“I Made It” – Darius Paulk

I Made It”
Darius Paulk
AIR / Malaco Music Group
www.malaco.com

By Robert M. Marovich

The intro to singer-songwriter Darius Paulk’s new single, “I Made It,” is straight out of the James Cleveland songbook. Percussive piano, check. Chirping organ, check. Gospel waltz tempo, check.

The lyrics, on the other hand, offer a timeless message: surviving the trials and tribulations of life is the result of God’s goodness. But Paulk reminds the listener that it’s not always easy to keep the faith. He gets real: “The pressures of life are so hard to bear / And sometimes it seems like no one cares.” Later he notes that he “almost gave up.”

Nevertheless, Paulk made it over, and he sings his testimony with passion as the background vocalists respond with the lock-step wisdom of a Greek chorus.

The song comes from singer-songwriter Paulk’s 2019 debut album for Atlanta International Records, Strong.