VOICES SING TO THE HEAVENS:
KIRK FRANKLIN, YOLANDA ADAMS & DONNIE McCLURKIN STAR IN
GOSPEL MUSICAL WHEN ALW ENTERTAINMENT BRINGS
THE HOPEVILLE TOUR
TO 35 CITIES
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Message of unity brings together platinum-selling gospel crossover trio for Franklin-created musical to launch Sept. 28 in Toronto
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Southwest Airlines on board as sponsor

Superpromoter Al Wash has another hit gospel tour on his hands, but this time they aren't concerts in the traditional sense. His line-up of artists is A-list, as usual, but their performances will be much more interactive as they each contribute to a storyline that centers on a message of unity. And who better to sing it to the heavens and carry it to 35 cities than the platinum-selling, multi award-winning crossover stars Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams and Donnie McClurkin? The event is called HOPEVILLE, a concept-of-living musical that Franklin created and is directing. Wash’s Dallas-based ALW Entertainment will bring Hopeville to Toronto's Hershey Centre, on Sept. 28, and will wrap the stylish production in late November, possibly in Nashville.

Explains Franklin of this innovative and thoroughly uplifting experience, "The magic of Hopeville is that it’s going to be a West Side Story type of production. It’s going to look like a Broadway musical, where we are all three interacting throughout the whole event. There’s going to be singing and dancing, some theatrical moments, some choreographed moments. It’s going to be a whole musical experience."

In terms of the spectacular talent providing this "musical experience," Franklin praises, "Donnie’s gift is being the most incredible male singer on this planet. Yolanda’s gift that God has given her is that she’s the most amazing female singer in our time -- not only in gospel music, but in all of pop culture. There is not another female singer in any other genre of music that can top Yolanda Adams. No other. And you can quote me on that."

Franklin says that he sees his God-given gift as the ability to "put together a visual expression of music and make it come to life."

Adams and McClurkin appeared on Franklin’s recent album, The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin, though the fact that they are all touring together is more of a coincidental blessing than an extension of their studio work together.

"Hopeville is a make-believe city, and three friends were raised together there. We shot a video with three kids who portrayed a young Donnie, a young Kirk and a young Yolanda talking about what they wanted to do when they grew up, promising that they would stay friends forever. When the video ends, the stage set looks like a city. Hopeville is a blueprint of what every city can be, with everyone coming together as one through good times and bad times. The blessing about this tour is that all three of us will be on the same level at the same time on one stage -- which doesn’t happen in any other genre of music."

Though he is as dynamic as the stars and the events he promotes, Wash doesn’t lay claim as the only gospel promoter (he also handles comedy and other entertainment forms, as well), but longtime friend Franklin insists, "He’s the best."

Wash and his 15-year-old ALW Entertainment have mounted eight gospel tours over the past six years (Franklin and Adams rolled out with the maiden voyage), and has certainly contributed to gospel music’s current growth.

Wash predicts, "Hopeville will take gospel music to the next level," and has secured sponsorship for the tour from Southwest Airlines, proving that it's already gaining altitude.

He states, "It’s a plus to have a sponsor like Southwest, who has never dealt with the gospel industry, but they understand marketing. They are the official sponsor for the Superbowl. They get it. It’s a plus to have them on our team."

Wash expects to announce hotel sponsorship soon.

Franklin’s vision for Hopeville is "for people to see Christian entertainment outside of the box. That’s what I’m excited about -- for them to be able see that it’s bigger than what they may see it just as a Sunday morning experience. It can become part of a person’s everyday lifestyle for enjoyment, but also leads to inspiration and a better way of life."

And that is definitely music to everybody’s ears.

Yolanda Adams

Yolanda Adams has accomplished what few singers before her have ever achieved: The ability to attract fans from all walks of life without ever straying from the intricate roots that nurtured her Grammy winning voice in the first place.

