Health and Fitness:
February 2012
The Love Issue
Tekoa Gospel News Zumba Instructors Kristi Faison and Y'Anna Crawley
Kenny Pugh Relationship Transformer Asks Singles
"Can you Do It Standing Up"? The 27th Annual Stellar Awards Pictures and Interviews
An Interview with Brian Courtney Wilson
Holy Dating and Whole Relationships with Danielle Harris
A Saved Male speaks out on Facebook
Keep Your Legs Closed Single Ladies and let Him Find you
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Table of Contents Editorial... page 6-7 Holy Dating and whole relationships... pAge 8 Marriage and Family...The Hills page 12-13 Marriage and Family- The Briggs.. Page 14-15 Keep your Legs CLosed... page 16-17 An interview with Kenny Pugh... page 18-23 An Interview with Brian Courtney Wilson=.. page 24-29 Leandria Johnson... page 30 Fred Hammond... Page 31 New Music.. page 32-33 Movie Reviews... Page 34-35 Poetry... page 36 Technology Gifts for Valentines Day... 37 Stellar Award Winners... Page 38-39 Interview with Selected of God... Page 40-43 Kim Burrell.. page 44-45 Vashawn Mitchell.. Page 46 Vy Higgensen.. pAge 47-48 Stellar Award Snapshots... Page 50-53
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Contact us at bwoodard@tekoagospelmusicnews. com
CD Reviews Do you have an opinion on a gospel CD or DVD you just purchased? We’d love to hear from you!
Opinions Welcome Independent Artists Do you have an opinion or want to rant/rave about your favorite gospel artist? We want to Are you an indie artist looking for exposure or need some press coverage? Email your EPK to hear from you so write us and let us know bwoodard@tekoagospelmusicnews.com. your opinion! Church News Is you church planning an event, conference, or concert? Let us know, we’d love to help you get the word out!! Please submit all pertinent information at least 30 days in advance. Contributors
Businesses and Churches Would you like your business or church information listed in TGMN? Contact us for reasonable rates.
Danielle Harris (Columnist) Tunisia Williams (Special Contributor) Crystal James (Columnist) Bianca Woodard (Editor/Writer)
Waverly Kelly (writer) Visit TGMN on the WEB Tekoa Gospel Music News www.tekoagospelmusicnews.com Find us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter
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ON DVD
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or of Tekoa Gospel Music News Magazine .. February i s A Letter from the Edit
Hi TGMN Readers and Friends!
Bianca Woodard- Tekoa Gospel Music News
Bianca Woodard and Benita Bellamy
Leandria Johnson and Bianca Woodard
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Thank you for joining us again in February 2012 for our second issue entitled "The Love Issue". I am excited about this issue because this topic is one that stretches across all generations, socio-economic status, political party affiliations, and nationalities. We all (hopefully) have experienced love at some point in our lives. As you embark upon your journey on a daily basis, please to remember that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. You were created in the image of God and when he made you, he broke the mold. There is no one out there with your fingerprint or your assignment for the earth. God invested another day in you so maximize the time that he's given you by bringing forth that dream or concept he spoke to you. Only you can do what you do how you do it- So let's just do it! Put your seat belt on because we have an issue that is full of LOVE from me to you. We explore Holy Dating and Whole Relationships with Danielle, Kenny Pugh wants to know if you can have your relationship without lying on your back, Fred Hammond talks about "God, Love and Romance", The Hills tell us how to keep your vow in sickness and in health, the Briggs tell us how to adjust to a new mate even in your middle aged years and Brian Courtney Love reminds us that www.tekoagospelmusicnews.com
s a the Love Month... R emember you are fearfully and wonderfully made!
those who love us are proud of us with his new CD "So Proud". We have backstage interviews and pictures from the Stellar Awards and so much more!! Our existence is in part dependent upon support for readers and subscribers like you. If you’d like to see your news in our magazine or your event advertised, please contact me at bwoodard@tekoagospelmusicnews.com . Thank you again for your support and I hope to hear from you soon. Leave a message on Facebook!
Bianca Antoinette Woodard XOXO in Jesus PS I had a fabulous time at the Stellar Awards in January. Don't forget to check out the pictures in the end of this issue and over on the other page
What are some Relationship Deal Breakers for saved folks??
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Holy Dating and Whole Relationships
CHRISTIAN SINGLES ARE NOT SERIAL DATERS… They are VERY cautious with whom they give their time to. When you become truly focused on your God-given purpose, you will refuse to waste your time on a dead-end relationship. Just because you met someone that’s handsome or pretty, that doesn’t mean you should go out on a date with them. Remember, the time that we have been given is a gift from God and we must use it wisely (Psalms 118: 24). So, only give time and energy to the things or people that God has ordained to be in your life.
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Danielle is the host of "Danielle's Playlist", a bimonthly television show dedicated to gospel music, and co-host of Life with Gina. The shows can be found on Comcast Channel 4 on Sunday afternoon at 6:30. She is also the host and founder of the Sanctified Diva Conference in Augusta Georgia. She is a public relations professional and gospel artist/ songwriter with three solo CD projects available.
Most of all, Danielle is a prolific woman of God. Just because you're single, that doesn't mean Danielle's unique style of ministry has made her a sought after speaker. She values her relationship you're an incomplete person. Trust God and learn to be content in every stage of your life ( with God and is dedicated to making sure the world knows that the word can work in our lives if we apply Philippians 4: 11-13). it. As it says in Matthew 6:33, Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and Email Danielle at deh1984@aol.com, follow her all of these things will be added unto you. So, on Facebook and Twitter. never forget, God is the best matchmaker. Stop trying to make something happen and learn to trust His guidance. -Danielle Harris
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The Marvin Sapp Try-Outs by Waverly Kelly In order to believe God for the next level of your life and ministry there must be corresponding action. Hebrews tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. If it can be seen, it will be seen by our works. So when Dr. Marvin Sapp put the clarion call for out background singers I knew that I needed to make the trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan to make full proof of my ministry. Airplane ticket...check....rental car...check...song in my heart....check...and determination to make it....check.
Waverly Kelly
The day started at 4 am in the morning. I rose to make the 6:03 am flight out of Norfolk, VA. I flew from Norfolk to New Jersey and then from Jersey to Michigan. I stepped off the plane at 10:12 am, and got into the rental to find the church. The parking lot was filled with cars with license plates from all over the country. Make no mistake about it this room would be filled with awesome talent from all over the body of Christ. In this setting it would not only be about talent, but it would also be about the anointing. The mood was surprising light and people spoke to one another as we waited to get started. The singing started and I was not disappointed by what I heard. Finally Pastor Sapp arrived and spoke to us regarding the vision and told a few jokes. We transitioned to the chapel area and he began to call names to hit the stage. Singer after singer after singer lit the room up to the point that we had a hard time not going into a church service right there on the spot. You know you can’t sing about Jesus without running the risk His presence showing up, and show up He did. Dr. Sapp was real, genuine, down to earth, and hilarious. If he was not joking on someone's outfit, he was saying off the wall stuff to see how people would react. You could tell that he was ever serious about ministry and that integrity was most important. Anyone could discern that he loved his late wife with all his heart and his family. He is a Pastor and everything comes second to that including the music ministry that God has truly blessed him with. It was my turn, and I struck the stage with what God gave me. Pastor stated that he was impressed and thanked me for coming and encouraged me to continue preaching and taking care of my family. We shared a private moment and he told me he believed God for my preaching ministry. I returned to rental car, to the airplane, back to Norfolk, VA. I laid my head down at almost midnight. It was a twenty hour day and worth every minute of it. Although I did not make it, I gained valuable insight on what to be when I get there. I thank Pastor for truly being a man of God and will buy the future records not just because he is immensely talented, but because his character is one that the body of Christ needs upfront all the time. -Wave
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Health and Fitness The Zumba Craze
portions and content
Loosing weight might seem like an easy thing to do, but when you've allowed your body to lie dormant for so long, getting up and moving is a major decision. Dance is a fun way to shed pounds without the thought of the fact that you are actually exercising. There is a new exercise movement that satisfies the need to exercise and the excitement of latin dance, Zumba.
2. Surround yourself with positive people who understand your goals and will offer support 3. Be disciplined enough to say I'm going to do this regardless. 4. Set Small goals and reward yourself when you reach them. What exactly is Zumba?
Kristi Grant- Faison of Columbus Ga - Zumba instructor We decided it was time to explore this fitness craze so we interviewed a Zumba instructor, Kristi GrantFaison of Columbus Georgia to gain some insight. Kristi is a Basic 1 licensed Zumba instructor in Columbus Georgia. She teaches at Whisperwood, an apartment complex in Columbus Georgia. She also teaches at St. Francis Wellness, which is a part of St. Francis Hospital. She also teaches at Curves and is licensed in Zumba in a Circuit. During the circuit training, members alternate between the machines and Zumba in their 30 minute training. Kristi started out teaching at her church, The Impact Center, and she stated that It's totally "up to the instructor" on what style of music to use. This opens up the opportunity to introduce Christian Latin Music to the mix. Krisiti lost 40 pounds since February of 2011 with Zumba and healthy eating. In edition to healthy eating, Kristi recommends the following for a successful weight loss and fitness: 1. Don't eat out as much so you can control your
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Zumba is a latin based work out class. It came about because a group fitness instructor, Beto, forgot his music one day, so he had to play what he had in his car. He was Latin, so all he had was latin music. His class loved it so it turned into a class of him doing his favorite free-style routines to Latin music and it turned into Zumba Fitness. The more it evolved, they use diverse music, so you'll have pop, R&B, country, or Rock. It consists of all kinds of music but it has to be 70% Latin music. The purpose of it is to get a good workout but it's so fun, you don't even realize you just worked out because you are dancing. What type of training do you go through to become an instructor? If you want to be an instructor you have to pay for the training. It is an intense one day training from 8 to 6pm for what they call Basic 1. When you do that one day training you become a level 1 instructor and you're licensed to teach Zumba Fitness. Once you become an instructor, there are different things that you can add on so you can teach toning or Basic 2. In Basic 2 you add on more steps and it is another license that you'll have. There is Zumba Gold for ages 60 and up , Zumba Tonic for kids, and Aqua Zumba which is Zumba in water. How do you become a Zumba Instructor? Hopefully, they have taken a Zumba class first to see what they are getting into. Then they can go to www.zumba.com where they have all of the places that you can get certified. Most major cities have a Zumba Certification location. The registration is online. You should be prepared for an intense day of training because in order for you to be able to teach someone you have to be able to do it. You learn specific moves www.tekoagospelmusicnews.com
Health and Fitness and you might need to bring at least 3 sets of clothing because you sweat so much. They teach the practical part and the book part. Once you become licensed, you can connect with other instructors in your city. Some places make you audition, but you'll need to apply to become an instructor at a gym. Sometimes you can sub for different instructors and that helps you get your feet wet. Another way is to participate in the Zumba Thons. They are always for a good cause like Breast Cancer Awareness or the American Heart Association. The Zumba Thons last about 2 hours and about 5-10 different instructors present. That was how I got a started after doing it at my church. One of the fellow instructors said "If you can do it in front of all these people then you can do it in front of a class". Another cool thing is Zumba Instructors have Conventions... you know like how you have Holy Convocation? You can get certified by going to classes .. They train you on safety and how to grow your class. The winter Zumba Convention is in London and there is one in August.
