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–

After a hiatus and period of restoration, hip-hop artist The Ambassador returns to the gospel marketplace with Stop the Funeral to solid sales and a #6 debut on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart.  Congrats!

Also, after two weeks at #2, Kirk Franklin’s Hello Fear regains its #1 position, and Earnest Pugh’s Earnestly Yours falls to #2, followed by Mary Mary’s Something Big at #3.

Trin-i-tee 5:7′s latest project falls from #3 to #7 this week and Times of Refreshing, by Pastor James R. Adams jumps from #17 to #4.

The full Top 10 is right here:

1 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
2 | Earnest Pugh – Earnestly Yours
3 | Mary Mary – Something Big
4 | Pastor James R. Adams – Times of Refreshing
5 | WOW Gospel 2011
6 | The Ambassador – Stop the Funeral
7 | Trin-i-tee 5:7 – Angel & Chanelle
8 | Lecrae – Rehab
9 | Tedashii – Blacklight
10 | Deitrick Haddon – Church on the Moon

As I mentioned last week, I’m very interested to see where Richard Smallwood lands on the charts this coming week. If you haven’t already gotten the album, check out my review and listen to the snippets to see if you wanna grab it!

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.

Xist Music recently announced the signing of gospel hip-hop artists Da’ .T.R.U.T.H. and The Ambassador, both of whom were formerly signed to Cross Movement Records.

After a tumultuous year for each of the artists, personally, their album releases will be accompanied by extensive touring throughout the year during which they each plan to share their rich testimonies.

The Ambassador’s album, titled Stop the Funeral, will be released this summer, while new music from Da’ T.R.U.T.H.– his fifth, entitled The Whole Truth– is expected in the fall.

Xist Music will be distributing the music via a new joint venture with 220 Entertainment., the management arm of which has guided the careers of Group 1 Crew, Rachel Lampa, Rhema Soul and more.

JUST IN!

Gospel hip-hop artist The Ambassador has issued the following official statement in response to his widely publicized “moral failures,” last year, which led to a rather lengthy sabbatical.

Read it here:

*     *     *

Dear Friends and Supporters:

First I want to thank everyone for your understanding, mercy and grace while my family and I worked on rebuilding our marriage and reconciliation. From the very beginning, I have wanted to communicate with you. However following the advice of the church leadership, and others to whom I entrusted my restoration, I remained silent.

Back in late April 2009, the Lord exposed me and consequently delivered me from being entangled in a season of willful disobedience, deception and darkness. I was involved in a non-sexual but very inappropriate relationship with a woman other than my wife, thereby betraying my Lord, my wife, family, Epiphany Fellowship (the church I love and was instrumental in founding) my co-laborers and ministry supporters like you.

It has often been suggested that no genuine Christian can willfully sin habitually for a prolonged period (1 John 3:6). And that those who do sin cannot do so without some sense of great conviction and internal disturbance. My life is a personal witness to this statement, as I for several months battled great depression, gradual and graphic spiritual deterioration.  However, it indeed was God’s mercy that exposed me, breaking sin’s enslaving grip on me. It was also His mercy which used that to lead me to experience what David did when Nathan revealed that the “gig was up” and said, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7).

Like David, I instantly knew that, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13). I was crushed by an enormous weight of guilt, shame, fear and sorrow, and I knew that the journey back to “ground zero” would be insanely difficult.  Even to this day, I wrestle with that shame from time to time, but I also know there is one place I can turn—the gospel! I have to continually contradict my feelings and believe the rest of 2 Samuel 12:13, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”

After nearly a year of retreat, rehabilitation and intense family focus, God’s grace has me reset on a trajectory toward spiritual wholeness. Like Paul the great apostle I admit, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect…” “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14). God’s grace is teaching me that I am not supposed to attempt to “work” my way back to some supposed level of super-spirituality and then come out feeling “qualified.” But I am to recognize that I am never “sufficient in myself,” but “our sufficiency is from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5). As someone once said “He doesn’t call the qualified, but rather qualifies the called.”  I am deeply comforted by this gospel truth and equally dependant on its reality. Without this comforting and affirming word, I might never have come back to the service of our Lord.

