After a hiatus, one of my absolute favorite Christian rap artists, Da’ T.R.U.T.H., returns to the game with a great video for his new single, “Alive.”

The message of the song is great– transparently declaring “I was going left, but Jesus made me right.” And I love its conclusive ending– “I am alive, cuz He’s alive.”

The video is high-energy, with a performance interwoven with footage of Da’ T.R.U.T.H. working on the road. It also features several of his co-laborers in Christian hip-hop, including radio personality CoCo Brother, history-making artist Lecrae and labelmate The Ambassador. I think I also spotted Brian Courtney Wilson, J Moss and Sean Simmonds… a lil’ of e’rybody!

Check it out–

Hey folks, make sure you check out, Integrity, the new album from Sharon Riley & Faith Chorale, which hit stores yesterday.

The Toronto-based group made a name for itrself in the States back in 1998, with their EMI Gospel release, Life Is.  I must have played “Get To Know Him” from that album at least 4 or 5 times a day when I was in college.

Well, they’re back with their new project, introduced well by the BANGIN’ new single– the title track, “Integrity.” I’ve just added it Pundit Player on the toolbar below.  Take a listen!

The album features guest artists Mali Music, Sean Simmonds and Candy West, too!  You can learn more about Sharon Riley & Faith Chorale at http://faithchorale.com.

And, do yourself a favor– check out the snippets from the full album, and buy it, right here–

The newest project from gospel hip-hop artist The Ambassador, titled Stop the Funeral, will feature some vocal performances from rising stars in gospel music, including Jessica Reedy and Mali Music.  The new album will drop on July 12, 2011.

The 14-track project will also feature Canton Jones, Michelle Bonilla, KJ52, Sean Simmonds and more.  Peep the full track listing–

1. A-M
2. Get With Us ft. Sean Simmonds
3. Mind Made Up
4. Pop Pop Pop
5. Up Down ft. Charmaine
6. Favor ft. Canton Jones
7. Bring You Out ft. Melissa T
8. Talk This Way
9. Crumbs ft. Jessica Reedy
10. Trust In You ft. Mali Music
11. Nothing Like Us ft. Ryan Stevenson & Charmaine
12. Your Love ft. KJ52 & Michelle Bonilla
13. Put It Down
14. The Reunion Cypha ft. God’s servant, J.A.Z., shai linne, C-Lite, Cruz Cordero & DJ Wade-O

This will be The Ambassador’s fourth album, but the first on the new joint venture between Xist Music and 220 Entertainment, as announced several months ago.

About a month ago, I blogged about the popular Urban Soul Cafe two-day event that is taking place during Stellar Awards weekend, ON January 14th and 16th.  Just wanted to throw out another reminder– if you’re going to be in the area, buy your tickets now!  They’re only $10 in advance.

The events (hosted by Lexi, Canton Jones, DeWayne Woods and Sheilah Belle) will feature performances from J Moss, Melinda Watts, Y’Anna Crawley, Myron Butler, Sean Simmonds, Lisa McClendon and many more.

Plus, it was recently announced that Dr. Bobby Jones will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

I think it’ll be a good time of great performances that you don’t wanna miss.  Anyone planning to go?  Anyone been to one before?

Aight, folks… I know it’s been a minute since you’ve heard from him, but I promise he’s been on the GRIND for GospelPundit.com.  Our Canadian Correspondent, Ryan Chung, has been working like mad to get some exclusives and to make sure we’re kept in the Canadian loop down here in the States.  I can barely keep up with him (thanks for your patience, doc!).

This time around, he’s letting us know about an awesome artist from Canada– Paulis Sanchez.  I’ve been hearing her name in different circles for MONTHS now, so when Ryan said he wanted to write about her, I thought “absolutely!”

Without further delay, here’s Ryan…

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Paulis Sanchez is a BIG breath of fresh air in the Canadian gospel music industry. All the way from Toronto, Ontario Canada (native of Cali, Colombia), Paulis is a force to be reckoned with. Her debut album Seguro En Ti (in English: Safe in You) was released in 2008 and is definitely something to add to your collection.  The whole album is being received not only from the Latin/Spanish community, but from the English-speaking audience too!

Now I ain’t gonna lie to you, I don’t speak a LICK of Spanish (por favor… lol), but this album was put together well. “Me Tienes” (produced by another Canadian affiliate, Atlanta-based Sean Simmonds) is a mash up of her Spanish roots mixed with a lil’ hip-hop/R&B vibe, but with a message– you can get your groove on to this, IN THE NAME OF JESUS! LOL

One of my ABSOLUTE favorite songs is the classic “Thank You” performed by Walter Hawkins. Now this is where Paulis Sanchez gets ratings in my book– she flipped it and made it into her own.  The track, “Gracias,” is her spin on the gospel classic and it’s like she took Rev. Hawkins on a gospel fiesta (the reprise “Gracias Fiesta” is like a Spanish Praise break, with KILLER instrumentation).

In my opinion, what separates Paulis from most artists is her HUGE heart for worship. A great example of this is the title track, “Seguro En Ti”. With production from Maurice Rodgers and writing from Richard J. Brown, the song captivates the heart’s cry to the Lord: Mi Corazon seguro en ti/ Eres mi roca/ Y mi torre fuerte/ mi vida se esconde en ti/ Mi escudo eres y/ Mi guardador/ Mi guia y protector.

Noted by such gospel heavyweights as Tye Tribbett, Israel Houghton and Canton Jones, Paulis signifies her culture in this album, while making it known– Jesus Christ is Lord. GRACIAS DIOS!

Paulis Sanchez will be re-releasing Seguro En Ti in the coming months with three additional tracks in English… and I hear that Myron Butler will be helping out with the lead track!

Be sure to check out Paulis at www.paulissanchez.com, at MySpace, and on Twitter. She is also A BIG VLOGGER, so catch her on YouTube by clicking here.

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Thanks, Ryan!

I checked out Paulis, too, and I have to say that I kinda can’t quit listening to “Gracias,” the remake of Walter Hawkins’ “Thank You” (y’all know it’s my favorite song).  She’s got a great voice and a great presentation.  Make sure you check her out, folks!

Anybody already heard of her?  What do you think???

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.

Over the past several months, I’ve gotten A LOT of new music from people asking for reviews or features.  Sometimes, I’m pleased, sometimes I’m… concerned.

But I just got Claude Deuce’s upcoming project, Claude Deuce: Young Elder, and I’m kinda giddy!  He’s already pretty well-known behind the scenes, having written and produced for some of gospel’s finest, including Deitrick Haddon, Canton Jones, Ton3x, Izzy and Sean Simmonds.  Now, he steps out as a solo artist.

In addition to his keen songwriting and production abilities, Claude is an incredibly gifted vocalist, with clear influences from Marvin Winans and Ton3x, to Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway.

I’ll do a full album review in a coupla weeks (cuz I want y’all to know PRECISELY why you need to purchase his album when it drops on July 14th), but in the meantime, I need y’all to check him out!  I just added his single, “It Ain’t Over,” to the PunditPlayer.  Launch the player by clicking the logo on the top-right of the page. Make sure you lemme know what you think!

Visit his MySpace page for more clips, too: http://www.myspace.com/claudedeuce