Y'Anna Crawley is a Zumba instructor
Y'Anna Crawley, winner of Season 2 of BET's Sunday Best and powerful songstress, took home the Stellar Award for New Artist of the Year for her CD "The Promise". She was also noticeably slim so we wanted to find out how she lost the weight and discovered that Y'Anna Crawley is a Zumba instructor You've lost weight right? What did you do? Y'Anna: I started in January. I started eating healthier. I don't deprive myself, but I became a Zumba instructor because I love to dance and a lot of people don't know that. So I looked at it and was like okay I can do this, so I became a Zumba instructor in July. I host Zumba parties back at home. Y'Anna stated that we can expect a new album in 2012 and the launch of her foundation, The Promise Foundation. The foundation will be geared towards young ladies from 18-35. Y'Anna: I was a teenage mom. I had my first son when I was 17 and a lot of people wrote me off. I just want to encourage my community. I'm from D.C., Washington D.C. Southeast where a lot of people say nobody's going to make it , but I thank God that I did and I just want to give back to my community... especially my young women because they think that they have to get naked to get noticed, but I have to let them know that you can do it without getting naked and just pushing forward. I want to give back to them by giving them scholarships, health and wellness because I'm on this track now and just helping them " Join us in congratulating Y'Anna on a job well done. Support her music and order her CD on Amazon.
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The Hills- Marriage is Spiritual Marriage is a God idea. It is designed for a man and woman to enter in as two whole people who will work towards a common goal. God is the master architect and if you are having marital issues, the only way to solve them is to take it to Jesus. You also have to communicate and keep the word as your final authority to settle all disputes. With the divorce rate on the rise, one might ask- How do you make it work or how do couples last so long? Someone might be wondering how to adjust to married life when they were married at an older age. We have some answers for you from a couple, The Hills and The Briggs. The Hills have been married for 29 years and they are still going strong. One of the most impressive things about the Hills is the way that Elder Lamar Hill cares for his wife, Sister Sherrie Hill. He can be found on any given Sunday opening doors, showing concern for her safety, and on weekdays, he does the grocery shopping. They were delighted to give an interview on marriage and promptly invited me to dinner. I arrived that Saturday afternoon to the smell of fried fish and grits. Elder Hill was the one in the kitchen preparing the meal. We ate dinner and watched little bit of the movie, “Jumping the Broom”. When I asked how they met, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Sherrie Hill was employed at the Department of Family and Childrenʼs Services and was introduced to her husband through his God sister, but not without Page 12
the prompting of her Aunt who she recalls loved to play match maker. They both lit up as they talked about the day they met and the courtship that proceeded afterwards. Elder Hill recalled that her friends wouldnʼt let him get her alone. She met up with him again when she took a shopping trip to Atlanta with friends and they went dancing on their first date. Because she was with friends, he danced with all of the ladies, but he clearly had his eye on Sister Hill. The military took him back to Germany and he visited from time to time. Sister Hill said he tried to buy her something from Montgomery Ward on a visit. She said she recalled what her mother said about “being obligated” when a man bought you something so she wasnʼt going to let him buy anything. He insisted, so she allowed him to buy a $5 picture frame that she still has on her mantle. Because military men often have a reputation of having a wife in every port and he was married previously, her mother gave her some good advice. She told her to simply told her to ask him to see his paperwork. They continued communication on the phone while he was in Germany and he paid the phone bill. They also sent letters. They knew that they wanted to get married, but Sister Hill knew that she wanted a saved man and she said “We didnʼt marry until he got saved”. He admitted that he was a backslider and loved to club so the Lord had to work some things out of hm. ]He was supposed to return from Germany in June but was held up due to military obligations. He didnʼt return to the US until August. She was unsure of what happened during that time, but she wasnʼt worried www.tekoagospelmusicnews.com
Marriage and Family because Elder Hill said she knew she “had her hooks say it and it builds up. There was a message. I forgot in me”. He sent her a birthday card that explained the who preached it. They said communication is one of delay. the keys to a successful marriage. After we heard that, we started applying it to our own marriage. Heʼs my friend. I said you might not want to hear it but itʼs best coming from me than somebody else. Iʼll tell you the truth, but you might not want to accept it but I have to tell you because Iʼm your helpmeet. Ever since then everything has been on queue, but weʼve had our moments. It hasnʼt been all peaches and cream".
During that delay Elder Hill rededicated his life to the Lord and got grounded in the word. He said that he spent time in his apartment reading the word. He asked her father for her hand in marriage. He described how “BIG” he thought her father was back then. He promised her father that he would take care of his daughter and we can tell he still holds that promise near to his heart.
Elder Hill: "When you realize that marriage is really spiritual then you have one of the They were married on greatest foundations that your October 29th, 1982. Elder marriage could ever have Hillʼs most memorable because everything that is physical can be altered. moment in the first months after they were married Iʼm not saying marry someone unattractive. When I was how she turned their military housing into a married Sister Hill she was a 14. Then here comes home. Sister Hill carried on about the same event Yolanda and then Lamar. I wasnʼt a spring chicken. recalling how they traveled in a convoy, picked out Things change and you have to accept changes in furniture, and how she enjoyed fixing it up. She said life. The sickness that she went through took a toll on she enjoyed cooking for him and when she did, she both of us. Yet and still our marriage on such a strong said “I had to taste it too”. She would call her mother to try to find out how to cook things. Elder Hill thought foundation that instead of splitting us, it united us together even more. We heard the nurses talk about she could throw down until he got the phone bill and sometimes men come in to drop their loved ones off realized that she had been calling her mother to find and donʼt come back. Sometimes they canʼt find out how to cook. them when they get ready to dismiss them. All the time she stayed in the hospital, I only missed one This coupleʼs testimony has been enhanced with an night staying with her" attack on Sister Hillʼs body from which they emerged . victorious and stronger than ever. During the time that Sister Hillʼs body was under attack, the Pastors Claude and Regina Harris of New What are some of the keys to their successful Life Worship Center in Hephzibah Georgia marriage: encouraged Elder Hill to be strong. He still came to Sister Hill: "We have had our hard times basically church every service and that is a key too because it because of a lack of communication. You know.. is important to continue to praise corporately in the assuming things. Thatʼs what will get you in trouble. midst of trials. Instead of just talking things out, you assume stuff and then when you have something to say, you donʼt www.tekoagospelmusicnews.com
Sister Hill's parents
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Marriage and Family They would give him words of comfort and “they bombarded heaven with prayers asking God for a word for us”, said Elder Hill as he recalled the time. One of the greatest messages that he received was from Pastor Regina Harris on the answering machine. It was a simple word that said “God is God Almighty. Heʼs God almighty over the condition, the doctors and over everything. She provided the scripture to go with it and he read it and stood on it. He then did something important. He shared it with his wife and they decreed it daily. They also had healing scriptures that they played all night long in her hospital room. It was important for them to not have people around that would distract them.. It was warfare and Sister Hill shared that “people who donʼt understand the kingdom.. you donʼt need them in your presence”. Danielle Harris received a word months prior to the attack that indicated that she would need to pray for someone for healing. Elder Hill was in the service in which she received that word. Little did he know, she would be required to minister to his wife during this attack on her body. She did exactly what she needed to do and no more. God healed Sister Hillʼs body and made the doctorʼs declare that she was cancer free. God is a healer and he is able to restore. She is now back at decorating and working in the church.
us to call those things that be not as though they were. She was healed long before the doctorʼs could see it. We have to learn stand on the word and decree Godʼs word over our lives even when we cannot see it with our physical eyes. She is a blessing and a reminder of Godʼs promise of healing being the childrenʼs bread. Although the marriage vow of “in sickness and in health” was tried, Elder Lamar Hill and Sister Sherrie Hill came forth like pure gold. Their story also reminds us that it is important to be a part of a kingdom teaching church that believes in all of the promises contained in the scriptures. Jesus came that we might have life and life more abundantly. He also left us with certain benefits, principles and promises. They are all housed in his word. When you pray to ask God for a spouse or a wife, be patient. Sister Hill was 28 years old when she met her husband. The power of agreement was at work when they both declared her healing by standing on the word of God. If one can put a thousand to flight, two can put ten thousand to flight. Marriage is more than a physical thing. Marriage is spiritual!
The important thing to remember is that God tells
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The Briggs- Love and Marriage The Briggs- Love and Marriage later in life.... How many people have been called an old maid? How old is too old to still believe God for a mate? These are questions that might be running through the mind of a single lady or man that is approaching middle age. Well, the day for running off to get married in your early twenties is still around, but it is common for people to marry later and later in life. One such couple that got married later in life is Kenneth and Melissa Briggs. They have a unique story because they met in church, dated, had a baby out of wedlock and years later got married. Years later = roughly 18+ years later.
"whatever you do, be consistent with it". Kenneth also mentioned that he admired the fact that "she was going to do right regardless" of what he did because of the teaching that she was receiving. He described the teaching and being her "balance". He also said that "she saw stuff in me that i didnt' even see myself". Adjustments mature couples have to make after marriage: 1. Learning to respect each other's space and time 2. Routines might be established and some people like things certain ways. You have to respect that and learn to compromise. 3. Give of yourself. Sacrifice daily. Great things about being married: 1. Going to Church together 2. Going on vacations. 3. Hanging out with your best friend! Advice to those who are thinking about getting married: 1. Get GOOD spiritual counseling. Our session were eye opening and if you aren't ready, the sessions our Pastors gave will help you know you aren't ready if you aren't ready.