So I say now, what I believed then—I sinned greatly against the Lord Jesus, my wife and family, the other woman and her family, my church, and all my ministry co-laborers and supporters.  I ask you to forgive me for being a prime example of the spiritual leaders I have often “put on blast” in the past, and further reinforcing the notion that the church is full of hypocrites. Forgive me for how my actions have caused many to be confused and insecure about the faith, and brought disruption to the peace of homes, churches, and ministries. May God give you the grace and the ability to forgive me, “as I have received the Lord’s forgiveness” (Colossians 3:13). By God’s grace, many that I have offended have forgiven me, most notably, my wife and kids. Pray that the Lord will continue to permit us to build on this foundation that will give the Lord Jesus Christ the greatest glory.

This has been an extremely painful time and now I accept the fact that although God’s grace is based on the merit of Christ and not my own performance, favor with man (Luke 2:52) must be gained through consistency over time. All I ask is for the opportunity to get started!

I have spent the past ten months in concentrated prayer, counseling, reading, studying, and fellowshipping with saints, and I am committed to diligently continuing on this course.  Unfortunately, the sin has taken a toll and has created some unpleasant consequences. Among many, the one that particularly grieves me is the separation from my church. With regard to the Epiphany Fellowship, I will not be permitted by the leadership to continue in covenant fellowship. This decision brings me much grief. However I trust the Lord Jesus Christ to heal my heart and that of my family and the covenant community.

After all this I have so much more tenderness toward the “fallen,” and an appreciation for the glory of a gospel that is so easily preached but not as easily applied. Lord permitting, I plan to proclaim the gospel with even greater passion than ever before and herald its liberating truth wherever the Lord will allow. The plan is also to musically represent the Lord Jesus so that the “fall of Ambassador” will not end with a period, but rather, with a comma. As you may or may not know Cross Movement the group had retired but as a soloist I was planning to continue as long as the Lord Jesus would provide grace. The release of my third solo album THE CHOP CHOP actually fulfilled my contractual obligation with Cross Movement Records, so now as The Ambassador I’m trusting the Lord for new direction and for what lies ahead.

My experiences during this time of seclusion and obscurity have indeed been very challenging. And, I’m still not clear on all the things that the Lord has been doing. But I plan to leverage every lesson learned and every insight gleaned for the glory of God and the benefit of others.

Since the very beginning, I have been under the care of a restoration team led by Pastors Byron Craig of Macedonia Baptist Church (Norristown, PA) and Zach Ritvalski of Sweet Union Baptist Church (Philadelphia, PA).  They have given me the “green light” to move forward in serving the Lord Jesus Christ publically. My wife has also given her blessings and support to this decision. Therefore The UpLift! Group and I are actively seeking God’s direction for new opportunities to honor the name of Jesus Christ.

The nature of my call to be an aroma of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15), a minister of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18), and his ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20), compels me to reengage my generation and “proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you (me) out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).  This experience has taught me many things but one that will always stand out and I hope to become the embodiment of is God’s grace and mercy is more than sufficient.

William “The Ambassador” Branch

www.theambassadoronline.com
www.myspace.com/upliftagency

*     *     * 

Done and done.  Let’s continue to pray for him, cool?

Whatd’ya think???

If you’re following me on Twitter, you got my blast about this on Saturday.  If you’re not, here ya go…

Apparently, The Ambassador has been released from his recording agreement with Cross Movement Records (“CMR“).   CMR issued a written statement about his release (click here), citing “moral failure in [The Ambassador's] marriage” as their justification.

1.  IF true, I’d be sorry to hear it.  Let’s pray for him, his wife and his entire family– that God will, as always, prove Himself as a redeeming God, full of grace.

