Gospel Music

SelahLook At You Loving MeLisa Watkins (2010)www.pauseandthink.comI am not well-schooled in inspirational poetry – though in 2009 Poet Keith Ferguson shared with TBGB the vibrant religious spoken word community that exists nationally – but even I can figure out that Lisa “Selah” Watkins definitely belongs in this community.Her spoken word CD, [...]

Saturday, June 18 at 2:00 p.m., the late Sam Cooke, famed lead singer of the Highway QCs and the Soul Stirrers, soul pioneer and record label executive, will get his own street in Chicago."Sam Cooke Way" will be unveiled at a special ceremony at 36th and Cottage Grove, where Rev. [...]

Swingin’ on the Golden Gate, Vol. 2: A Survey of Bay Area GospelFog City Music Group (2011)Available from www.rootsandrhythm.comGospel historian and compiler Opal Nations stays close to home this time, scouring his San Francisco-Oakland stomping grounds for a variety of vintage gospel sounds. The result is Swingin' on the Golden Gate, [...]

J. SpenceAscensionDiversity Music Group (2011)http://www.diversitymusicgroup.com/Released in April, Ascension is the third solo project by J. Spence, a Christian hip hop artist from Buffalo, New York. Inspired by Luke 24, J. Spence has taken his message to the streets to save souls. Not surprisingly, Ascension emphasizes the importance of discipleship and [...]

“If You Praise Me” James Hall and the Voices of CitadelFrom the Music Blend CD Won’t It Be Wonderfulwww.myspace.com/voicesofcitadelThe Brooklyn choir that gave us “Hallelujah to the Lamb” and the high-spirited version of the Davis Sisters’ “Won’t It Be Wonderful” are back with “Praise Me,” another traditional choral rafter raiser [...]

Marti DornerMartiMarti Entertainment, LLC (2011)http://www.martidorner.com/Singer-songwriter Marti Dorner – known simply as Marti – released her self-titled debut album this past April. Originally from Nassau, Bahamas, Marti entered the Christian music industry after coming to the attention of Orlando, Florida-based industry insiders. Since she has worked with artists in the gospel and [...]

Macey J. WrightThe InterventionWrightway Ministries (2011)http://www.maceywrightintervention2k10.com/Youthful, smart, pleasant and accessible are words that come to mind for describing Macey J. Wright’s The Intervention. It’s a fine debut for a talented and creative artist.Brooklyn-born but now living in Orlando, Wright leads The Intervention with the neo-soul brightness of Leah Smith, the smarts of [...]

Bobby Perry and RAINConquerorsSolaria Records (release date: June 21, 2011)http://www.bobbyperryonline.com/Bishop Robert C. “Bobby” Perry II is pastor of The Kingdom Church in Boston, and RAIN (Royal Agents Influencing Nations) is his gospel singing group. Conquerors is Bobby Perry and RAIN's sophomore release.The title track, which features a guest lead by Natalie [...]

“Liberation” AlkendriaFrom the forthcoming SGR Music Group CD Liberation (in stores July 5, 2011)Houston’s Alkendria does her thing on a new, high-energy single.“Liberation” is a hands-in-the-air praise rave and appropriately so, given the lyrical salute to personal freedom. The song is about overcoming life’s obstacles on the way to spiritual emancipation [...]

“Life Line”Corey WebbFrom the forthcoming album Life Line (due March 2012)Single available on iTunesTop ten finalist on the first season of BET’s “Sunday Best,” Atlanta’s Corey Webb flexes his beseeching, urgent tenor on “Life Line,” a single that was selected for EMI’s Inspiration Jam Volume 3 and will become the title [...]