Kenneth Briggs even married someone else and eventually divorced. All the while Melissa raised their son in the fear of the Lord and stood her ground. She was determined that she would not settle. When Kenneth came back into her life as a love interest, she was steady. She said she didn't know if he was serious. Melissa said that she was content and if "I never got married I was okay". Her son was out of the house and she was used to coming and going. She told Kenneth that if he was serious she didn't have time for "shucking and jiving". He needed to go to her Pastors, give her a ring, and he needed to ask their son, Joshua. He did just that. One thing that stuck out to her husband about Melissa was the fact that she still respected him and allowed him to see his child, even though he wasn't in right standing with God. She never ran him down to his son. He said that Melissa asked
2. Don't try to change that other person. Let God do that. Make sure you can live with the person if they never decide to change. 3. Just because you marry them doesn't mean you won't have to deal with their baggage. 4. Be willing to grow together. 5. Listen and keep open communication 6. Pray together 7. Talk about the vision of YOUR house and set goals 8. Learn to let some things go 9. Everybody should play their role.
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Keep Your Legs Closed and Let the Man Find You... a Saved & Single Man speaks out Saved ladies know that we should not chase men because the bible declares the following in Proverbs 18:22: “He that finds a wife, finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord”. It is healthy to interact and get to know people. In regards to a husband, we must be patient, hide and let the man find us.
way he looked at women. He acknowledged that he “had to renew (his) mind" according to Romans 12:1. He furthered that statement by saying he “couldn’t look at other women as “objects”, but they were “God’s creation” or “as my sisters”. Michael made two strong points that he elaborated on :
Most single godly men are seeking God to locate their wife. Not a just a WOMAN. Be patient and let him find you. Case in point: Michael Williams of Atlanta, Georgia. Michael is a 33 year old black male, originally from Chicago and currently resides in Atlanta Georgia. He graduated from Tuskegee Institute and is an architect by trade. He left t h a t profession to be self employed as a full time musician. He has a son and was engaged to his son’s mother, but broke it off back in 2003. He started preparing himself to be a Photo by Candace Hight of husband Remember When Photography when he was engaged to his son’s mother. He stated that he read scriptures concerning marriage, especially the books that Paul wrote to different churches and ones on the structure of the family. He concentrated mainly on the relationships of the husband to wife and the children to parents. He expressed, “I read a lot of it to get an understanding of what my role is the way God sees it as a husband”. A different view of the Ladies Michael was very aware that he needed to change the
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1. You don’t have to lose weight or alter yourself to get a man. Someone out there loves you just the way you are. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have to present yourself in a nice manner, but it should be a lifestyle change and not simply to “Get a MAN”. You should also keep your legs CLOSED! "With the new year, people have all of these things that they didn't get or haven't gotten last year... they want to start looking for these things in the new year. They feel like just because it's a new year, things are going to be different and I'm gonna get my man this year.. I'm gonna loose some weight so I can get my man...I’m gonna do all these things so I can get my man. Just because the calendar flipped doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t change anything. You can do all you want to try to get married, but the principle of the way things work for Christians is the man has to see you as his wife. Some of those things help... loosing the weight or presenting yourself and making yourself look good, but like I said find a man who thinks the world of you. So if you already have someone who’s feeling you, you should treat him good and on top of that keep your legs closed. You know the old saying- Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free? You have to keep the gates closed”. He says he’s heard women say, “I’m praying that God send me a man and I have to lose 30 pounds” but he adamantly states that “there is someone out there who loves you just the way you are. You might as well do you because you know you still like ribs. www.tekoagospelmusicnews.com
Keep Your Legs Closed and Let the Man Find You... You still like ham hocks and fat back in your greens so there. They both have to give to fulfill each other”. just quit playing”. Michael declared that he was “equipped” to be married but not necessarily ready to be married. 2. If a man wants you, he is going to come get you. What does it mean to you for a man to be He’s a man. If he isn’t pursuing you, there is no need “Equipped” for marriage? to pursue him. He doesn’t want you. “I feel like as a man I have everything that I need to provide for, to take care of, to fulfill, to build, to be whatever I need to be to my wife... to support her in whatever area...to be there for her...from being able to pray for her and cover her spiritually to being able to take care of her physically. He talked about one of the important things that he learned earlier in life and in relationships: Open and honest communication so both sides can know what to As stated previously, Michael dates, but he dates with a expect. Ladies might look good on paper, but they can purpose and isn’t one to waste time with someone if he gingerly be placed in the friend zone. doesn’t feel that there is a “connection”. Ultimately, the external will fade and the connection is what is going to make the relationship last. Attraction is deeper than just We asked Michael to give some advice to younger looks. Men in regards to relationships. He offered the We asked Michael to provide some of the important following: non physical attributes/qualities he is looking for in 1. Respect Women a wife: 2. Create Boundaries 1. Someone who likes to have fun but can be serious 3. Be Open and Honest too. They need to know how to flip the switch. 4. Get Married First, then have children 2. Someone who is loyal and supportive 3. Someone who is content but not complacent - She should be happy with what she has yet working towards Have fun waiting and have fun dating everyone! more. When you are complacent you don’t have vision or a goal. You tend to be all over the place without focus. 4. Someone who has a relationship with God. She should be able to intercede on behalf of her family. 5. Someone who is supportive and that goes hand in hand with being a help meet. 6. Someone is isn’t afraid to submit herself to her husband. Michael is very literally and offered an interesting thought on what it means to submit: “One of the definitions of submit means to give. I was reading the bible and Paul says that the husband should love his wife as Christ loved the church and GAVE himself for it. Christ gave so it’s equal. It’s an equal exchange. It’s not I’m way up here and you’re way down
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Kenny Pugh- Can you do it Standing Up? Can You Do it Standing Up? An Interview with Kenny Pugh. by Bianca Woodard Kenny Pugh, a relationship transformer and sexual purity expert, is a mover and a shaker in the Atlanta area. He is " celibate, committed and courageous about his message of abstinence". He is an Associate Minister at Elizabeth Baptist Church. He is the creator and host of Chat Kafe, which comes on 1570AM in the Atlanta area. on Tuesdays at 8:00pm. You can watch all of the action on UStream or dial in to listen. Kenny describes Chat Kafe as an "experience". In 2011, Kenny was awarded an Atlanta Gospel Choice "Rising Star" Award for his work with the group M.A.C.S. or Metro Atlanta Christian Singles and he was a guest speaker at The Potter's House is December 2011. Kenny is on the move with a new book with a catchy title, “Can You Do It Standing Up”. You’ve been called the Relationship Expert and a Relationship Coach. Give the people out there who are unfamiliar with your work a little background on what you do and how you got started. I’ll be known going forward as a relationship transformer and sexual purity expert. What that simply means is from a Christian perspective our whole lives are dedicated to a life of transformation. Continually transforming our minds mentally... continually trying to transform our lives so that we can be more in alignment with Christ. From a relationship perspective, I’m teaching people how to have that spiritual relationship that they need to be successful and then to have a better relationship with themselves. One of the things I’m noticing is that people are unable to sustain healthy interactive relationships with family members and friends and then with those who they are trying to have interpersonal relationships with because they do not know who they are as an individual. As a relationship transformer, I want people to have the good spiritual relationship. I want people to have that good positive relationship with themselves. At that point they are positioned to have great relationships with others. Your book was called a relationship encyclopedia on a review on Amazon. Although you might not have a way of knowing, what do you think the reviewer meant when he said that.
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Kenny Pugh I believe the reviewer, Natasha, made that reference because it is a book chocked full of insightful information regarding different aspects of relationships and life. The subtitle is “A Different Position on Relationships: Insight to Help You Make Better Relationship Decisions”. If people are referring to it as a relationship encyclopedia, then I’ve accomplished my goal to provide you with good tangible information that be applied to all the various relationships in a person’s life. That’s actually a good thing that it is being viewed in that way. Tell us about your new book “Can You Do It Standing Up”. The title is an attention grabber. From a title perspective, “Can You Do It Standing Up”- I wanted to come up something that would be able to be related to inside the church and outside the church. One of my purposes it to evangelize outside of the church. To reach people and connect people where they are and to see if we can get them to transform their lives. Just like I said moving forward, I’ll be referred to as the relationship transformer and that’s part of being a relationship transformer.... reach people where they are. So saying can you do it standing up.. when people hear it their minds automatically go to a certain place. I don’t know where that place stems from. Some will look at it from a sexual perspective. Others have gotten it right off the back depending on where their mindsets are. So “Can You Do it Standing Up: A Different Position on Relationships” is just simply that. I want to give people a different position on relationships. We need to move ourselves away from the physical component being the primary focus of relationships because as we’ve pursue the physical relationship, it’s led us further and further away from the desired healthy relationships that we all want and deserve in our lives. I wrote this book to provide insight, to help change people’s perspective so that you can ask the questions of the person sitting across the table from you and to determine whether or not that person can really do it standing up. When I say that it is something that will force someone to ask can this person demonstrate a love for God? Does this person have the ability to love outside of him or herself? Can this person
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Kenny Pugh demonstrate commitment? Can this person show the love of God in their interaction with other people? Can this person offer godly counsel to you as a friend? Can this person demonstrate the ability to forgive? Can this person support the things that you may have going on in your life? There are so many different areas of relationship that are applied standing up versus the focus that a lot of people are applying lying down- Can this person make me feel good? Can this person do this? Can this person do that? Whereas I’m saying, can this person do it standing up. Can this person pray for me standing up. Will they be there to have a shoulder for me to cry on when I need it? Can this person give me guidance or correction when I need it in my life? So “Can You Do It Standing Up” takes the focus off of lying down and places it on the things that can be done standing up. One of the examples that I use- If you think about one day. It has 24 hours in it and if you think about the average sexual experience. The people that boast and brag say it might last 45 minutes or an hour or whatever the case may be, but you’re wiling to sacrifice the other 23 hours in a day for the simple fact that someone can bring you fulfillment for 45 minutes or an hour. The truth be told, most of the time it doesn’t even last that long. We’re placing a lot of focus on someone’s ability to make me happy lying down and we have 23 other hours in a day that we’re interacting with this person or have the ability to interact with this person and we’re not placing enough weight on those areas to determine whether he or she is the best person for you.