2.  I admittedly do NOT know the many circumstances surrounding all of this, so take this with a grain of salt if you wanna… but I can’t say that I’m particularly thrilled with the way in which CMR made its point known.

In the music industry, labels drop artists left and right… they don’t issue press releases about it.  That said, I’m led to believe that the actual intent of the written statement was to air The Ambassador’s alleged slip up, in which case… not so cool.  Galatians 6 comes to mind, in which Paul admonishes “if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.”  This isn’t so gentle…

Again, I won’t front like I have any clue what’s happening in this situation, so maybe I’m wrong.  In any case, I do pray that God will be glorified in all things and that the Body of Christ won’t suffer as it’s all sorted out.

Are you prayin’ too?

I’m doin’ a dual recap of this past Sunday’s Bobby Jones Gospel and 106 & Gospel cuz… I am.

Bobby Jones Gospel

I particularly enjoyed George Huff.  He’s just such a pleasant person– you kinda can’t help but to smile when you see him (cuz you KNOW he’s gonna be cheesin’).  He sang “I Won’t Complain.”  When he started, I did NOT feel like hearing some drawn out, hyper-dramatic performance of the same ol’ song.  Just being real.

But lemme TELL you, that he MINISTERED that song in a way that I’ve rarely heard (even with all the funerals I’ve been to).  I had goosebumps and nearly got to runnin’ through the house. Watch yo’self, brutha!

Also on the show were Lance Williams & True Worship.  I really like his music.  He did what I’ve seen a coupla artists on the show do– though he was clearly booked for only one performance slot, he made two songs into a medley for that slot.  The only problem with that, this time, is that I was reeeeaaally feelin’ his first song, a powerful worship track.  Then, the band flipped it suddenly, a beat came in and snatched me right out of my mindset.  Let that worship marinate for a minute, doc!  Still, the second song was hot, too, so I wasn’t too mad.

The show also featured Shekinah Glory.  They are such a huge blessing to soooooo many people.  It’s a beautiful thing!  Personally, though, I don’t really know anything about them aside from “Praise Is What I do” and “Yes,” and I’ve kinda decided that I’m fine with that for now. Is it just me?

 *     *     *

106 & Gospel

Don’t get it twisted– it’s still cancelled, but they have a few shows already taped and, fortunately, they aired one this weekend.  So, we’re gonna chat about it like always.

This show featured one of the pioneers of the Holy Hip-Hop movement, The Ambassador of Cross Movement.  He had a great performance and, in my opinion, an even better interview.  He, like a bunch of Christian rappers, has gone to seminary, which makes me wonder why it’s so common in the Holy Hip-hop movement (the very artists that many gospel folks say are NOT in the Will of God), and why we don’t expect our other music ministers to go… that’s gonna have to be a ChitChat topic in a bit.

The show also featured Niyoki, who performed her song, “Joy.”  If you’ve EVER watched 106 & Gospel, you’ve seen the video of it cuz they play it almost weekly.  Her interview had a really weird moment, though, where Angel asked Niyoki to share the incredible story about how she gave birth in her home studio, and Niyoki said [paraphrasing] “ummm… I have a home studio, and I have a son, but I didn’t give birth to him there or anything like that.” Awwwwkwaaaaaaaaaard.  SOMEBODY ain’t tellin’ the truth!  LOL

Still, good show and I enjoyed it.  Make sure y’all sign the petition to keep it on the air!

I LOOOVED this interview and I think y’all are gonna really enjoy it, too.  I’m chatting with Deborah Smith Pollard (aka Dr. Deb) about her book, When The Church Becomes Your Party, which discusses the changing trends in gospel music and the new expressions of the traditional Gospel message.

Let me set things up real quick for you, so you’ll know exactly why you need to lean in CLOSELY for this interview!  She holds a Ph.D. in American Studies, she’s an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, she has done EXTENSIVE research and writing in African-American literature and the gospel music industry.  She’s a concert producer, lecturer, gospel columnist… AND she’s a Stellar Award-winning gospel announcer on Detroit’s FM 98, where she’s hosted “Strong Inspirations” on Sunday mornings for nearly 15 years!

