A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Franklin was raised by his great aunt Gertrude, having been abandoned as a baby by his mother. Gertrude collected and resold aluminum cans to raise money for Kirk to take piano lessons from the age of 4. Kirk excelled in music, able to read and write music by ear. He received his first contract offer at the age of 7, which his aunt turned down. He joined the church choir and became music director of the Mt. Rose Baptist Church adult choir, at the age of eleven. Despite his strict religious upbringing, Franklin rebelled in his teenage years, and in an attempt to keep him out of trouble, his great aunt arranged an audition for him at a professional youth conservatory associated with a local university. He was accepted and while his life seemed to be on track for a while, the announcement of a girlfriend's pregnancy and his eventual expulsion from school for behavioral problems proved otherwise.
After the shooting death of a friend, Franklin returned to the church, where he began to direct the choir once again. He also co-founded a gospel group, The Humble Hearts, which recorded one of Franklin's compositions and got the attention of gospel music legend Milton Biggham. Impressed, Bigham enlisted him to lead the DFW Mass Choir in a recording of Franklin's song "Every Day with Jesus." This led to Bigham hiring Franklin (at just twenty years old) to lead the choir at the 1990 Gospel Music Workshop of America Convention, a major industry gathering.
In the early 90's he organized "The Family", a seventeen-voice choir, formed from neighborhood friends and associates. In 1992, Vicki Mack-Lataillade, the co-founder of fledgling record label, GospoCentric heard one of their demo tapes and was so impressed she immediately signed up Kirk & The Family to a recording contract.
In 1993, the group, now known as, Kirk Franklin & The Family, released their debut album, Kirk Franklin & The Family. It spent almost two years on the Gospel music charts and charted on the R&B charts, and eventually earning platinum sales status. It remained at #1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart for 42 weeks. It was also the first gospel music album to sell over a million units.
Two years later, after releasing a 1994 Christmas album, titled Kirk Franklin & the Family Christmas, the group released Whatcha Lookin' 4 in 1995. The album was certified 2x platinum and earned Franklin his first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.
1997 brought another album, a collaboration with the vocal ensemble God's Property, aptly named God's Property from Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation. The lead single, "Stomp", featuring Cheryl "Salt" James (of Salt-N-Pepa), was a huge hit, enjoying heavy rotation on MTV and other music channels, charting at #1 on the R&B Singles Airplay chart for 2 weeks, and even making it in to the Top 40. God's Property from Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation was #1 on the R&B Albums chart for 5 weeks, #3 on the Pop charts, and would go on to be certified 3x platinum. It also brought Franklin another Grammy for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album as well as three Grammy nominations.
On November 2, 1998, God's Property sued Franklin. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that Franklin induced God's Property founder Linda Searight into signing an "onerous and one-sided" contract with B-Rite Music.
The Nu Nation Project was released in 1998. The first single, an interpolation of the Bill Withers song "Lean on Me" and produced by Franklin and pop producer Dan Shea, controversially featured several mainstream artists, including R. Kelly, Mary J. Blige and Bono of U2. Together with Crystal Lewis, and the Family, "Lean On Me" and the second single "Revolution" (featuring Rodney Jerkins) were considerable hits, and the album contained a version of another Withers song "Gonna Be a Lovely Day". The Nu Nation Project went on to top the Billboard Contemporary Christian Albums chart for 23 weeks and the Billboard Gospel Albums chart for 49 weeks, and brought Franklin his third Grammy.
In, 2000, The Family filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit for royalties for their work on The Nu Nation Project against Franklin and GospoCentric Records. This saw the end of the "Kirk Franklin & The Family" records, as Kirk went on to become a solo artist, except for his CD Kirk Franklin presents 1NC, which he did in collaboration with 1NC, and was released that same year.
In 2001, Franklin ventured into new territory, scoring and producing the soundtrack for the film Kingdom Come. The soundtrack featured gospel artists Mary Mary and 1NC, as well as secular artists Az Yet, Jill Scott, Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men and others. A notable song from the soundtrack was "Thank You" (Kirk Franklin feat Mary Mary).