In the first chapter of you speak of contemporary dating and purposeful dating. Briefly describe the difference between the two and the affects of the two. Contemporary dating is the thing that we see taking place today. It is practiced by about 97% of today’s population so it seems to be the norm for meeting. I meet you at Walmart. I meet you at Starbucks. I meet you at the gas station. I meet you at church. I meet you out and about. We just begin to explore a deeper relationship because I’m attracted to you and you’re attracted to me. We have a sense of chemistry together, so we’re going to explore this romantic relationship based off of the physical attraction that we see between each other. Whereas I look at it from a traditional perspective. Let’s go back in the days where we lay down the foundation of friendship. We’ve lost that. We’ve lost foundational friendships as part of our relationships so that is what I refer to as purposeful dating. That means you are interacting with a purpose. We’re developing a healthy friendship with one another and then once we have that friendship in place we can truly determine whether or not we should be going to that next level of relationship which would be that of dating according to how I define that whole process. I have a quote from your book. It says, “Establishing a True Friendship gives great insight into communication, beliefs, and conflict resolution”.. Break that out for us.. I’m glad that someone is
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Kenny Pugh addressing that. From my perspective on the things that I’ve seen, the great relationships and great marriages that I’ve had the experience of seeing in my life from my parents to my grandparents to the people that have gotten married in the ministry that I serve as leader over... It is something special to see these relationships develop out of healthy friendships. From a purposeful dating perspective, you talk about connecting with each other with no selfish motives, but just to see whether or not we can establish a foundational friendship. So you do that by serving together in ministry. You do that by spending time with one another in other ways outside of that which mirrors traditional dating. You can go out and have fun, but at the end of the day, you’re just collecting information and determining whether or not this person is a good friend candidate for your life. Once you determine whether he or she is a good friend candidate for your life, then you can move into that phase of dating. That’s when you start trying to dive a little bit deeper into each other’s lives and start to ask different types of questions from a dating perspective to help you get additional information to make an informed decision on whether or not this is something that should be more of a a committed relationship. I look at it from the perspective of purposeful dating starting with the friendship, moving into dating and then moving into courtship which is more serious. You have a desire to move to the next level of relationship and courtship is put together by two words. The first part is court and the last part of it is the ship. I look at it from the perspective of like being in court. You want to weigh the evidence that the person is bringing into your life to determine whether or not there is enough evidence to move forward into the next phase of that relationship. That’s the main difference. It’s that you have a real purposeful process in place to collect information and make well informed decisions. That is for both parties involved in the process. There are check points, not necessarily officially, but there are times when you say okay I feel like you’re at a point where you can have a conversation... “I’m feeling you, you’re feeling me. I feel like we have a great foundational friendship. I desire to move to the next level and try to get the buy in to make sure two people are on the same page. That’s what I look at from a purposeful dating perspective.
What is the friend zone? Can you elaborate a little about it for males and females? There are a couple of chapters in the book dedicated to the friend zone. There’s a friend zone guide for women and a friend zone guide for men. Both of them talk about this friend zone and it’s not to be misinterpreted as the friend zone that you find yourself in when you are trying to be very intentional while going through the purposeful dating process. The friend zone in which I write about is where there is a lack of communication between two people. There’s one person who obviously wants to go to the next level and then the other person is almost holding that person at bay as they try to determine and weigh out and go out to do their own thing while they know that this person has significant interest in them as a potential suitor for their lives. The friend zone is that uncomfortable position that a person finds themselves in...temporarily suspended between what I call the plutonic origin of friendship and that desired blissful destination of a romantic relationship. So when you find yourself between oh yeah we are just friends but I desire something more of this person and you are unsure of where you fall in that spectrum, you find yourself in the friend zone where they are treating you almost as a buddy, but you’re not comfortable with that. What would you consider to be the most pivotal or important chapters of your book? There are a couple that are on the back cover that I address. There is what is known as the relationship formula for success which is God + You + Significant other = Healthy Relationships when all three of those components are healthy. That’s one chapter that people tend to get a lot out of. The other is going through a series of the is it good to sexually test drive your mate because even inside the church you have people that are saying that they won’t move forward without sexually test driving their mate so there’s a chapter in my book that’s called Sexually Test Drive Your Mate. It’s a question and it dives into that question like does it really make sense? It talks more about playing into the level of faith to believe that God can do and
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Kenny Pugh bring you the fulfillment that you desire without you ultimately doing the taste test. My favorite chapter is Chapter 34 which is Green Houses and Cheerleaders. Within that particular chapter it talks about men should take on the role of being a green house and the woman should take on the role of being a cheerleader. A greenhouse simply regulates that which it’s protecting, so that is the role of the man to regulate the environment in which something is to grow, develop, and mature. It allows a certain level of sun in. It allows a certain level of nourishment to be provided to whatever it’s trying to protect and grow. That should be the role of a man. From a woman’s perspective, be that cheerleader. Guys love cheerleaders in their lives. We are very results focused and driven. So as we’re going out day to day trying to get our grind on, trying to accomplish these things professionally, we’ll have some doors closed in our faces. We’ll have some successes that we’ll experience. When you have those things taking place, you need a cheerleader in your corner. So the one that is your ride or die, your best friend, the one that supports you through thick and thin.. when those doors close you need somebody there who’s going to continue to cheer for you. When those successes come you need that person that’s going to be there to celebrate. So from a cheerleader perspective, when their team is winning they cheer. When their team is loosing, they still cheer. That is one of my favorite chapters, Chapter 34. What is the main thought you want readers to take away from your book. When people put my book down I want them to have a renewed perspective on relationships. That I as a man or I as a woman am ready to make a change in the way that I view relationships to see if I can obtain a different result. You can’t continue to do the same things expecting a different result. They refer to that as being insanity, but at the end of the day when you put my book down I want to have imparted my a special revelation or illumination in your mind where you would be willing to try to do things differently. If you put my book down and I have not imparted some thought that at least challenges you to do something differently then I feel like I’ve failed. Because there is so much content that can be applied in different areas that can be applied, I believe that at the end of the day, if I can get somebody to say in this specific area - whether it be in the area of my personal relationship with myself, with the Lord, my personal growth and development from a financial, physical, spiritually or emotional perspective, I’m willing to do things differently- I’ve done my job.
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Kenny Pugh Where can you book be ordered besides on Amazon? It can be purchased on Amazon.com or it can be purchased on my website which is www.kennypugh.com and youʼll see a link to purchase the book on that site. Tells us about some of the other ventures you have going on like MACS and Chat Kafe. M.A.C.S. is Metro Atlanta Christian Singles. Itʼs a coalition. Itʼs a group that brings together the local singles ministry here in Atlanta and thus the name Metro Atlanta Christian Singles. Weʼve been focusing over the past 7 years on having an outlet for people to come and just have a good time during a weekend of fellowship. Weʼve targeted the Labor Day weekend every year to host this particular annual event. So itʼs a weekend where 20 plus churches come together in the name of fellowship. In the name of service. In the name of exhorting the name of the Lord. Over that entire weekend thereʼs typically activities starting off on Friday Night and they run all the way through the cookout that takes place on Monday which is Labor Day. Itʼs a great time. We draw thousands of singles and they participate in the various activities throughout the course of the weekend. We try to diversify so that we have more of a fellowship or social component to kick off the weekend. Saturday morning is always a time of service so weʼll go out and feed the homeless or go out and distribute clothes or go spend time at a senior citizens center. Then we have a time where we go and get the word. This past year we had an all white party which was more of a talent display of live vocalists, spoken word artists, and a live band. That went well. We always culminate the weekend with the cookout on that Monday. Itʼs just a good time. People have gotten connected. People have gotten married. People have built professional relationships. People have developed spiritual relationships with one another from an accountability perspective so itʼs done a lot of the things that when we tear down the four walls of the church, it allows people to experience life outside of the four walls. Chat Kafe is my personal brainchild. God birthed that in me back in 2001. It is an experience. I refer to it as the Chat Kafe experience. It is comprised of the radio show where we broadcast weekly. We address different topics regarding relationships, singleness, courtship, and different things that may take place in the lives of people. Weʼve grown our perspective but itʼs a radio show that targets meeting the needs of people so that they can continue to grow as a person. The other component of Chat Kafe is that of live events so quarterly we do a live event where be bring people out and they get to hear live entertainment, spoken word artists, live vocalists, and then a period of chat discussions at their tables. We have a good time. The third component is the blog where we post helpful information on relationships. Join Kenny on http://www.chatkafeonline.com/, follow him on twitter @chatkafe or become a fan of the show on Facebook.
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Brian Courtney Wilson- SO PROUD! Brian Courtney Wilson is So proud! An interview with Gospel's newest crooner. by Bianca Woodard
come. So you were thinking of you mother and father? My mother and father... My father in particular. Thereʼs a verse in there about how he would sit at the table trying to pay bills but it was tight. I always remembered my dad doing that. He would get loud sometimes and heʼd be punching the table. He had a meager salary for a working class black man in Chicago, but when I look back on it now that I have my own mortgage and my own family, I have that much more respect for what he was able to do in terms of keeping a roof over our heads and taking care of his family. That song give me a... sounds like it would be played at a family reunion.
Brian Courtney Wilson Interview Tell me about this new CD “So Proud”. I love that song by the way. Thank you so much. The song means a lot to me. It serves a reminder to me of when I was feeling particular moments of despair a couple of years back of all the people in my life who never let circumstances get them down... They always believed what I think we started learning on Sunday mornings which was that God would always make a way out of no way. So I was remembering my dad and my mom.. and the people at our church and people in my life that have never given up on me. I wanted to put a song down about that and about well why didnʼt they give up... what is it that they believed. So when we say So Proud, itʼs not about thinking more highly of yourself than you ought. Itʼs about believing so passionately in the promises that God may make to you. That youʼre not going to give up in the middle of it. Youʼre going to keep your head up and wait for your help to
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You know what.. I did it for my grandfatherʼs funeral. I didnʼt even have the music to it at the time. My grandfather on my dadʼs side passed. I remember how his brothers and sisters and my first cousins.. we were close to tears because we knew how much it meant. We have been leaning on a legacy that started with my grandfather there in Americus Georgia being a deacon in the church. He took care of his family to where they were strong enough to move from Georgia and go to Chicago and still remain really tight knit. So your family was a part of the Great Migration so thatʼs a great legacy actually. In regards to the new CD.. I love the cover with you on it a child with the headphones on. So how long did you know that you wanted to pursue a career in music? Was it just something that kind of happened? Iʼve always volunteered at a church in music because thatʼs what my family has always done. My grandfather was a deacon. My dad became a deacon and I was singing in the choir, but I never thought about a career in the gospel music industry. I never knew there was a gospel music industry. We would just show up because we thought that was what we were supposed to do. It wasnʼt until we
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Brian Courtney Wilson- SO PROUD! moved to Houston and I met my choir director at the Windsor Village United Methodist Church. I saw the impact he was having on the lives in the choir and my own life and I thought that this is something worth pursuing as a career. In terms of it just happening, it kind of did because I didnʼt know what to do. I didnʼt know who to contact or how to get a demo done or anything like that, but I did know that I was a good singer. I knew that because the choir director kept letting me sing every week. I knew I had some type of talent. I have to say this. Tyler Perry said something the other day..
been a part of. How important do you think it is for gospel artists to be involved in a local ministry?
