We've heard his voice fairly frequently in recent years. Whether it was sining with John P. Kee or singing with James Fortune on the hit track "I Believe", Zacardi Cortez has proven that he is an extremely good vocalist. His debut solo album "The Introduction" was released today.  

We've heard many really good singers come and go over the last couple of years. Vocal ability has never been the question. The biggest question that I have always had is whether or not an artist can put together an entire album of songs that are both a good fit their vocal ability and are relevant. With "The Introduction", we get an album that is full of quality songs that perfectly display Zacardi Cortez's talents. 

I think more current and aspiring artist need to understand that song selection is extremely important. "The Introduction" isn't one of those albums that has just one song that you really like. There are a number of songs that make this album really good.

"Praise You" features Fred Hammond and Marcus Miller is a good, up beat track that has a very nice groove to it . This song will definitely have you nodding your head.

Kierra Sheard joins Cortez on the track "For Me". Together, they deliver a performance that will really stir your heart. This song forces you to reflect on the wonderful sacrifice that Jesus made for all of us.

Other guest artists that round out the album include James Fortune, Lalah Hathaway, John P. Kee, Isaac Career, and The Williams Singers.

Zacardi Cortez has what I call a phone book voice. This means that he is the type of singer that can sing the phone book and make it sound really good. When you hear the "Hymn Medley" track you will know exactly what I am talking about. He takes some classic hymns that we all know and love and adds a special flavor to them. 

The Bottom Line
"The Introduction" in one album that you will definitely want to add to your collection. Zacardi Cortez doesn't disappoint at all. You will find quality songs all throughout the album. Go grab your copy of "The Introduction" now! You can get "The Introduction" on iTunes and Amazon. 

Here's what I find interesting about Kirk Franklin's music. It seems to me that he does not just create music that he thinks people want to hear. He creates music that people need to hear. He could easily follow all of the musical trends and release Gospel music that sound and feel like what other genres are doing. However, it seems that he strays away from simply following trends and focuses more on the message of the music.

A strong message…that's what we get with "Hello Fear". I don't think this is Kirk Franklin's best album ever. (For my money, I'll take "The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin" over anything else that he has ever done.) Nevertheless, "Hello Fear" is good music. It is a 15 track album that will pierce your heart.

My favorite song on the entire album is "Before I Die". The production on this song is great. I'm sure people will blasting this song while riding around town on a warm spring or summer day. Beyond all of that, this song talks about the things we need to do with our lives to honor Jesus Christ.

The surprise of the album is "Something About The Name of Jesus Pt. 2". Wow! For this song Kirk brought together Marvin Winans, John P. Kee, Isaac Caree, and Rance Allen. In my Forrest Gump voice…"That's all I have to say about that."

Other guest appearances occurred in the songs "Give Me" (Mali Music) and "The Alar" (Marvin Sapp and Beverly Crawford).

Hello Fear is a very personal album. It speaks to the feelings and emotions that everyone experiences, whether they are a follower of Christ or not. With this album, you get to experience the feelings of the artist while being challenged to look introspectively and explore your own feelings.

If you are a Kirk Franklin fan then I know you're going to get this album. For everybody else…I suggest adding this album to your collection. Your heart will thank you for it.

Go grab your copy of "Hello Fear" on Amazon or iTunes.

What I found interesting is that this new website also features new music that you can listen to for FREE. John P. Kee is presenting The Legacy Project. It seems that he has teamed up with artists like Fred Hammond, Rance Allen, Doug Williams, Anthony Hamilton, and more to create something very special.

The release date for The Legacy Project has not been released yet. You can go to johnpkeeonline.com to listen to some of the songs for free.

What do you think about John P. Kee’s new music?

[img credit: JohnPKeeOnline.com]

The next Stand Jesus Rally will take place on August 14th in Richmond, VA. Take a look at the video from Charlotte and let me know what you think.

The term legend gets thrown around far too often. When referring to Walter Hawkins, using the term legend would be an understatement.

I’m not sure anything I could say would do justice to the contribution he made to Gospel music and to the kingdom of God. Bishop Hawkins was an amazing singer and songwriter. He blazed a trail for many of the artist we have come to love today.

