“Don’t Judge Me”
Kierra Sheard feat. Missy Elliott
Karew Entertainment / RCA Inspiration (release date: August 9, 2019)
By Bob Marovich
The latest gospel-R&B mashup, “Don’t Judge Me,” teams Grammy-nominated and Stellar Award-winning Kierra Sheard of Detroit’s legendary Clark-Moss dynasty with Missy Elliott, iconic hip hop artist and soon-to-be MTV Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Awardee.
In a tone of humility laced with media fatigue, Sheard sings “I just ran through the fire; please don’t judge me.” Though directly in response to those who put Sheard’s every move under a microscope, the song also serves as a rejoinder to haters everywhere to mind their own business. The duo doesn’t go all the way there, but the song will evoke in the listeners’ minds Matthew 7:3-5: “First cast out the beam out of thine own eye…”
From Sheard’s new album slated for release in September, “Don’t Judge Me” features production from frequent collaborator Harmony “H-Money” Samuels. The song’s message is pointed but the Southern California beachy musical vibe makes the medicine goes down easy.
Kierra Sheard recently played her mother, Karen Clark Sheard, in a biopic on the Clark Sisters. The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel is slated to air on the Lifetime television network in January 2020.
Watch the video for “Don’t Judge Me” below:
Written by : Bob Marovich
Bob Marovich is a gospel music historian, author, and radio host. Founder of Journal of Gospel Music blog (formally The Black Gospel Blog) and producer of the Gospel Memories Radio Show.