I think everybodyʼs story is different. All I can only speak to my own. I know that many of the songs that Iʼve written were born out of experiences that Iʼve had interacting with people in my local ministry. Itʼs about more than what a church is able to offer. Itʼs about your willingness to be available to interact with people and then to go through what it means to interact. Sometimes people hurt you and you have to On the video? learn how to forgive them. You learn how to forgive them because God forgives you. Thatʼs also a big The video and I was just there at his studio and I got part of my ministry. Itʼs where Iʼve been able to get a chance to see how incredible that facility is. To past my own woundedness associated with ministry watch that video and hear him say the key to my and reap the benefit of God forgiving me. success is really Godʼs favor. I know how thatʼs going to sound and they keep cutting it out of interviews. Creatively, how was it to work with some of the Iʼm trying to tell you itʼs Godʼs favor because I know industryʼs premiere producers such as Aaron people hand out cards and make contacts all the time Lindsay, Stan Jones, and PJ Morton and you coand nothing happens. The same thing was producing on this new CD and writing? happening for me. I was trying and nothing was happening, but I kept believing. Thatʼs my story. Itʼs First of all it was an honor. Iʼm going to start with the that God has decided to make this happen and you co-production part. These guys, PJ, Stan and know Iʼm really thankful for my team at Music World Aaron... they didnʼt need me to produce. They could Gospel. Iʼm thankful for the people in my life that saw have done it on their own. Iʼm just thankful that they something in me and decided to give me a chance on basically allowed me to participate in the production. a platform, but the success weʼve had... and I say it all the time.. Itʼs Godʼs favor in my life. Iʼll start with Aaron on “So Proud”. That song was very important to me because it was going to set the I do agree and I watched that video about two theme for the entire record. I was thankful that Aaron nights ago and I reposted it on Facebook. It caught the vision on it for me and helped me launch touched my heart too. Are you still involved with what we were trying to do from a messaging your local ministry there in Houston? standpoint. Heʼs a family man and here in Houston. It was just a good fit for what we were trying to say Absolutely. Iʼm at St. John United Methodist Church with the song. and Rudy Rasmus is still a very good friend of mine. I was asked by another local ministry to be on their Of course it was great to have Stan Jones back on the board of directors. Itʼs called Bethelʼs Heavenly record. He wrote “All I Need” for us and that ended up Hands. Their a food pantry and it really was a good breaking a record at Billboard so to have him back marriage because one of the reasons we were at St. and his expertise and his knowledge was a great Johnʼs was because of their homeless ministry. So asset. they asked me to be a part of that. Iʼm saying all of this to say thatʼs another why this works for me. Iʼve I was really thankful to get a chance to work with PJ. had a great foundation at my local churches that Iʼve Of course you know PJ is a great artist and I consider
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Brian Courtney Wilson- SO PROUD! him a genius in his own right. We were able to come in around the holiday time (Thanksgiving) for a writing session for a couple of days. We were able to come up with some songs that blew me away in terms of their ability to to fill some creative holes that I thought we had on the record. All I gave him was a concept and we were able to sit down and musically fill those holes. It just meant a lot to me that he was a part of it.
you. It works for me because the first single in your life talks about how there are people in your life that are proud of you and encourage you to keep moving. The second song is a reminder that God is proud of you too. What are your favorite tracks on the CD and why? Thatʼs an impossible question Well if you had to pick one or two?
Was this your first time co-producing? This was the first time Iʼve done that. Iʼve been a part of that on one off projects with different local artists but it was definitely something I felt like I had to do on this particular record. I wanted to be a part of the creative process from inception and fortunately my label backed me on that and then the producers I worked with humbly and graciously allowed me to be a part. Thereʼs a single out now called “He Still Cares” . Tell me a little bit about that. I know it was written by Stan Jones and I read that it was a continuation of “All I Need” because of course you know all you need is Jesus but you still go through things. So tell me a little bit about the feeling and that concept behind “He Still Cares”. The way I embraced it was you know is with all I need is a touch from the Master and once you get that touch not everybody is going to believe itʼs there. So youʼll still have to endure trials with the knowledge that God has touched you and put something inside of you. What “He Still Cares” is saying that regardless suffering that you might have to endure right now, itʼs nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed in you. “He Still Cares” but you wontʼ find out unless you keep going. You have to keep going to find that out. In Hebrews it talks about that without faith, it is impossible to please God so if you keep believing thatʼs how youʼll find out how pleased God is with
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“So Proud” was very important to me. I wonʼt call it my favorite but it was important that we led with that particular song because it launched the messaging for the entire record. I donʼt hear a lot of music in the gospel genre about that.. the people. A lot of songs now are about God and reverence God, but that song was about the people that believe in God. I wanted to go out with that and then get back to what those people believed about God. “Storm in Mind” is another favorite because it just talks about God forming us in our motherʼs womb and knowing how much we can bare. It encourages us to live our lives because we were made to endure whatever storm that we find ourselves in. I love “He Still Cares” and it is going to be a good marriage with “All I Need” and people that really gravitated to “All I Need” will really be able to embrace that song. “Closer” is another great song to me. Iʼve heard people say that it sounds like something that youʼll hear at an awards show and I like hearing that because it has some type of broader stylistic appeal beyond just a gospel song but it definitely has a gospel message- If you are pressing, praying and waiting for a sign, youʼre closer than you think. Iʼm gonna give you one more. “One Day At a Time” is really a favorite of mine too. It goes back to marriage. On the first record we talked about “Believe” and that was a good wedding song.
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Brian Courtney Wilson- SO PROUD! This was another good follow up that fit the context of “So Proud” and thatʼs in you marriage even regardless of whether you got good days and bad days... as long as you got another day...Itʼs worth going through it. Finding that person to go through it and make it through and choose to be with “One Day At a Time”. My favorite line from the song is “Iʼve heard people say feelings are bound to change, but one thing still remains I donʼt want to face tomorrow without you”. I just love that line. Thatʼs a good line. So you are a family man. I can see. How important is it for you to leave a legacy of good gospel music and good music in general for your childrenʼs children. Thatʼs the whole point. In fact if you read the inside cover of the album, the first people I thank are my children for inspiring me to leave a good example. I know that I wouldnʼt be doing this music if I had not have been a beneficiary of the legacy of people like the Winans, Israel Houghton, Fred Hammond, and Mary Mary, just to name a few that are before me. I think you have a responsibility once you step up and take the mic to make sure that youʼre a stewart of the legacy too for the people that come behind you and thatʼs again what “So Proud” is about. Even if you didnʼt come up in a two parent household where you had people encouraging you all the time. If youʼre still here, you still have a responsibility to leave a legacy that encourages someone else when youʼre gone. You still can be someone that makes a positive contribution to the culture if you can live a life that says I didnʼt give up regardless of my circumstance. Someone else can look back and say man they were “So Proud” of me. It sounds a good concept and like everything flows together. Vanessa Bell Armstrong. Sheʼs on “Unspeakable Joy”. How was it working with her? It was great. When I did the song, I tried to get her to record the song on her own project. I guess thatʼs the thing with text messages. I took it as if she was turning me down because she said I think you would sound better singing that song. So I went in and
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Brian Courtney Wilson- SO PROUD! started recording the song and then she called me back and asked me if I still had it available which is when I said, letʼs just do it as a duet. It was perfect because even after being an admirer of her talent and sheʼs one of those people whose left that type of legacy you can lean on.. getting to know her, I know her to be just down. Sheʼs just a real down lady. She feels like family so it made sense for her to be on a song that talks about youʼre not singing because youʼre trying to please people. Youʼre singing because you know God is pleased with you so thatʼs what that song is about. Iʼm really thankful that she came on and co-signed that message for me. Can you tell us a little bit about the work that you do with the American Heart Association? I started as a Power to End Stroke Ambassador. What weʼve been doing is going to different communities. We were touring with Marvin Sapp and other gospel artists to get people first of all to listen to the message. We also had a gospel contest where we invited artists to come in and I was invited to come in and mentor artists for this project. They ended up performing with me at the Apollo Theatre. Now theyʼve asked me to start speaking. We just did a date in St. Louis when I was coming in and talking about my own experience with strokes with my grandfather. I think weʼll be doing a lot more with that this year. Iʼm really thankful for the association. Gospel music should be transformative and the transformation should be evident in the choices we make everyday. Itʼs not just a feeling we have on Sunday. Itʼs being motivated enough to do something different with your life and a good place to start is the way we eat. Thatʼs true. My Pastor was just talking about the time that God gives you and you canʼt borrow time so that is a good place to startthe way we eat. So I read this in your bio: “Wilson says Music World Gospel has become the perfect home for his sacred art; “Itʼs a place where I can do more than just church music. It can do music for the world
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thatʼs rooted in the church”. Can you break that out and explain why you said that? I know that all of the music that I do isnʼt appropriate for a Sunday morning church service. There are some musicians that specifically think about what is the choir going to sing on Sunday and try to make music for that. My experience has not limited me to doing just that type of music. I love that type of music. I love Richard Smallwood. I love the praise and worship music of Israel Houghton and things like that, but I also grew up loving Donnie Hathaway, Al Green, and Marvin Gaye. Despite the fact that they were not considered gospel musicians, I believe they have done some beautiful things that God inspired and Iʼm not afraid to try to embrace that sound Can I say something else? This isnʼt something that iʼm intentional about. I donʼt even know if Iʼm good enough to be intentional. I have just tried to make music that was good to me and that I like listening to and this is one of those albums. My son and I just sit there and listen to it all the time to be honest because we just enjoy it. So Iʼm just praying that other people connect with it too and at least pull something off there that can take them through the rest of the week. If you had to leave one message about your whole CD “So Proud”, what is the message that you want everyone to take away when they listen to the CD? Donʼt give up. Hold on long enough to find out how God really is Proud of you. The only way youʼll find that out is if you donʼt give up on whatever heʼs assigned you to do.