Here are some of the sentiments members of the Gospel community expressed on Twitter:

“Gonna miss my dear friend and mentor Bishop Walter Hawkins…one of the greatest singer/songwriters gospel will ever experience”
-Donald Lawrence

“Praying for the Hawkins family in the loss of the legendary Bishop Walter Hawkins. An innovator, icon and the songwriters songwriter…”
-Israel Houghton

“Walter Hawking opened up the way for all us Contemporary Artist. He had the ability to be contemporary and still have the Gospel signature.”
-Fred Hammond

“Heart is Heavy! He not only changed the fabric, He revolutionized polyphonic harmonies! R.I.P. Bishop W! U Challenged All Those That Dared!”
-John P. Kee

“My heart is so heavy…Bishop Walter Hawkins Gave us More than just Songs I hope he’s dancing with the Angels right now..may he Rest In Peace”
-Mary Mary

“Truly the most musically inspiring figure in my life…Bishop Walter Hawkins. Certainly heavens choir has a major upgrade tonight. Thanks WH”
-Greg O’Quin

“R.I.P. To a gospel icon and trailblazer Bishop Walter Hawkins! My heart is deeply saddened! u will be missed!”
-Dave Hollister

“Every door I’ve ever walked through was because God used Walter Hawkins as a key to unlock it. Gospel music lost a pioneer today. rest well.”
-Kirk Franklin

Bishop Hawkins will be greatly missed. Please keep the Hawkins family and Love Center Church in your prayers.

“Chicago’s Hope for Haiti” benefit concert will take place on February 8, 2010  @ 7:00 PM at the 10,000 seat House of Hope, 752 E. 114th Street in Chicago.

Other confirmed artists also include Maurette Brown Clark, Mark Hubbard & the Voices, The Sweet Holy Spirit Choir , Percy & Gerald Gray featuring (New Direction, Chicago Mass Choir and Joshua’s Troop), DeAndre Patterson and Dr. Bobby Jones. The program will be emceed by WGRB 1390 AM on-air personalities Pastor John Hannah and Angela Martin.

The proceeds of the concert will go directly to Samaritan’s Purse (www.samaritanspurse.org) and Hospitals for Humanity (www.hospitalsforhumanity.org). Both organizations are currently on the ground in Haiti providing immediate relief (ranging from food and water to medical care) to the survivors of this horrific earthquake.

(You can take this following post seriously or just for fun. The choice is yours)

I was watching Let’s Talk Church on BETJ the other day and the topic of discussion revolved around gospel artists and their ability to make money and earn a decent living. Apparently there are a number of gospel artists who are struggling financially for any number of reasons.

As I watched the show, a number of ideas for posts immediately came in my head. I want to start of by talking about gospel artists and the challenges they face with generating money. Album sales have declined in all genres. In addition, Gospel and Christian artists do not sell as many albums as artists from other genres of music. Given the nature of the economy, it is pretty safe to assume that concert sales will also be on the decline.

So, what is a Christian artist to do? Sure, TV and radio are obvious choices, but that won’t work for everyone. A little bit of out the box thinking is required.

Here are some suggestions that can be adopted by music artists, preachers, evangelists and anyone else who ministers the gospel:

Corporate Sponsorships
I know what you’re thinking. Christian artists already receive corporate sponsorships for tours and concerts. I’m talking about something a little different.

Have you ever seen a professional sporting event from another country or an Arena Football Game? If you have, I’m sure you noticed one common thing that you don’t see in the NFL or NBA. Logos (advertisements) on uniforms. Basically, those teams are paid to stick a logo of a national or local company on their uniforms.

Why can’t Christian artists do that? Would it be terrible if Marvin Sapp had a Church’s Chicken logo on his shirt? Would it really mess up your praise if there was an Old Navy logo on Paula White’s dress? OK, maybe you would be distracted at first, but you would get over it in after a few minutes.

Product Placement
Companies pay large amounts of money to have their products casually displayed in movies and TV shows. The same principles can be applied with music artists and other ministers.

Imagine your pastor preaching next Sunday. Instead of a glass of water covered by a napkin, imagine a bottle of Vitamin Water on the podium. If you go to a mega church and/or go to a church that broadcasts on TV or online, I’m sure Vitamin Water or any other company would love to pay for that type of exposure.

Artists and ministers can use use social media to make money too. John P. Kee (keetwit) and Michael W. Smith (michaelwsmith) each have thousands of people following them on Twitter. They could easily use Twitter to promote products like this:

keetwit It was a long night in the studio. Thank God for 5 Hour Energy! It really helped me make it through.

michaelwsmith On my way to enjoy a beautiful day at the beach with my family. I can’t believe were able to get all of our beach stuff in the trunk of my 2009 Honda Accord.

Signage
This one is probably primarily for pastors or church executives. Companies place advertisements on billboards, taxi cabs and on the sides of buses. Why not have ads on inside of churches? I’m sure McDonald’s, Best Buy and Starbucks would love a piece of that action. Before you knock this idea and say “advertisements don’t belong in the church.” Take a look at the church fans next time you’re in church. That’s right, funeral home advertisements.

We don’t want our musicians and ministers to starve and struggle. As you can see, there are plenty of ways they can continue their ministry and live very comfortably.

Can you think of any other ways that Christain artists and other ministers can generate some extra income?