The cornerstone of her amazing career so far - 1999's platinum-plus, award winning Elektra Records debut, Mountain High…Valley Low (Yolanda once described it as her 'coming out album') established her as an undisputed Gospel siren - one of the key figures of the genre's bold renaissance. Yolanda's impressive musical range and undeniable charisma helped liberate Gospel music's more formal, traditional image. She's also displayed the kind of vocal immediacy and vulnerability possessed by few pop singers. Her show stopping October 2001 performance of the classic song "Imagine," on TNT's Come Together: A Night For John Lennon as well as her performances on Oprah, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The View and countless others, sealed her reputation as Gospel's most transcendent ambassador.

Honored with an incredible array of awards within the last 2 years alone, including 2000's Grammy award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album, five Stellar Awards, two Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards, and five NAACP Image Awards, Yolanda followed up with last year's holiday gift to her fans, Christmas With Yolanda Adams, and 2001's acclaimed live album, The Experience. Now, after intense collaboration with some of the most revered producers working today, Yolanda steps back into the arena with her first collection of new material in three years - the incredible 12-song masterpiece - Believe.

"I always get asked the same question," says Yolanda, who takes an appreciative but modest attitude in regard to her ever-widening audience. "'Will you get tired of Gospel?' 'Is there a temptation to do something else?' My answer has always been the same. 'No way.' I'm a Gospel artist. There's no confusion about that. I like to sings songs that in the end - touch everybody. There's a humanity to these songs that gets in your blood."

Believe runs deep with that humanity. Emboldened by another lineup of great producers - Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (who also produced her multi-format smash hit "Open My Heart" which spent most of 2000 at #1 on Billboard's Gospel and Contemporary Christian charts), Shep Crawford, Kevin Bond, Mike City, Warryn Campbell and Buster & Shavoni - Yolanda raises the musical bar on this one, strengthening her own formidable song writing skills to meet the challenges she places on herself. "I like to work with great people because it makes me work harder," she says.

Yolanda points out that working with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis was a long awaited reunion. The superstar duo helms three songs on the new disc - "I'm Gonna Be Ready," "Never Give Up," and the album's in-your-face closer, "I'm Thankful." The angelic, inspiring "Never Give Up" shines as one of Yolanda's most tender ballads, singing heartfelt lines such as: Keep the dream alive don't ever let it die. "It was a joy to write. Getting together with Jimmy and Terry was like having a reunion with your big brothers," she says. "They have such great spirit and heart. I believe we'll be collaborating for the rest of my career. When we get together, it's so natural, it's like 'OK, I have this title - I have this verse - what do you have?'"

On Believe, Yolanda switches musical gears from song to song with an amazing ability to complement each producer's unique style. She talks about some of the diverse ingredients on Believe. "There's Mike City ("A Song Of Faith," "Unconditional") who is very good with taking risks - he's a young cat who you know is going to bring some real progressive ideas," she says. "And then you have someone like Shep Crawford ("I Gotta Believe," "Fo' Sho") who lets you get in there and really express yourself." The latter song features a duet with Gospel legend and recently signed Elektra artist Karen Clarke Sheard - of the Clarke Sisters. "I have been a fan of hers since I was 11 years old," says Yolanda. "I was so thrilled that she could contribute something to this record. It's so wonderful when you have the opportunity to actually show your appreciation to one of your influences."

Yolanda's incredible rise has been about honoring those influences, but also never being afraid to - as she puts it - "spread my wings." Her road to the top of the musical 'mountain' has been filled with the kind of conviction that now causes a new generation of singers to cite her as an influence. A former schoolteacher and avid church singer, the Houston Texas native - and the eldest of six siblings - diligently pursued a singing career.