Fans and supporters can follow Brian on twitter at
@bcourtneywilson
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Brian Courtney Wilson- SO PROUD! or Like him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ justlovenow www.briancourtneywils on.com
Pick up the CD on February 7th, 2012!!! He'll be "SO Proud" that you did
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Leandria Johnson's sophomore EP entitled "The Evolution of Leandria Johnson" hits stores on Valentine's Day! by Bianca Woodard Well we couldn’t get enough of this young lady during Stellar Award weekend. She ripped up the stage at the BMI Trailblazer Awards singing “Silver and Gold” during the Kirk Franklin tribute, she performed on the show with Jessica Readdy, Martha Munizzi, and Kim Burrell, and she announced a new CD for February. Of course we are talking about Leandria Johnson! Her new CD, entitled “The Evolution of Leandria Johnson” is due on Valentine’s Day. She is working with Doobie Powell, Eric Dawkins, and others. Leandria stated that the CD is “going to be amazing” and I believe her! Check out her new song entitled “Let It Go”, produced by Raphael Saadiq.
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GOD, Love and Romance!!
Fred Hammond is Singing about LOVE!
Fred Hammond, one the nation's leading gospel artists, will be releasing a CD on Monday January 31st entitled "God, Love and Romance". We caught up with Fred at the 27th Annual Stellar Awards for a short interview in the media room. Bianca of Tekoa Gospel Music News: The Love Album that you have coming out... What type of controversy has this stirred up? Fred Hammond: You know what I have to be honest with you. I haven't heard any or seen any. The people I've been working with are saying that it's about time somebody talks about it because I came from a hidden situation where they kept a lot of secrets. Now that I'm old, 51 years old, I'm finding out things about my life that they could have told me when I was younger but it was a secret because we didn't talk about that kind of stuff in church. Now that I'm here, I'm like I know what it's like to be in love. I was married for 17 years and I know what it's like to stand in front of the court and the man to dissolve it in one gavel hit. I know what it's like to sit outside the courtroom and wonder what's about to happen. I know what it's like to go on a first date again. I know what it's like to have your kids feel like what's going on with dad. I know what it's like and we're not talking about it. I sit in men's groups and in airports and I'm sitting around people and guys are like- Man I don't know how to get it right. I'm talking to different people all over the world and everybody wants to know about relationships and how to get it together. We're not able to sing about it because you know why- Everybody's scared. (continued page 46)
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Gospel CDs and Singles
Lejuene Thompson
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Gospel CDs and Singles
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Red Tails Movie Review by Staff Writer
Elijah Kelly was funny and Tristan Wilde pulled on my heart strings with his performance in the The education one receives when growing up in movie. the south and in the United States is limited to things that the school board believed as There is no doubt that Nate Parker, who played important. We had black history month and we the squad leader “Easy”, is a great actor. Most touched on some slavery, but most of the time it will remember him for the role he played in “The was limited to some teacher trying to say that Great Debaters”. He had that Denzel Washington swag but at times he looked like Jaime Foxx on slaves were treated good. If this wasn’t your experience, good for you. It was my experience. screen. It was refreshing to sit in a theater tonight to The costumes were stylish and made me wish watch a historically based film about the that the army still dressed like that. I can see why Tuskegee Airmen and their role in WWII. The some women wanted a soldier back then. The movie kicks off in high gear with an immediate uniforms gave them a distinguished look. The action sequence of fighter planes. I was on the mustaches in the film were debonair as well. edge of my seat. The guts and glory displayed by There is nothing like a clean and groomed black these men was amazing. I felt all of the agony man on the big screen. Hats off to the costumer and pride that the Airmen no doubt felt during that designers and make up artists. time. I’ll give this film an A+. Every person of African George Lucas did a fabulous job in making this American descent in this country should see this movie and we are appreciative of his efforts and movie. Rating **** Stars drive to finish this undertaking. This is actually the second movie of a Trilogy- George Lucas right?? Well there is a prequel and a sequel. We need to go out and support this film so the others will be made. The Cast David Oyelowo did a great job as Joe ‘Lightning’ Little. He recently played the minister in “The Help”. He really stole the movie. You could hear a hint of his accent and he reminded me of Taye Diggs at times. I believe that Terrance Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr could have switched roles, but they both gave great performances. Ne-Yo was pretty funny, but I didn’t like the fact that he was picking on a guitar at times. It was a little too CJ from Soldier’s Story.
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Joyful Noise Movie & CD Review phenomenal as well. Dolly Parton wrote three songs on the CD. She is a very talented singer/songwriter. "Not Enough Love"- This classic song opens up the movie and establishes the choir's sound and direction. It was written by Dolly Parton. "Man in the Mirror"- The rendition was a respectable one and pays homage to Michael Jackson. KeKe is a good vocalist. The choir sounded great too. "Maybe I'm Amazed" reminds me of an 80's rock song and Jeremy Jordan and Keke Palmer's vocal abilities compliment each other well. It was written by Paul McCartney. "In Love" Kirk Franklin is getting down like James Brown on screen. If you love the big horns of Earth Wind and Fire, you'll love this song.
The movie "Joyful Noise " was a decent movie but we've seen it before in Sister Act II. There are touching moments in the movie in regards to family and some great singing, but it delves into areas that where there are clear cut biblical principles such as premarital sex and the role of a Pastor with careless treatment. Given the current state of the church, I don't think that we needed to see a church being controlled by a member that offered the most financial support. Courtney B. Vance played a similar role in "The Preacher's Wife" so we've seen that before as well. The cursing cross cultural choir members are something else to see on screen. Queen Latifah is convincing as a mother and KeKe Palmer knows how to wear her feeling on her face and delivers a stellar performance. Nevertheless, there is some great music in this movie. Who knew that KeKe Palmer could sing? The CD Review The Joyful Noise soundtrack is full of ballads, funk remixes, and Kirk Franklin makes a phenomenal appearance. He's singing!! The stand out singers on the project are Jeremy Jordan and Ke Ke Palmer . Their duets are sweet and heartfelt. Their chemistry on screen was
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"Fix Me Jesus" Queen Latifah sings this traditional songs sweetly. "From Here to the Moon and Back" This is a classic country tune written by Dolly Parton. This sweet song is perfect on screen. "I'm Yours" This is a good tune, but it's not believable in the movie. No one would sing this on a Sunday Morning. The ladies singing it are killing! +Mighty High" was originally recorded by the Mighty Clouds of Joy. It was the perfect show opener for the Choir competition. "That' s the Way God Planned it"- The little guy singing is a cross between Frankie Lymon and Michael Jackson from his Jackson 5 days. "Higher Medley" is a funky tune that is the highlight of the movie. It includes a remix of Usher's "Yeah", "Sign Sealed Delivered", and Sly Stone. They really put a lot into this arrangement and it worked well on screen. "He's Everything"- This is another classic country song written by Dolly Parton that is sweet and the choir is heavenly. Rating *** Stars
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The Poetry Corner THE BOND
Waiting Man
By Tunisia Williams
By Bianca Woodard
(2006)
And the two become one A bond that can’t be broken Forever joined together First in the heavens then In the earth Destined to be with each Other for life Holding on to the Words spoken on The wedding day Never allowing strife To break up what Was tightly knit By God because He Saw fit for the two to be one. As each leaves and cleaves no longer single in mind but now joined together with singleness of heart and with a new life the two, now one will start.
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Renowned Well dressed Voice like whoa A mind to caress Holy Walking Enjoy his talk and I just met the man So tell me how does something like this happen? Friendship Could there possibly be more? I've never seen this before Never thought that conversation Would foster such joy Flush out the psychos He's not a little boy Because a man Like this man Is most definitely a gem Evasive as I may seem A floating butterfly I've been stung by this bee Kind hearted Truthful Loves life and laughing like me I sit back Relax Sip a cup of green tea and just wait man i'm just waiting man..
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Technology Valentine For That Techie of Mine??? Is there a special someone in your life?
Is that special someone a Tech Junkie? Are they always talking about the latest devices, product announcement始s and release dates? Do Organizations like Apple, RIM Blackberry, Amazon, eBay, and Craigslist interest them? Does your significant other spend countless hours camping outside the Apple Store, Best Buy, AT&T and Verizon for their products debut and attend midnight release parties at Gamestop? Need or want to buy a Valentine for a techie person, but you just don始t know what to get them?
THEN THIS IS FOR YOU!
