TBGB congratulates Pastor Marvin Sapp. His "Never Would Have Made It" tops the Associated Press' best songs list of 2008.Writes AP Music Writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody (Dec. 12, 2008):"If you want to create a mix-tape of the year's best songs, here are the must-haves for 2008."1. "Never Would Have Made [...]
AwesomeThe Voices of PromiseIMOK Gospel Music 2008www.imokgospelmusic.comThe Voices of Promise. It’s a perfect name for a youth choir. But they could also have been dubbed the Voices of Surprise. The youth choir, which hails from The St. Mary Church of God in Christ in Brooklyn, New York, was a concept [...]
Brian Courtney WilsonJust LoveSpirit Rising Music/Music World Entertainment 2008www.musicworldentertainment.comFrom Matthew Knowles, father and manager of world-famous daughters Beyonce and Solange, and producer of gospel superstars Trin-I-Tee 5:7, comes Just Love, the debut album by soulful gospel balladeer Brian Courtney Wilson. Wilson, a Chicagoan now living in Houston, and not to [...]
Bishop Paul S. Morton presents the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship Mass Choir Cry Your Last Tear Tehillah Music Group/Light Records 2008 www.lightrecords.com Browsing through the music bins, one might think Cry Your Last Tear, with a photo of Bishop Paul S. Morton dominating the front cover, is a new [...]
Pastor Gregg Patrick (currently moving up the charts with his hit single "I Am A Witness"), celebrates at his home with friends Clifton Davis, Felicia Young (Tennesse Titans Quarterback Vince Young's mom) and Shawn McLemore.Earlier in the day, Patrick made a large donation to the NFL Mother's Association to feed [...]
“Did It All For Me”Aaron SledgeFrom the CD Da LightSky High Entertainment 2007www.myspace.com/skyhighdalightAs I mentioned in my review of Chicagoan Aaron Sledge’s full project Da Light, “Did It All For Me” is a fine piece of pop-gospel songwriting. It’s so good, you’ll swear you’ve heard it before...a sure sign of [...]
Kersten StevensThe Giftwww.kerstenstevens.comAll I had to hear was that gospel/hip hop/jazz violinist Kersten Stevens was putting out a Christmas album, and I knew it would be superb. Sometimes you just know these things.And of course I was right.On The Gift, the versatile Kersten brandishes her bow like a magic wand, [...]
"Arise Medley"AriseFrom the CD God's Got My BackStile Records 2008While "God's Got My Back" is very likely the plug song on Arise's CD of the same name, to my ears "Arise Medley" is the real treat. Electrifying Afro-Caribbean handclap rhythms and a Latin acoustic guitar propel the group's sweet harmonies [...]
Aaron SledgeDa LightSky High Entertainment 2007http://www.myspace.com/skyhighdalightAt first blush, Chicago’s Aaron Sledge seems a contradiction: an urban inspirational artist whose album is covered in photos of the singer in street-smart clothes, posing tough next to a Lexus, showing off a top-shelf shoe collection, and hanging out on Chicago streets. But listen [...]
Odetta (Holmes) Gordon, known to the world as simply "Odetta," died of a heart attack in New York yesterday, December 2. She was 77 years old.Odetta sang folk songs, ballads, blues, Civil Rights anthems, spirituals, showtunes, gospel...really just about any style of music was fodder for her straightforward delivery. Her [...]
