“I Got Joy” The Dorsetts Independent (release date: January 6, 2022) By Robert M. Marovich Husband-and-wife duo Arnold and Sharee Dorsett—known as the Dorsetts—offer “I Got Joy,” a simple tune with an easy rhythm and a catchy refrain that not only establishes the premise of the song but invites a congregational singalong and possibly a pleasant earworm. The song takes for its text the latter half of John 16:22: “your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.” The Dorsetts hail from Wilmington, Delaware. As far as I can tell, this is their debut single.

Chip Bailey The Music in Me ABBII Music (release date: April 20, 2019) www.officialchipbailey.com By Bob Marovich Up to this point, Anthony “Chip” Bailey” has been a singer, musician, songwriter, and composer for other gospel artists. In his debut recording, The Music in Me, Bailey proves his own mettle in the spotlight, singing his own songs. Backed by a team of effective vocalists, a chugging rhythm section, and blasts of brass, Bailey delivers full-bodied Rhythm & Praise selections to the live recording audience that gathered at the Resurrection Center in Wilmington, Delaware. Early tracks “I’m Excited” and “Rejoice” pair funky ...

By Bob Marovich Once upon a time, there was an artistic expression of worship, inaugurated and performed by youth, that wasn’t accepted by all members of the church. I’m not talking about gospel music, or Christian hip hop. I’m talking about praise dancing. Like its musical forebears, praise dancing was once seen as anathema to the Sunday worship service. Today it is more broadly embraced, but Vanessa Odom of St. Luke Gospel Expressions, representing St. Luke Community Christian Church in Chester, Pennsylvania, knows there’s a long way to go. A dancer her entire life, Odom was first exposed to praise ...