Christian hip-hop just WINS at Billboard. The latest winner is rap vet Flame, whose newest project, The 6th debuts at #1 on the sales chart this week. Click here to listen to it and grab it!

Sunday Best runner-up Andrea Helms debuts at #2 with her first EP, Moving Forward.

Here’s the rest of the Top 10 in Gospel:

1 | Flame – The 6th
2 | Andrea Helms – Moving Forward
3 | WOW Gospel 2012
4 | Fred Hammond – God, Love & Romance
5 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Evolution of Le’Andria Johnson
6 | James Fortune & FIYA – Identity
7 | William McDowell – Arise
8 | Lecrae – Rehab
9 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson…
10 | Israel Houghton & New Breed – Decade

The next high-charting release should be from JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise, whose newest project, After This, hits stores on March 27th. Look to see impressive sales from Take 6, too, whose One album comes out the same day.

In its second year heading from Nashville to Atlanta, it’s good to again see that the GMA Dove Awards is continuing in its mission to increase its inclusion of a broad spectrum of genres and groups, both as nominees and presenters/performers.

In short– it’s good to see “us” well-represented at the Doves again.

Now, I watch each year anyway because I love it all, but I know that some of you may not tune-in as readily…

So, if you’re hoping for a bit of “familiarity,” make sure you attend the show or watch from home– you can expect to see performances from Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell, Ruben Studdard, and Lecrae. Also on the bill will be Natalie Grant, Mandisa, Jason Crabb, Jamie Grace, Danny Gokey, Jason Castro and The Isaacs. All great singers and artists. It’s gonna be a good show!

Plus, the hilarious David Mann will be co-hosting with funnylady Chonda Pierce.

The show takes place on April 19th in Atlanta, at the Fox Theatre. Grab tickets here.

If you can’t make the show, be sure to tune-in when it airs exclusively on gmc, on April 24th at 8pm ET.

There’s actually not too much new stuff to report in the area of Billboard chart positions this week– a couple of folks swapped spots, and we saw sales jumps from Lecrae and Isaac Carree, but with no major new debuts last week, all is settled… for now.

Here’s a glance at the Top 10 in Gospel:

1 | WOW Gospel 2012
2 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Evolution of Le’Andria Johnson
3 | Fred Hammond – God, Love & Romance
4 | James Fortune & FIYA – Identity
5 | William McDowell – Arise
6 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson…
7 | Lecrae – Rehab
8 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
9 | Various Artists – Joyful Noise Sountrack
10 | Isaac Carree – Uncommon Me

Next week, expect to see strong entries from Andrea Helms and Israel Houghton!

Congrats to Le’Andria Johnson, whose sophomore album, The Evolution of Le’Andria Johnson, debuted at #4 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart this week. It’s cuddled-up next to her debut release, The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson, which sits at #5 this week.

The rest of Billboard’s Top 10 in Gospel is:

1 | WOW Gospel 2012
2 | James Fortune & FIYA – Identity
3 | Fred Hammond – God, Love & Romance
4 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Evolution of Le’Andria Johnson
5 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson…
6 | Various Artists – Joyful Noise Sountrack
7 | William McDowell – Arise
8 | Brian Courtney Wilson – So Proud
9 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
10 | Lecrae – Rehab

It appears that there’s been a tiny bit of a sales slump and we won’t really see any major new releases until March 6th, with the release of Andrea Helms’ debut project, Moving Forward.

The nominees for the 43rd Annual GMA Dove Awards were just announced!

Among the nominees in the more major categories– Kirk Franklin’s “I Smile” got a nod for Song of the Year AND for Male Vocalist of the Year, Lecrae got an Artist of the Year nomination (that’s major)…

Click here for your full list of nominees!

In my humble opinion, Brian Courtney Wilson is an artist who has still not quite received his due in the gospel industry. In addition to topping both radio and sales charts with his debut album, Just Love, he’s a super kind and genuine dude with a great voice and wonderful passion for ministry.

Soooo, I’m a bit excited to write that his newest project, So Proud, has debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart this week. If you don’t have it yet, check out my review on GospelPundit.com AND my review for gmc’s website. Then buy it here.

The rest of Billboard’s Top 10 in Gospel is:

1 | Brian Courtney Wilson – So Proud
2 | WOW Gospel 2012
3 | Fred Hammond – God, Love & Romance
4 | James Fortune & FIYA – Identity
5 | Various Artists – Joyful Noise Sountrack
6 | William McDowell – Arise
7 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson…
8 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
9 | Lecrae – Rehab
10 | Marvin Sapp – Playlist: The Very Best of…

The new project from Le’Andria Johnson hit stores yesterday, and should debut very high next week. That will be a pretty good look for the new Grammy winner, as both her freshman and sophomore albums (not counting the Christmas project) will be in the Top 10.

In case you’ve missed the 27th Annual Stellar Awards airing in your local market, don’t fret– the nationwide broadcast is going down THIS SATURDAY, February 11th, on gmc (check your local cable listings).

It airs at 7pm, 9pm and 11pm ET, so you kinda don’t have any excuse to miss it.

The show, hosted by Dorinda Clark Cole and Marvin Sapp, features performances from Kirk Franklin, Kim Burrell, James Fortune & FIYA, Fred Hammond, Lecrae and more.

Tune-in!

The latest installment of the WOW Gospel compilation series debuts at #3 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart this week, followed directly by Worship, the newest project from Myron Butler.

James Fortune & FIYA retain the #1 spot on the charts with their purchase-worthy Identity.

Here’s the full Top 10…

1 | James Fortune & FIYA – Identity
2 | Various Artists – Joyful Noise Sountrack
3 | WOW Gospel 2012
4 | Myron Butler – Worship
5 | William McDowell – Arise
6 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson…
7 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
8 | Isaac Carree – Uncommon Me
9 | Lecrae – Rehab
10 | Marvin Sapp – Playlist: The Very Best of…

Next week, expect Top 10 showings from Fred Hammond for his latest project, God, Love & Romance. Got it yet? Check out snippets and my review… and grab it!

I can’t lie– I’m super proud of James Fortune as I type this!

James Fortune & FIYA’s new album, Identity, has debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart and Independent Albums chart. He has also debuted at #7 on the Billboard 200! It represents the first #1 debut of his career, a great feat for the first album on his own label. Kudos!

Here’s the rest of the Top 10 this week…

1 | James Fortune & FIYA – Identity
2 | Various Artists – Joyful Noise Sountrack
3 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson…
4 | William McDowell – Arise
5 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
6 | Marvin Sapp – Playlist: The Very Best of…
7 | Lecrae – Rehab
8 | Shirley Caesar – The Ultimate Collection
9 | Charlie Haden & Hank Jones – Come Sunday
10 | Isaac Carree – Uncommon Me

Next week, we should see entries on the chart from Myron Butler and WOW Gospel 2012.

You have James Fortune’s new project yet???

Hip-hop artist Trip Lee is preparing for the release of his fourth project, titled The Good Life, to be released on April 10, 2012 on Reach Records.

In the meantime, he’s offering a FREE DOWNLOAD of his new single, “Robot,” if you click right here.

My two cents– Trip Lee, like his labelmates Lecrae and Tedashii, just kinda doesn’t miss in music. He’s one of the most respected rap artists in the game, plus he’s a humble dude who loves the Lord and loves his wife. Support him!

And check out this quick promo video from Trip Lee–