February 14 is the day that the nation celebrates Valentines Day. In the past few days coming up to the big date, I have had the opportunity to talk to quite a few couples about what they plan on getting for that special someone in their life for Valentines Day. The answer I got was not the answer I was expecting from most couples. Flowers, candy, a card, and dinner are some of the usual gifts to be expected from your sweetheart on Valentines Day. Most of the couples I talked to wanted some type of electronic device from their Valentine. I can definitely relate to most of the conversations I had with married and single people who have a techie wish-list. I can also relate to those who want something technical but don始t know where to start or what to get. So below I have made a small list of some of great gifts to give to that special somebody in your life that is a Tech Junkie. 1. Apple IPhone 4 2. Apple IPod Touch 3. Apple Ipod Nano 4. Apple TV 5. Itunes Gift Card 6. Kindle 7. IPad 2 8. Cannon Camera 9. RIM Blackberry 10. Droid
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The Stellar Award Winners The Stellar Awards is one of the highest honors that Kirk Franklin for Hello Fear any gospel artist can hope for. This year’s hosts, Marvin Sapp and Dorinda Clark Cole were stunning! Contemporary Group/Duo of the Year Mary Mary The show opened up with a special performance by Traditional Group/Duo of the Year Kirk Franklin that you don’t want to miss. There were many other performances such as a special Rance Allen Group tribute to John P. Kee from Lowell Pye, Isaac Contemporary Male of the Year Carree, Sheila Lakin, and Zacardi Cortez. Kim VaShawn Mitchell Burrell, Martha Munizzi, Jessica Reedy and Traditional Male of the Year Leandria Johnson lit up the stage and James Fortune & Fiya performed as well. The show was Smokie Norful power packed with great artist and the red carpet Contemporary Female of the Year fashion was on point! Kim Burrell
27th Annual Stellar Award WInners
Traditional Female of the Year Beverly Crawford
There are many nominees in various categories, but Contemporary CD of the Year of course there can only be one winner. And the Kirk Franklin | Hello Fear winners are… Artist of the Year VaShawn Mitchell Song of the Year “I Smile” | Kirk Franklin Male Vocalist of the Year VaShawn Mitchell Female Vocalist of the Year Kim Burrell Group/Duo of the Year Mary Mary New Artist of the Year Y’Anna CD of the Year Kirk Franklin – I Smile Choir of the Year Ricky Dillard Producer of the Year
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Traditional CD of the Year Smokie Norful | How I Got Over… Urban Inspirational Performance of the Year VaShawn Mitchell | “Nobody Greater” Music Video of the Year – Short Form VaShawn Mitchell | “Nobody Greater” (VaShawn Mitchell) Music Video of the Year – Long Form Deitrick Haddon | Church on the Moon Traditional Choir of the Year Mississippi Mass Choir Contemporary Choir of the Year Shekinah Glory Ministry Instrumental Gospel CD of the Year Moses Tyson Jr | Music Remastered & Sacred Organ Special Event CD of the Year Bishop Paul Morton | Still
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The Stellar Award Winners Rap, Hip Hop Gospel CD of the Year Lecrae | Rehab: The Overdose
Monday, January 23, 2012, 8:00PM Indianapolis, IN (WHMB) Thursday, January 26, 2012, 8:00PM
Children’s Project of the Year Teen Pure N Heart | Pure N Heart Live Quartet of the Year Rance Allen Group
Providence, RI (WJAR-NBC) Saturday, January 28, 2012, 1:00PM
Recorded Music Packaging of the Year Martha Munizzi for Make It Loud (Martha Munizzi)
Columbus-Tupelo-West Point, MS (WLOV-FOX) Sunday, January 29, 2012, 2:00PM
Praise and Worship CD of the Year VaShawn Mitchell | Triumphant Spoken Word CD of the Year Selah | Look At You Loving Me Radio Station of the Year Major Market (3M+) KJLH 102.3 FM (Los Angeles, CA)
Grand Rapids – Kalamazoo, MI (WZZM-ABC) Sunday, January 29, 2012, 12:30PM Jackson, MS (WAPT-ABC) Sunday, January 29, 2012, 12:00PM Milwaukee, WI (WCGV-MyNetwork) Sunday, January 29, 2012, 3:00PM
Large Market (1-3M) WHAL 95.7 FM/1460 AM (Memphis, TN)
New York, NY (WWOR-MyNetwork) Sunday, January 29, 2012, 5:00PM
Medium Market (500,000-1M) WLOU 1350 AM (Louisville, KY)
Norfolk-Newport News, VA (WVBT-FOX) Sunday, January 29, 2012, 12:00PM
Small Market (under 500,000) KOKA 980 AM (Shreveport, LA)
27th Annual Stellar Award TImes
Paducah, KS (WKA-MyNetwork) Sunday, January 29, 2012, 3:00AM Atlanta, GA (WAGA-FOX) AirSaturday, February 4, 2012, 4:00PM Fresno-Visalia, CA (KAIL-MyNetwork) Saturday, February 4, 2012, 9:00PM
The Stellar Awards will air on GMCTV on Saturday Albany, GA (ESWG-My Network) Sunday, February 5, 2012, 12:00PM February 11th, 2012 at 8:00pm. Please contact your local cable/satellite provider for channel Longview-Tyler, TX (KLTV-ABC) listings. Sunday, February 5, 2012, 12:30PM Here’s a list of dates and times for the airing of the Akron-Cleveland, OH (WEWS-ABC) 27th Annual Stellar Awards. Sunday, February 5, 2012, 1:00PM Elkhart-South Bend, IN (WHME)
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The Emmy Award Winning and How Sweet the Sound Choir Selected of God will release a CD in March Entitled "Evolution"
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"
The Emmy Award Winning and How Sweet the Sound Choir Selected of God Selected of God Choir is the gospel choir that most people recognize when you mention the Eminem Chrysler Commercial and the “How Sweet the Sound” commercials, but they are choir with depth and a testimony that God will step in just when you need him most! Best of all, they SOUND GOOD!! God’s favor has propelled Selected of God onto the national stage. The choir was named the “Best Small Choir in the Detroit Region” at the 2008 Verizon Wireless How Sweet the Sound Choir competition, sang the National Anthem during the Tigers versus Yankees MLB playoff game, and they sang with Kurt Carr during How Sweet the Sound in 2011. This choir won an Emmy for their role in the Born of Fire: Imported from Detroit” commercial and serve as Ambassadors to Chrysler’s Imported from Detroit Campaign. Selected of God has a new CD on the horizon entitled “Evolution” and I had the pleasure of interviewing the musical director and founder of the choir, Larry Callahan and Stephen Anderson Day . They are men of musical intelligence and they represent one of the missing elements in gospel music today: The church choir. Enjoy the interview. The Interview: I love this sentence from your press kit “Keep it sanctified, yet contemporary”. How has your choir done that in a world where there seems to be so much compromise in the church world and gospel artists are making relationship albums and life music? Actually it’s keeping the standard. The standard of what we believe even though the world is changing and a lot of things are being accepted, the message still stays the samefrom the 1920′s to 2012. We maintain a
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standard. A standard of holy living. I also read you have “Church Swagg”, so my question is what would you like to say to young people out there who might thing that sining in a choir is not the “it” thing to do? I would encourage the young people because you can’t have church without the choir. It’s all about what you make of it. We’ve seen examples of how Kirk Franklin transformed the choir into a contemporary thing that the world loves when he came out with “Stomp” so it’s actually what you make of it. So the new CD that you all have coming out… Have you settled on a name for it? Actually we have a couple of names but by the week of the Stellar Awards we will have decided. We are kinda just praying about it to see what direction we’re going to go in as we’re listening to what we’ve recorded. We haven’t finalized the name but we have a couple in mind Since this interview, we’ve learned that the name of the CD is “Evolution”. Working with Asaph Ward has got to be exciting.. I’ve seen him at the COGIC conventions and have heard his work on different people’s CDs and I consider him the church singer’s producer, so what sound can we expect from your new CD? It’s definitely going to be church and we don’t normally use this word, but it’s going to be a little funky. It’s gonna be a great collage of music. It’ll tap into different places of music that I don’t think gospel scene has really totally experienced. He deals with a lot of solo artists and groups so it was a stretch for him to work with a full choir, but it was like the best of both worlds coming together. It’s going to make a mark.
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The Emmy Award Winning and How Sweet the Sound Choir Selected of God I’m sure it will because you all have definitely made a mark. In reading about everything that you all went through up until the time when you actually got that first check from Chrysler.. that had to be a trying time. So how are things now? Do people recognize you all when you go out to sing or when you walk down the street when you’re in Detroit or wherever else you go. How are you all handling that aspect of the whole thing? I think we do pretty good with it. It’s kinda funny because my wife and I were in Walgreens one night and someone was like “Honey I think that’s them” so it was kinda funny. A lot of people ask are you the people from the commercials. It’s been great. I think we handle it pretty good. It hasn’t went to our head. It’s a humbling experience because God could have given it to anyone but he saw that we were able to walk into this season. You guys are always sharp in every photo that I see you in and I love the robes. I want to know where you got them from. I”m actually a choir director and a president myself so I’m wondering I came up with the concept so my first concept was a dress. It turned into a robe and actually it turned out well. The one that put together the robe was Evans Uniforms in Burndale Michigan. It actually helped them as well because everyone wants to find out where we got the robes so they got a lot of business from those robes and they were very excited to have their robes in a national commercial as well.
all… some more than others.. let’s be honest . We tried to provide something for everyone and sometimes there may be something that I may not like, but somebody may love it. We’re trying to reach everyone across genres, across race and all churches. We never want to create something that you can’t do on Sunday morning. That’s a good point and was actually one of my questions for you because it is a concern with me being a choir director. Sometimes it’s hard to find things that you can do on Sunday morning with some of the new music that is coming out so that’s refreshing to hear. A lot of times we forget the consumer when we create CDs.. that the ones buying our CDs are choir and music directors and some wonder “can I do this at my church”? There are some challenging things that are on the CD. We like to take it high and that is one of the thing that we are known for… to go high with clarity. Well that’s good. We miss that.. well I miss it anyway. I love choir music and that’s something we’ve been missing for the last couple of years so that’s a good thing that you guys are keeping it sanctified and keeping it contemporary. I love it! There was an era in gospel where they tried to swipe choir music away… you know the praise and worship movement… there was no more room for choirs , but we stayed true. You know there is a place. You can’t have church without a church choir
What are some of your favorite cuts off the CD so far?
Okay! That’s true! So let me ask you this… Do you guys have a good foot stomper… you know what I mean.
“Dwell in Me” as well as another one ”Be Still and Know”. Those are my favorite cuts because it kinda gives a description of who we are. Those are my favorite songs. I love them
We’re currently working on one right now. It’s gonna be a good ole hand clapping foot stomping time
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The Emmy Award Winning and How Sweet the Sound Choir Selected of God A good ole hot one huh?
in your cameo?
It’ll make you run when nobody’s chasing you. It’ll make your weave track split.
It was a great experience. We have a little part in the movie… I can’t say all of it right now. It was a small part but you will recognize us. It was pretty cool and you know of course we laughed. It was comical and you know you have to find something comical when you’re sitting doing a movie all day when you’re there 16-17 hours a day. It was very interesting.
Of course we shared a good laugh on that one. That’s alright though you know because we need that. I believe that’s what the church has been missing. After we have entered into the presence of God in praise and worship and we’ve gotten up off the floor and wiped our faces… Now come on let’s bump a little bit! Exactly! That’s true! What is church without a good bump. A good sanctified bump! I read you all were from the holiness church and I’m COGIC so I understand exactly where you’re coming from. She has a wheat seal You need to stop.. (He had me in stitches) So who’s doing the writing for most of the songs? Are you all writing together or bringing writers in? It’s a compilation of us writing together. We have a nice little treat and since you kinda of made a COGIC statement , we have a nice little treat on the project. It’s going to be a shock for a lot of people. It’s gonna take you back. We’re gonna give you a throw back… there’s gonna be a nice cameo. I can’t talk about it much but it’s gonna be one of those. Well my interest is definitely peaked. This question is for both of you. How was your experience working with Whitney Houston on the remake of Sparkle and what parts did you all play www.tekoagospelmusicnews.com
The musical director and founder are from two of the largest cities known for gospel musicDetroit and Chicago so I was interested in their style of singing. I was listening to a piece of a song and I was thinking that there was a little Chicago vibrato in there Let me give you a quick history. That vibrato comes from Detroit Michigan from an old group called Phil Lemon and the Lemon Singers… they first started that vibrato and then Chicago kinda picked it up, but it originally came from the Gospel capital mecca here, Detroit Michigan because it’s in our water. Alright! Well thank you for the history lesson. I appreciate it. I’ve definitely been informed. Is there anything that you’d like to leave with your fans. Thank you so much for all of your support. Our CD is coming up in January and again thank you for all of your support. I really enjoyed talking to these men of God about their endeavors. Look out for the new CD from Selected of God soon! Follow them on Twitter and “Like” them on Facebook.