She caught the eye of prolific composer/producer Thomas Whitfield, who helmed her first-ever record with the prophetic title, Just As I Am in 1987. It wasn't too long before the young singer was drawing comparisons to Aretha Franklin. Subsequent albums (on Gospel labels Verity and Tribute), including 1991's Through The Storm, netted Yolanda several Stellar Awards, and 1995's R&B flavored, award-winning More Than A Melody would establish her as a force to be reckoned with - Gospel or otherwise. The latter disc garnered Yolanda her first Soul Train Lady Of Soul Award, as well as her first Grammy nomination.

Yolanda also began to establish herself as one of the genre's most sought after live attractions. Her incredible performances would soon become legendary throughout the entire music industry. Her 1996 album Yolanda… Live In Washington furthered her reputation as a one-of-a-kind performer, and landed her yet another Stellar Award and another Grammy nomination. But it was the ground breaking Elektra debut, Mountain High…Valley Low that would change Yolanda's life forever.

A veritable testament to Yolanda's tremendous faith, it was also a nod to her incredible musical savvy. Enlisting producers such as Keith Thomas and the above-mentioned Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Yolanda saw the move to Elektra as a chance to expand her reach without "watering down" her message. Only her seventh album, it captured the amazing potential of Yolanda without sacrificing her commitment to God. Said one rave review: "Much of the album recalls Stevie Wonder or Bob Marley, where spirituality is at the center but it doesn't limit the musical expression."

The album spawned a host of sold out tours, such as her Sisters In The Spirit Tour (with Gospel superstars Shirley Caesar, Mary Mary and Angela Christie), from which her live CD, The Experience, was born. There was no doubt that Yolanda's inventive, unforgettable performances were attracting new and old fans alike.

Despite all the accolades Yolanda's crowning achievement was the birth of her baby girl, Taylor Ayana. Says Yolanda about that 'experience': "You really don't know what love is until you have a child. No matter how tired I am after a show or how distracted I might be after a long recording session - all I have to do is see her little smile and I know everything is right in the world."

With the completion of Believe, Yolanda is again excited by the prospects of sharing her new music with the world. "I've grown as a songwriter and a performer and I'm eager to spread those creative wings again," she says. Aware that the country may be hungering even more for a spiritual message these days, Yolanda's album title hints at what the new disc can offer in the way of spiritual redemption. "Music has always been a potent force. I'm proud that this album addresses the spectrum of life. It deals with struggles and relationships and sadness and joy. Our music - Gospel music - has always been a comfort to those who are looking for some kind of encouragement in their lives."

KIRK FRANKLIN
The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin

In the summer of 1993 a young unknown gospel musician from Fort Worth, Texas, released-to little initial fanfare-his self-titled debut album, Kirk Franklin & The Family. Wildly accepted and embraced almost immediately by the masses, it went on to spend 100 weeks at the top of Billboard magazine's gospel charts, while also crossing over to the R&B side, and becoming in the process the first gospel album ever to sell over a million units.

But despite that auspicious, record-shattering entrance, the world had seen only the smallest foreshadowing of the work of a man who, in less than a decade, would come to stand with the likes of gospel royalty Thomas A. Dorsey, James Cleveland, and Andrae Crouch as one of the pivotal, defining forces of 20th-century-and-beyond gospel music.

With several stops along the way (to write and produce hits for 1NC and to score and write/produce the major motion picture soundtrack to Kingdom Come) separating him from his own last solo album, 1998's two-million-plus selling Nu Nation Project, Kirk Franklin returns with the new, mind-boggling solo release, The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin. The album is more than aptly named.

Displaying Kirk's absolutely breath-taking grasp of the full breadth and depth of nearly all genres of contemporary and traditional music-secular as well as sacred-it leaps so far above and beyond even his greatest previous work that it could be thought of indeed as a daring but ever-engrossing rebirth of one of modern music's already most fertile minds. With dramatic spoken narratives laid atop cinematic soundscapes, interspersed between 11 Kirk originals (with help from the late Rich Mullins on "He Reigns") of profound lyrical substance, Kirk continues to speak to millions of people of all walks and persuasions.