We had waaaaay more fun on our phone conversation than I could have expected (and talked about waaay more than I could even print!).  She is a true treasure to the gospel music community.

Y’all, FOR REAL, buy this book and learn what her research has uncovered– you’ll be amazed.  Here’s Deborah Smith Pollard…

*     *     *

EJ:  Hi!  First, let me thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me.

DSP:  Well, thank you for wanting to talk to me.

EJ:  Oh, absolutely.  A friend emailed me about the book a few months ago and I thought “I want to read this and I want to talk to her for GospelPundit.com,” so I really appreciate you for taking the time to do it.

I also need to take a quick minute to say THANK YOU for mentioning GospelPundit on your radio show the other week.  You had listeners weighing-in on a topic I started, regarding Mary Mary’s upcoming video and the cameo appearances by mainstream artists.  As you saw, we had A LOT of comments—some for it, some against it– at GospelPundit.com.  How did people respond in Detroit?

DSP:  The ones who called in and sent me text messages, they said that there are a lot of different ways to reach people and Mary Mary seems to want to go outside of the church walls.  And if they can grab the attention of the audience by putting before them some of the popular, urban artists, as long as Mary Mary’s message isn’t being compromised, people felt that was fine.

EJ:  Yeah, I hear that.  And, it’s not a new debate at all, nor will it be the last, but it’s great to hear the various viewpoints on it.

Now, please tell me about this incredible and TIMELY book that you’ve written—When The Church Becomes Your Party.  I’ve spoken with a few people in the industry and they’re raving about it.  What’s the basic theme of your book?

DSP:  The basic theme is that the new forms of gospel music, and the new forms of expressing gospel music, may seem disconcerting initially, but if you just step back and listen to the testimonies, or listen to the lyrics, you’ll see that the intention and the focus of those artists (and those who attend their concerts) tends to be the same as it’s always been.  There’s the traditional message, but it’s wrapped for a new generation.

EJ:  That’s awesome.  So, it’s nothing new or something we need to be afraid of?

DSP:  Right.  Don’t be “scurrrrred.”  *laughs*

EJ:  *laughing*  Right!

DSP:  For example, in the last chapter, “Preachers In Disguise: Bringing The Holy to Hip-Hop,” I talk about the testimonies of people like Cross Movement and other artists like Kiwi (here in Detroit) or Corey Red… and I look at the things that they’ve said on record– why they do what they do.  And then I print out a number of lyrics, either from their albums or you can find them online.  And when you look at them, you can see why, even if it’s not your beat or your sound, it’s still a message worth supporting.

Certainly, I’m not one who embraces all kinds of rap.  I love music, but if there is music that denegrades women, etcetera, that’s different.  But that’s not what’s going on here with Christian rap and Holy Hip-Hop.  I tell people: “get past the Timbs, get past the jeans”… *laughs*

EJ:  I love that!

By the way, I’m loving the titles of these chapters—I think my favorite is “Muscle T-Shirts, Tight Jeans and Cleavage- (W)rapping the Gospel for a New Generation”.  What in the world is THAT about?

DSP:  That’s actually my favorite title!  One of the things that I did was note that it’s not just about women.  We talk a lot about women, and what they’re wearing, but I interviewed some men who said “you know, I have to watch what I wear when I perform,” and I thought “really?”

EJ:  Not everyone considers that.

DSP:  Right, but I thought, “well, why not?”  Because if men can be swayed by what women have on, why wouldn’t women be swayed by what men have on?  I look at the fact that when Kirk Franklin first came out, people were allegedly throwing their door keys, undergarments on stage…

EJ:  No! *laughing*

DSP:  So I go all the way back to the history of dress in the church/gospel community.  Well, we have to go all the way back to the early church fathers, who wanted women in nothing clingy, had to cover their ankles (because ankles were too much of a turn on), they had to wear veils… then, later, in the Black church, that was the one place where people really COULD dress up.  Coming out of slavery, we could be who we really were.

