Young Men Sent – The Real Deal!

I had the opportunity to hear the vocal group Young Men Sent perform en vivo at a recent meeting of the Chicago Area Gospel Announcers Guild. To me, the litmus test of any vocal group is its ability to harmonize without help from the endless number of levers, switches, and knobs on the recording board. And I am pleased to write that these four young men — who go by their first names or nicknames Stefano, Alfonz, J me, and Big L and are decent, good guys — blended together very well, guided only by a soundtrack tape.

Young Men Sent’s soon-to-be-released CD is titled Gumbo, which makes perfect sense, given that they mix contemporary gospel, contemporary Christian, rap, hip-hop, and other modern sounds into their performance, topped by some good-old harmonizing to help music teachers across America sleep better at nights. Their radio promo EP is a good example of the “gumbo:” while “Restore Me” is a rap-infused hip-hop gospel directed at urban radio, “God of Wonders” is in its pretty melody and overall ambience a sure hit for the CCM charts. Bon chance, Young Men Sent! They are the real deal!