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…
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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.
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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!
