Percy Bady: It’s a “Wonderful Life” in the Kingdom Biz

Gospel’s uber-producer Percy Bady is always busy Kingdom building with his songs and production. This time, however, the Kingdom he’s building is here on earth. It’s a brand new record company.

And while Bady spends each Sunday afternoon sending the praises up, his partner in the business spends his Sunday afternoons taking defenders down.

Kingdom Biz Records, a gospel artist development, production, and recording enterprise based in Chicago, is a joint venture between Bady and Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris.

The company was formed as the result of a chance meeting of the two entrepreneurs. As musical director of the annual Super Bowl Gospel Celebration concert, Bady was at a Super Bowl-sponsored event in Jacksonville, Florida when he met Harris. “[Tommie] and I found out we were both PKs [pastor’s kids] and we had mutual interests,” Bady recalled. “We decided that we would try to see if we could make something happen.”

The mission of Kingdom Biz is to sign and develop the careers of a new generation of gospel artists who will work together and help each other meet their professional goals. At Kingdom Biz, “there’s no I, it’s we, it’s us,” Bady explained. “It’s the principle that Berry Gordy founded Motown on. He taught that if we learned how to lean on each other and depend on each other, that we could make things happen for each other that would be incredibly hard to make happen on our own.”

Bady says he plans to spend the time it takes to shape and mold each artist, “for the long haul, not just for one record.”

The new company’s first single is “Wonderful Life,” an inspirational song Bady composed after contemplating a sermon his pastor, Reverend John Hannah of New Life Covenant-Oakwood Church in Chicago’s Bronzeville community, delivered a couple of years ago.

Bady adds that the song was also “birthed out of some pain, because although my own life was okay, there were friends and some family around me, and things just weren’t so cool, so it was a real struggle writing the song.” But all great gospel songs are borne of personal struggle, and “Wonderful Life” is starting to get national spins. “We’re getting a pretty favorable response,” Bady says.

Artists currently in development at Kingdom Biz include Harris, Percy’s brother Ray Bady, Niecy Robinson, Cynthia Jernigan, Ashley Washington (formerly of the Soul Children of Chicago), and Reggie Vanderbilt. All of the artists hail from Chicago, and all contribute vocals on “Wonderful Life.”

In addition to “Wonderful Life,” Kingdom Biz Records will release a compilation CD, The Kingdom Revue, which will feature songs by every artist on the “Wonderful Life” single.

Why Chicago, instead of either coast, for Kingdom Biz? Bady doesn’t miss a beat. “I’ve been invited a lot of places, but I really feel compelled to do it here in Chicago, not only because my family and I were born and raised here, but because I feel there is so much talent here.”

So far Kingdom Biz is going well for the two entrepreneurs. “This is our first venture together,” Bady said. “Prayerfully and hopefully it will not be our last.”

To learn more about Kingdom Biz Records, go to: www.myspace.com/kingdombizzrecords (note that in the link, ‘bizz’ has two ‘z’s)