s Gospel Dream talent competition) has always had a passion for educating and empowering young girls on their journey to becoming young women– this conference is an outpouring of that passion.

And to assist her, she’s locked in the support of other great women in gospel, including Crystal Aikin, Karima Kibble, Neechy and more.

Visit http://www.dreamgirlzgathering.com or call 866-806-GRLZ for more info.

Anyone gonna check it out?  Anyone planning to attend?  Lemme know!

Karima Kibble, former lead vocalist of gospel group Virtue, recently released her debut solo project, Just Karima.

She just posted the new video for her lead single, “So Happy,” yesterday.  And it goes a lil’ something like this:

It took me a minute to get the concept of the video, but I get it. There are a couple of slow-motion effects throughout the video that tend to drag the song’s energy down for me, but Karima looks great and I think it’s a much more quality video than we tend to see in our industry.

Your thoughts???

After having been displaced from the top spot of the Billboard gospel album chart for several weeks, Mary Mary has reclaimed the #1 position (they’re also #5 on the Christian album chart).

The gospel duo is followed by Vickie Winans and J Moss at #2 and #3, respectively.  Earnest Pugh climbs from #6 to the #4 position and the the 2009 offering of the WOW Gospel series hits #5 from its #8 position last week.

Kerry Douglas’ compilation project falls from #4 to #13, and James Fortune & FIYA’s latest album, The Transformation, falls from #5 to #20.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens next week, with this week’s album releases from Kierra Sheard and Karima Kibble.

Which of the top 5 albums are you lovin’ most???

Three great newsworthy projects hit stores TODAY and you should prolly check them out.

First, there’s the long-awaited release from Tarralyn Ramsey, entitled Beyond The Darkness.  Also, Kierra Sheard has released KiKi’s Mixtape with several new tracks on it.  Finally, the long-awaited solo debut from Virtue’s Karima Kibble, Just Karima, is out now.

Follow the links below to listen to snippets and to PURCHASE ‘em.

Anybody already bought any of ‘em? Which ones are YOU planning to buy???

Yesterday at GMWA began beautifully– slow and without any obligations or commitments.  I sat with my wife and some buddies in the hotel’s restaurant for breakfast.  Byron Cage, Dorothy Norwood, Albertina Walker and JJ Hairston were just a few of the artists milling around the area.

Shortly after my meal, I got a text message asking if I could sit on a panel discussing internet radio before an audience of radio announcers, aspiring artists and industry execs.  I agreed and, at the panel, was able to share my knowledge about what I do in new media and the need for a stronger internet radio presence among gospel announcers.  I didn’t get booed off the panel, so I guess I sounded pretty knowledgeable. Shout-out to Donna Creer for thinking of me.  I had a blast.

I only had an hour to eat before the long-anticipated Gospel Festival, co-sponsored by Macy’s.  I grabbed a bite before getting ready for the concert, hosted by Yolanda Adams, featuring Karen Clark-Sheard, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Byron Cage, Smokie Norful, Dottie Peoples, Jonathan Nelson & Purpose, Karima Kibble, Ami Rushes, Kurt Carr & The Kurt Carr Singers, Dorothy Norwood, JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise, the GMWA Mass Choir and MORE.

The concert lasted for nearly 5 hours, but it was good.  The sound system was a bit rough (it was in a convention center… y’know, with the cement walls and high ceilings), so sounds kinda bounced back and forth.

Highlights of the show:  Yolanda Adams’ impromptu performance of “The Battle Is The Lord’s” with the GMWA Mass Choir– she proved that she’s STILL at the top of her game; Karen Clark-Sheard opened her set with the throwback “Balm In Gilead” before launching into two new tracks, both of which she DEMOLISHED on vocals; Dorinda Clark-Cole was in GREAT voice as she sang “Take It Back”; Byron Cage’s new single, “Faithful To Believe,” is awesome and sure to be a favorite; JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise are doing a great job with their new single, “Resting On His Promise,” but they also do a GREAT job revisiting their hit song “Incredible God, Incredible Praise” (tenor David McClure ad libs on the vamp like you’d NEVER believe… he had one of the greatest voices of the entire night… no exaggeration); GMWA Mass Choir was directed by Chicago choirleader/artist Malcolm Williams and they performed a near PERFECT medley of classic throwback choir songs.

All in all, the concert was AWESOME.  Afterwards, I went for dessert with some buddies and chatted until I could barely keep my eyes open.  Ahhhhh, it was a fun week!

During the concert, Bishop Jamison announced that GMWA would RETURN to Cincinnati next year, which will be kinda cool… it was a very welcoming city.  If you wanna attend next year, start planning and saving now.

Oh wowwwwwwww.  Yesterday was insanely busy, but soooo much fun.

The Gospel Announcer’s Guild (GAG) held its annual luncheon and showcase at the Duke Energy Center.  The event, co-hosted by David Mann, featured a BUNCH of artists with new music either available now or coming soon.  Among them– Sheri Jones-Moffett, Melinda Watts, Tamela Mann, Bishop Paul Morton, New Direction, Philip Carter, Karima Kibble…

And let me say this real quick… that Bishop Paul Morton is a preaching and singin’ somebody.  I NEVER get tired of hearing him sing.  By the way, it’s his BIRTHDAY week, so there’s much celebrating going around.  In any case, he sang his new single, “Don’t Do It Without Me” (with son, PJ Morton on keys), and got the entire GAG Luncheon crowd HYPED.  I’ll do some feature stuff soon.  In the meantime, some pics are at the bottom of this post.