But with a title that clearly portends evolution, and images of Kirk as a young boy on the packaging, it's clear that there are some serious philosophical changes going on in this "rebirth" as well.

"I can look over my life and career now and see both seasons of success as well as struggles and pitfalls," says Kirk, "and God has allowed it all. It's all done with the purpose of the Lord drawing you closer to Him-getting you closer to where He wants you to be. And it can be painful sometimes until you reach the point where you can see it's all been for a purpose, and that's a true moment of awakening and rebirth.

"No artist can honestly say they don't care if their work is promoted and taken to the people in an effective way or not," he continues. "Of course I want my label to employ all the resources they have-in the honorable and Godly ways in which they always operate-to make this album heard. The difference is that I have a sort of `been-there-done-that' attitude now, but that's not cynical or arrogant. It's only to say that I've been blessed with some very high highs, some very low lows, as well as some in-betweens to go with them. I see myself getting off the merry-go-round of worrying about whether I can top myself, or striving for commercial gain above all else. The rebirth concept and images of me as a boy are very significant. That's youth. That's innocence. That's the boy who loved the Lord and sang to Him purely out of love before ANY other considerations came into the picture. I'm not rejecting the realities of marketing and business. I, personally-Kirk-am going back to that place of purity that that little boy lived as a natural matter of course."

Kirk has always been celebrated for weaving seemingly disparate musical influences-R&B, modern rock, hip-hop, pop, jazz, traditional gospel-into a seamless fabric, creating his own singular style and sound that truly transcends any and all boundaries of genre, race, denomination or societal background. And while the consistency of his growth in broadening the very definition of "gospel music" has never waned, The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin reaches levels of self-realization and brilliance surpassing all that has preceded it. And that is saying… a lot.

A collection of back-to-back tours-de-force, featuring a panoply of some of today's hottest gospel artists-including Donnie McClurkin, Richard Smallwood, Crystal Lewis, Pastor Shirley Caesar, Jaci Valesquez, and the late traditional gospel great, Willie Neal Johnson and others, makes the act of choosing highlights on the album almost superfluous. But still, The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin does indeed harbor moments that rise from tremendous to truly transcendent.

A powerful traditional/contemporary choral arrangement on "Caught Up" elicits a show-stopping performance from gospel diva Pastor Shirley Caesar. "911" is a wrenching, yet ultimately uplifting dialogue over a punchy bottom end and soulful backing vocals, between Kirk and Bishop T.D. Jakes-recently proclaimed in a Time magazine cover story as "the Next Billy Graham"-in which Kirk dramatically pours out fears of the post 9-11 attack on America, as well as the perils and daily struggles of ordinary life, receiving stirring comfort from Jakes, who, as Kirk's fellow Dallas, Texas, neighbor, has indeed served as a mentor in his "little brother's" life.

Another powerhouse original included here in both a studio and live version, is Kirk's hymn/ballad collaboration on "The Blood Song" with guest slots on the live version from Alvin Slaughter and gospel greats Crystal Lewis, Donnie McClurkin and Jaci Velasquez on the studio version. Running a gamut from the irresistible good-time funk of "Brighter Day" and a Latin-flavored "He Reigns," which contains portions of Rich Mullin's "Awesome God"-to the punchy gospel/R&B of "Lookin'Out" and a bonus cut with DC Talk's tobymac that carries a hard-rocking edge reminiscent of '90s modern rock icons, Nirvana, Kirk hits home with a musical range that is nothing short of dazzling.

Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Kirk, as a child and adolescent, was no stranger to both pain and the comfort of the Lord. Never knowing his father, and abandoned in infancy by his mother, he was raised by a devoted aunt. A strict, church-going Baptist, she saw to it that her charge was well-versed in the Christian faith from his earliest years. The youngster not only thrived spiritually in the church environment, he displayed early on prodigious musical gifts. Recognizing Kirk's artistic anointing, his aunt collected and resold aluminum cans to raise money for her nephew to take piano lessons when he was only four.