So, what happens is that we’re a more casual culture, but we also have young-thinking artists who say “I don’t want the audience to feel like we’re in this completely different world from them, that we’re unapproachable.”

Even Fred Hammond, four or five years ago, as we were doing an interview on my program, he told everyone to go home before his concert and change their clothes so that people can see that we’re approachable.  So, I wanted to put the muscle t-shirts and the jeans and the cleavage, so we know that it’s across the board– things are changing.

EJ:  Wow.  That’s awesome because we don’t usually think of it from both sides.

DSP:  Right.  So, I address: what does Trin-I-Tee have on, what does Mary Mary have on, but also, what does Kirk have on, what does Donnie have on?

And I talk about the changing silhouettes, as well.  Everybody isn’t skinny, but our “A-list” artists, as a rule, especially when we talk about the women– Vickie, Dorinda, Yolanda, Mary Mary… they are smaller overall than their key demographic.  Again, not a good thing or a bad thing, but an observation.

EJ:  This is so fascinating to me!

DSP:  And, EJ, most importantly, they’re SMALLER THAN the full-figured Mahalia Jackson who, again, was building upon the popularity of the female blues singers of the time.  Full-figured was fabulous back then.  So, I think that part of the reason that these artists have been able to crossover is because they are glamorous.  I let people decide for themselves whether it’s good or bad, but these are our artists today.

And when I go to a concert, I gotta tell you, EJ, I’ve got two hats on.  I want to be there to enjoy it… *laughs*

EJ:  *laughing*  But you still wanna research!

DSP:  *laughs* Right!  I’m takin’ little pictures of what’s going on!  If I see a tube top on someone in the audience, I’m taking note.  I’m looking on stage and, if there’s cleavage or pants that are more fitted, I’m looking to see if the audience is murmuring, or what.  How are they processing it?

EJ:  Right.

DSP:  At one point, we had Vickie Winans, CeCe Winans, Helen Baylor and Dottie Peoples at a concert.  And Dottie Peoples was the only one who wore a dress.  And I talked to my mentor in gospel radio, and she had some pretty strong words to say about everyone wearing pants.  She said “if they had really been set FREE, they wouldn’t have those pants on.”  Then, I called Vickie Winans, told her how much we enjoyed her and simply asked when she started feeling comfortable wearing pants.  And she said “well, I didn’t start wearing pants until I was 30.  But I’ve been shown a FREER way.”

EJ:  WOW!  Night and day.

DSP:  *laughing* And I thought, here are two women who love God and love gospel music– one says “if they had been set free, they wouldn’t have pants on”; the other says “I’ve been shown a freer way.”  And Vickie said that she never wears them in the sanctuary and she always checks to see where she’s going.  But, I went to full-research mode to see how people have responded to the things they see on stage.  That’s my favorite chapter title, too!

EJ:  That’s such an interesting concept to me.  While I have you, let me ask you a quick philosophical question.  Do you think that the evolution of gospel music is inevitable?  And let me explain why I ask:  In his day, Thomas A. Dorsey was considered “radical” for throwing blues-infused chords into sacred music.

DSP:  Absolutely.

EJ:  And now, we call it “traditional gospel.”  Same thing with Edwin Hawkins, for example.  Even Kirk Franklin & God’s Property, when they did “Stomp” just over 10 years ago, were practically ostracized for having gone too far.  Now, we’ve got Tye Tribbett & G.A. doing backflips and splits on stage, and the gospel community now considers THAT “the norm.”  So, isn’t change bound to happen in gospel music?

DSP:  Absolutely.  I teach a class in gospel music and, one of the things that I tell the students is that “church people don’t live in the church.”  You know?  They live in the greater community.  And the Black community, which is so dynamic, we create chords, we create instruments, we utilize things in new ways… I remember Pastor [Marvin] Winans saying “there is no ‘Gospel B flat chord’… it’s just B flat.”