Donald Lawrence, Dorothy Norwood and Vashawn Mitchell were among several artists in the house to support… and a BUNCH of industry vets and execs were milling around including Jojo Pada, Neily Dickerson (The ND Co.), Torrence Glenn (BET.com), Vicki Mack-Lataillade (LillyMack/Central South/CCLI/etc.), Larry Blackwell (EMI), Mitchell Solarek (Maximum Artist), Tammy Taylor (One EnTiTy), Sheilah Belle (The Belle Report), Lisa Collins (Gospel Industry Round-Up), Kia Jarmon (Light Records) and soooo many more.

I tried to take a quick nap, but I didn’t quite make it.  My wife and I were invited to an intimate little dinner celebrating the release of Melinda Watts’ debut project, People Get Ready.  Special shout-out to her incredible team, with whom my wife and I have kinda fallen in love!

No rest for the weary… I had about 45 minutes to freshen up for the highly anticipated Donald Lawrence concert, sponsored in part by Verizon Wireless & How Sweet The Sound.

IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!  Maaaaan… he’s like… becoming one of my absolute faves.  He and his singers ministered with songs from his latest project, The Law Of Confession Part 1, including the title track, “Let The Word Do The Work,” “The Blessing Is On You,” and the hit single “Back II Eden.”  He also dipped back a bit and performed “Healed,” “Giants,” ”The Blessing Of Abraham,” and brought Sheri Jones-Moffett to the stage to take us STRAIGHT in on “Encourage Yourself.”  It was better than I could ever recap.  GEEZ.

Sheri also performed her rising single, “Renewed,” from her debut solo album of the same name, due on August 11th.  Such a sweet spirit (and her family is THE BEST).

The whole shebang ended at about 2am and I was knocked OUT shortly thereafter.  Where’s my coffee?!

More recaps later!

Xist Worldwide has partnered with Royal Caribbean International and Travel Network Group to present its first Xist Urban Gospel Cruise, scheduled to depart from Miami on September 17, 2010 (that’s NEXT year, folks), with port calls at Coco Cay and Nassau, Bahamas, before returning on September 20th.

The performance line-up is expected to include Coko, DeWayne Woods, 21:03, JR, Mali Music, Sean Simmonds, Karima Kibble, T-Bone and many more.  The cruise will also feature a choir competition, daily praise & worship, and a new artist showcase.

Visit http://www.xistgospelcruise.com for more info.

I get sooooo easily seasick, but this line-up makes a brotha wanna take some Dramamine and make my way!

Has anybody ever gone on a gospel cruise?  Anyone planning to check this one out?  Holla at me.

This project was Virtue’s last on Verity, but it’s definitely my favorite from them.  And I think almost EVERYBODY Slept On it.

I actually wrote a review for this album at NuthinButGospel.com when it came out in 2003.  I mentioned that I hadn’t been a huge fan of Virtue before, but that THIS album had me talking about them nonstop.  From the vocals, to the production and songwriting, the project is on point and I STILL play it like it just came out.

Production on this one came from PAJAM and Asaph Ward, among others.  Standout tracks for me are “Thankful,” “You’ll Win If You Try,” “Worthy,” “Lord, I Lift My Hands,” “Open Arms,” “Nothing Else I Can Do”… I could go on and on.

I couldn’t embed the full songs from this project, so I’m giving ya two 30-second clips–”Lord, I Lift My Hands” and “Thankful.”  But I reeeaaallly want you to buy this album and listen to the whole thing, cuz… my goodness.

By the way, Karima’s solo project is soon-coming and it sounds goooood. I’ma do a post about it soon.

In the meantime, FESS UP! Who Slept On it? Who has it? Do you love it? Talk to me!

The urban gospel scene is growing by leaps and bounds and, even if you ain’t necessarily feeling it, it is undeniable that the people involved in it are gifted and are having an impact on the audiences for which God intended ‘em.  So, I’m supporting.  And I’m enjoying!

Right now, I’m enjoying Terrell King…

This German-born, now Atlanta-based new artist is getting a lot of attention from consumers and industry execs.  He’s even tapped to be featured with Marvin Sapp at a GMA Week mixer in Nashville, TN in a coupla weeks. [Editor’s Note: Marvin Sapp won’t be at the mixer anymore– on board, though, are several artists, including Tonex, Rizen and Karima Kibble, and industry execs like Roger Holmes and Monica Coates.)

He’s a songwriter, vocal producer and vocalist… even more, he’s got a passion to serve God and to share the message of Jesus Christ with his generation.

His digital EP, Almost Clear, was released on December 2nd and, in just a few short months, he’s already gotten 30,000 single streams from it.  Expect a full album from him THIS summer, but expect to hear about him A LOT sooner. He’s got a good voice, a good look, a good fanbase already… I think he’ll do well.

Listen to the audio on this clip and lemme know what y’all think:

And make sure you visit his MySpace page for more streaming audio from his EP: www.myspace.com/officialterrellkingmusic

Thoughts???