The funding for that instruction was money well-spent, for Franklin was a natural musician who could sight read and play by ear with equal facility, and at the tender age of 11, was leading the Mt. Rose Baptist Church adult choir in Fort Worth. Despite his strong background in the church, Franklin turned rebellious in his teens, trading in the values and morals on which he'd been weaned for a life of violence, intimidation and larceny. It took the shooting death of a close friend to jolt Kirk, then 15, into a realization of the error of his ways, and back into the safe fold of the church where he began composing songs and recording demo tapes with a passion.

Nurtured on a steady diet of traditional gospel music, Kirk had also kept an ear open to the secular R&B, rock and pop music of the early and mid-'80s, and he absorbed the best of both musical worlds. Along with the power and passion of innumerable classic gospel artists, he was impacted by the sounds of an eclectic, far-reaching mix of R&B/funk and rock icons, from Cameo, George Clinton and Rick James to rockers U2, INXS and Depeche Mode, among others. Little did he know at the time how mightily the Lord was preparing to use him, and all his talents and influences, to accomplish great things in His service.

In the early '90s he formed a 17-member vocal ensemble of neighborhood friends and associates, dubbed "The Family". His life took a dramatic turn in 1992 when Vicki Mack-Lataillade, President and CEO of the then-fledgling Gospo Centric Records, listened to one of his tapes and, amazed by what she heard, quickly signed him to a recording contract. Since then, a decade of the greatest commercial successes and brilliant, groundbreaking artistry and inventiveness ever seen and heard in gospel music has followed.

"It's taken me these 10 years, and longer to fully realize that keeping everything we do focused on the love of God is what music, and life, is all about," Kirk concludes. "And it's kind of ironic to be this many years into the pilgrimage only to realize that's the way it was at the start, still is, and always will be."

And that simple but profound realization is the very heart of The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin. Though it rides on a sharp cutting edge that gives new meaning to "contemporary," this landmark work is no crass "career adjustment" to accommodate the fickle tastes of the masses that is the death knell of so many acts that flash through the public eye for only a few, fleeting moments. It is a man of the people, a minister to the many, and a musician of the masses, coming a long, full circle to a place where fads no longer figure into the formula, and timeless truths stand steady and secure, forever.

 

Donnie McClurkin

Donnie was born, and raised in Amityville, New York. Because of a God-given gift of music that ran in his family, Donnie formed the McClurkin Singers with his siblings and a few close friends in 1979. It wasn't long after that when Donnie began to feel a calling to preach. He went on to meet gospel-legend Andrae Crouch, who became a mentor to him. Through that relationship, grew a friendship that would shape the entire course of Donnie's future.

In 1996, Donnie released his self-titled, debut project on Warner-Alliance Records. This Album featured the hit song Stand, as well as a recorded Speak to My Heart, which garnered him two stellar awards, as well as Grammy, and Dove award nominations.

Live in London and More was recorded in 1999 at the historic Fairfield Hall in Croydon, England. Released August 2001, the album quickly became a best seller with it's Dove award winning song We Fall Down and held the number spot on all of the gospel charts. In six months time, it achieved gold status with 500,000 records sold and by nine months was platinum (1,000,000). This project, recorded on the Verity Label, has opened doors around the world.

In 2001, Donnie had his first book published by Pneuma Life Publishing. Eternal Victim/Eternal Victor reflects on Donnie's past and parallels his family circumstance with biblical families. "Victims and victors have one thing in common-suffering -it is how one handles those events that classifies whether they are one or the other,"says McClurkin.

Donnie McClurkin's message is clear, as real today as the day he committed his life to Christ at nine years old. "I want to introduce Jesus Christ to the world, not as a religious leader, but as an intimate friend who wants to radically change our lives," Donnie explains. "I want the world to know that we can sit down and embrace Him, He can embrace us, and He can handle any problem we are going through. He loves each of us individually, one by one"