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Kim Burrell Wins 2 Stellar Awards Kim Burrell, one of the most distinct voices in the gospel music industry, won two Stellar Awards this weekend for Contemporary Female of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year. She was stunning in gold metallic Oscar de la Renta and gave credit to her sister, Kathy Burrell, for writing most of the songs on the critically acclaimed “Love Album”. Tekoa Gospel Music News: You got so much flack from the church for the Sweeter Video. How does it feel standing here now being Grammy nominated and winning two Stellar Awards? Kim Burrell: ”It feels absolutely great to be considered first of all by the Grammys and Stellar Award and at this time I’m very excited that the ones who didn’t like it have no control over the Grammys or the Stellars. I’ve spoken to it for so long, and it feels really good to just push forward with what you believe with your team who believes in you enough to push you and make you do it…. and it was great doing it… it felt good doing it and I would do it all over again because this right now feels really good”. Kim also took time out to thank her sister for writing on this project. “I’m so happy about tonights awards because honestly and truly, I’ve been here before. I won a Stellar many years ago. I’m familiar with this feeling but it means so much tonight because my sister wrote most of all the songs on the album”. Her sister Kathy took the stage in the media room. Kim Burrell: ”Kathy wrote “Sweeter”… the one we got so much flack about the video
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"I would do it all again"-Kim Burrell and it feels so good to be here tonight because of her and she wrote our next single “Open the Door”. So if it ain’t broke don’t fix it right”.
Kim elaborated on why she did decided to name this award winning CD “The Love Album”. Kim Burrell: “I was with my brand manager Krishnar Lewis, and were having a conversation about the posture of the church. I’ve been in church my whole life… I’m a preacher’s daughter, we both are and we’ve been in ministry our whole lives… and the unfortunate side of life started when I was exposed to other genres of music and other people and I started to feel a little more genuineness from them than the church. So I started observing the behavior of the church wondering where’s the same love, if not greater and it made me write a song…several songs. The first song on the album is “Let’s Make it to Love” and it’s really all about taking the mask off and all of this that we preach, teach and sing about… where is it in the heart of the people. And so we included songs like “Every Day is Sweeter than the Day Before”. That’s an old church song (she started singing) to make it sound like love. So that’s where it come from- Observing the behavior of the church and wanting to sing a love song to the church and hopefully they’ve listened”.
and she thanked him at that point for being “a GREAT Producer” because she realized that she failed to do so when she accepted her award. She continued on to say that “he’s fabulous, he’s my brother, he’s my friend, and helped to make it happen”. Kim Burrell is truly one of the most talented and humble individuals in the gospel music industry. Join me in congratulating her for her Stellar Awards!
Asaph Ward is, in my humble opinion, the church singer’s producer and he has been with Kim Burrell for a long time. She described working with Asaph as “familiar”
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Vashawn Mitchell racks up 6 Stellar Awards Wins!
by Bianca Woodard Vashawn Mitchell has had a Stellar year with his CD “Triumphant” and namely the hit gospel song “Nobody Greater”. He won 6 Stellar Awards this year and his music career is being propelled to the next level. Tekoa Gospel only wanted to know one thing from Vashawn: How do you top this? Vashawn: “I don’t know how God’s gonna top this. I’m just claiming 2012 as a year of open doors so whatever God says do I’ll do”. Vashawn will be recording a new live project in Chicago Illinois in April. The expectation of this recording will be high because the bar has been set high and I believe Vashawn realizes that, but in wisdom he made the following statement: ”I cannot duplicate Nobody Greater… God did that, but I am trying to re-inact and duplicate the sound” Stay tuned for more from Vashawn Mitchell!
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Vy Higginsen's Most Notable Achievement Honor Bianca of Tekoa Gospel Music News: The spot on 60 Minutes that you all did...Has it helped the effort in Harlem with the choir that you're working with... has it shined the light and brought anymore money in to help you out a little bit?
Vy Higginsen speaks on the impact of CBS 60 Minutes on her work and the revival of the her off Broadway Play "Mamma I Wanna Sing" by Bianca Woodard Vy Higginsen was honored with the "Most Notable Achievement" Award during the 27th Annual Stellar Awards ceremony. The work that she is doing in Harlem is worth recognition. Vy was backstage in the media room during the awards show, so Tekoa Gospel Music News caught up with her because we wanted to know how the 60 Minutes piece affected her work. www.tekoagospelmusicnews.com
Vy Higginsen: "When CBS 60 Minutes came to the Mamma Foundation for the Arts, it changed the course of our program. They followed us for one solid year and they saw everything we did with one class that starts as freshmen advance up until performance. One of the things that CBS 60 Minutes did was make other cultures aware of the Power of Gospel Music. They became aware of a voice and young people that they're not accustomed to seeing and the way we were shown. So often we are seen in body bags and in handcuffs but we didn't see that on that 60 Minutes piece. They showed young people that had challenges but they were also triumphant. Yes, 60 Minutes made a difference". Bianca of TGMN: Follow up question to that- How's the young lady whose father wasn't in her life at that particular moment of filming. How's she doing now? Vy Higginsen: "Let me tell you about that. That young lady... Her father called her and said I want to be in your life and since then, she has visited him. He was recovering from alcohol and drugs, but now she sees him and knows him in her life. And the young lady who had the scarf on her head.. well she had to stop going to school because she had to work at a fast food restaurant , Kentucky Fried Chicken, to go to school. Somebody on CBS 60 Minutes saw that and said I will pay her way so that she can continue her lessons
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Vy Figginsen (cont.....)
Fred Hammond (cont..)
in your school. So, there are people whose heart might never have been touched were changed... totally changed.. and saw black people and young people in a different light. They saw us as not the violent people that they imagine we are, even though we live in the society that sometimes says that's what it is".
On this project, inside of it, i take the scripture and it comes alive and it talks about what God thinks about romance. So if you gone get mad with me, you're going to have to get mad with HIM. I'm just singing about it. It's not a LUST song album. It's a LOVE song album. It's not CORNY. It's just from a Vy was ecstatic about winning the Award for the guy who - when I got a Most Notable Achievement and she was divorce, I cried everyday represented well the night before at the Prefor six months and then it Show. Some teens from her school and her got better. I only cried daughter performed "Mamma, I Want to Sing" four times a week. Then it from her hit off Broadway play, of the same title got better. I only cried during the pre-show. twice a week. Then once a week... then twice a Tekoa Gospel Music News: Your daughter sang month. Then the sun during the pre-show during "Mamma I Want To started shining again. Sing" right? Then I noticed people around me going through Vy Higginsen: Yes similar stuff and nobody Tekoa Gospel Music News: So are there plans for want to talk about it, but any other plays beside "Mamma, I Want To Sing" I'm going to sing about it. I've been a radical guy. that might be on the horizon or things that are Very radical. And you coming now? know what? This is one Vy Higginsen: We have revived "Mamma, I Want of those moves because a lot of times I thought To Sing" with the next generation which is what about what on earth am I you saw at the pre-show with Noel and some of doing? It seems like I'm at the end here and I'm the very kids you saw on CBS 60 Minutes. about to do something like this? This has got to be They're in the show. We did it as a fundraiser God..and we'll see. If it's me, it will crumble. If it's because we have to raise money for the God, But I'm a get out the boat kind of guy. That's scholarship. It has continued and people keep coming. We're selling out and we keep going. We what it is. Next."
opened for three weeks and we've been running since April... and we'll keep on running as long you all keep on coming because they want to sing. The School is located in Harlem and just in case you missed the initial story on Vy Higginsen, please click here.
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Fred shared that if he was "talking about grown man stuff" he should dress up and he was clean in his black suit topped with a fedora. Bianca of TGMN: The Jazz album that you put out... How did that do? I heard it, but how did it do? Fred Hammond: "It's still kind of burning a bit, but
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jazz seems to be a dying situation. They're not picking it up in the mainstream stores, but I'm glad I did it because I wanted to play. My mother allowed me to play. She didn't put a restriction on the music that I listened to because back then music wasn't so crazy. So she let me listen to
relationship with Jesus Christ! ”God, Love and Romance“ is a soundtrack of love relationships that will definitely reach the generations that remember meaningful music. It’s REAL music! I stayed up waiting for the download to be available. Listening to this CD was like being live on a set at times and then at an intimate concert during others. So I say, write something for me.. Here are a few of my favorite song lyrics: “When I Come Home to You” Favorite lyric- “after all these years you still cherish my ring” “The Proposal” Favorite lyric : “Come on let’s serve him together“ “Face It All“ Favorite lyric: “Hand in Hand we can stand and face it all, You’re my heart and I’m
everything: Donnie Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Lou Rawls, Al Jarreau.. I could listen to anything. I just wanted to thank those folks and play something that says this is where I got my chops from. So it's doing good. The Review "God Love and Romance"
you’re man, well face it all”. "You Are So Beautiful“ Favorite lyric: “It’s your style girl that creates the moment, but it’s the way that you think that intrigues and when your heart reaches out to the heavens God really listens“. “My Love Is Real”
Fred Hammond has achieved what few gospel artists will ever do. He mastered the marriage of instrumental/vocal jazz and gospel with a message of Kingdom love, endurance, and commitment during our journey of godly dating, the bonds of marriage, and an individual love
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Favorite lyric “Remember all the tears you’ve cried have nothing to do with me. It was the other guy” Fred Hammond’s “God Love and Romance” is available for purchase right now on I-Tunes and
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Stellar Awards Snap Shots
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Stellar Awards Snap Shots
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Stellar Awards Snap Shots
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Stellar Awards Snap Shots
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