EJ:  Right!

DSP:  So, he talked to my class about a commercial, I think it was for a paper towel, that worked its way into a gospel song.  Twinkie Clark talked about loving Stevie Wonder her whole life, heard “Master Blaster” and decided “nobody’s doing any reggae in gospel,” and this is how ”You Brought The Sunshine” came about.

EJ:  WOWWWWWWW.

DSP:  People say “church people shouldn’t be mixing it,” but we are PEOPLE and just because somebody has created a “gangster” style of rap doesn’t mean that the whole speaking tradition isn’t ours.  PREACHING is OURS.  It’s our highest form of spoken word.  And we use it in service already– the preacher gets going and the organist starts winding up to support his spoken word… it’s the same thing as rap, except they’ve added a drum to it or whatever else.

EJ:  You’re blowin’ my mind!!! *laughs*

DSP:  *laughing*  So, whatever comes next is inevitably going to bring about changes in church music as well.  Some people will embrace it, some people will say it’s Satan’s music, and all I say is “God, let me be around so I can write about it!” *laughs*

EJ:  That’s incredible.

DSP:  I have gone to these services, EJ, and I call them services.  And I might be the only “grown person” there– the last one I went to featured Lecrae and The Ambassador.  It was great… and you KNOW they’re going to do an altar call.  You KNOW they’re gonna pray over those young people and challenge them about their walk in Christ.

Now, it’s not for everybody, it’s not even for all young people because some people prefer something more traditional.  But for those who were THERE– young, old, in-between– they were blessed by the ministry, they knew the Word was going forth and it was just great to be a part of it!

So, that’s where we are NOW, something new is coming around the corner.  And I just say that if you’re not going to embrace it, could you please maybe step aside…

EJ:  Wow.  Basically. *laughs*

DSP:  And, wait a minute… could you PRAY that God gets the glory?  That all those who are involved in whatever is new will give GOD the glory in what they’re doing.  And that they won’t be pulled down by some who, without even paying attention to lyrics, or without even knowing the history, would judge it.

EJ:  It’s funny, I often say that a lot of us Christians, we would’ve stopped the crucifixion if we could’ve.

DSP:  *laughing*

EJ:  *laughs* Because we get so stuck on making sure that we’re championing the cause for what is “right” and we have such a strong opinion about how things “have to” go, but sometimes… we just don’t know what the Lord is going to do or allow to bring about HIS plans.  Y’know?

DSP:  Mmm-hmm.

EJ:  And, on the Mary Mary post we were talking about, somebody came on and said “well, I came to Christ through Mary Mary and Kirk Franklin.”  So, if people wanna knock them for being too progressive or too out-the-box, that’s fine… but God is using them to win souls to Jesus.

You know, one of my students said that “I like Trin-I-Tee 5:7 because they showed me that I can look cute and love Jesus, too.”  And maybe, for someone else, that’s not their style, but there are tons of people you can look to if that’s not your style, and you don’t have to tear them down.

EJ:  So true.  You’ve done a lot of research!

DSP:  Well, I love how the book finally together and I’m so pleased that people have said so many kind things about it.  As Pastor Winans says, “even if you don’t agree with the conclusion, you have to respect the research.”

EJ:  Absolutely, because at the end of the day, we didn’t do the research, you did.  And what you found is what’s out there.

Now, how can people get their HANDS on the book?

DSP:  My own website, which will probably be www.deborahsmithpollard.com, will be launched soon.  But in the meantime, people can go to my MySpace page for more info [click here for that], or to my publisher’s page at Wayne State University Press [click here for that].

EJ:  Perfect.  Well, thank you SO much for chatting with me.

DSP:  I thank YOU for the opportunity.  And continued success with the site!

EJ:  Thanks.  We’ll be in touch!

DSP:  Okay.

EJ:  Bye!

*     *     *

Thoughts???  Anybody already read the book?  Anybody gonna hurry up and GET IT?!