2002's The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin topped the Gospel Albums chart for 29 weeks, was #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and was certified Platinum. The album featured collaborations with Bishop T.D. Jakes, Shirley Caesar, Tobymac, Crystal Lewis, Jaci Velasquez, Papa San, Alvin Slaughter, and Yolanda Adams. This was Kirk's first major release not to garner him a Grammy Award.
On October 4, 2005 Hero was released in the United States. The album was certified Gold on December 2, 2005 and Platinum on December 14, 2006 by the Recording Industry Association of America. It made #1 on both the Billboard Top Christian and Top Gospel albums. The first single, "Looking for You", was a hit, as was the follow-up "Imagine Me", which made it onto the R&B Charts. In December 2006, Kirk Franklin won two 2007 Grammy Awards, for Hero. Additionally, Hero was the 2007 Stellar Awards CD of the Year.
Kirk Franklin's 10th album, The Fight of My Life, was released in the United States on December 18, 2007. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at #33 with 74,000 copies sold in the first week. It reached #1 on both the Billboard Top Gospel and Top Christian albums charts, and also peaked at #7 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart. The first single, "Declaration (This is It)," was released on October 23, 2007 and peaked at #35 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart.[11] The album features guest appearances from Rance Allen, Isaac Carree, tobyMac, Da' T.R.U.T.H., Doug Williams, and Melvin Williams. The song "Jesus" was released as the album's second single in 2008 and was sent to Urban AC radio on July 15 2008.
On 20 January 1996, Franklin married long time friend Tammy Collins. When they wed, they each had one child from previous relationships: Kirk's son Kerrion, born in 1988, and Tammy's daughter Carrington, born in 1989. Together, they have had two children: Kennedy, born in 1997 and Caziah, born in 2000.
Trin-i-tee 5:7 is a gospel trio from New Orleans, Louisiana in the United States. The group was marketed as a gospel alternative to R&B girl groups such as Destiny's Child and TLC. In 2008, Trin-i-tee 5:7 became the first gospel trio to have a certified platinum album "T57". Trin-i-tee 5:7 have managed to sell over 2.5 millions albums.In 1998, the group released their first album entitled Trin-i-tee 5:7 which debut at #1 on the Top Gospel charts. The album featured the songs "God's Grace" and the cover song "Oh! Mary Don't You Weep". The album later became certified gold. In 1999, Terri Brown left the group and was later replaced by singer Adrian Anderson. During that year, the group recorded and released their sophomore album, "Spiritual Love". The album became the group second #1 album on the Top Gospel charts. The album launched the singles "Put Your Hands" and "My Body". In 2002, the group re-united and released their third album "The Kiss". The album became certified gold and debut at #2 on the Top Gospel charts. The group released the urban beat single "Holla", which debut at #2 on the U.S. Gospel charts.
In 2007, Trin-i-tee 5:7 released their greatest hit album Holla: The Best of Trin-i-tee 5:7. During that year, the group left GospoCentric Records and signed a record deal with Spirit Rising Music. In late 2007, Trin-i-tee 5:7 released their fifth album T57, which featured the #1 single "Listen". T57 charted #2 on the Top Gospel Albums, #5 on the Top Christian charts, and #12 on the Top R&B charts. In February 2008, "I Will Lift" was released the second single of the album. During 2008, T57 became certified platinum selling over one million copies worldwide. In September 2008, a deluxe edition of T57 which featured three new songs including the lead single "Get Away. The album has won two Dove Awards and a nomination for a Grammy Award.
Cotemporary Gospel/Hip-Hop artist Kierra "KiKi" Sheard was born into one of the most talented families in Gospel music. She is the daughter of Karen Clark-Sheard, a founding member of Gospel legends, the Clark Sisters, and the grandaughter of the late Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, who is thought to be one of the defining influences in all of Gospel music. At just 17, Kierra has proven herself to have the talent of her anscestors, yet hold her own individual sound. Her debut album, I Owe You was released in September of 2004 through EMI Gospel Records. It is Kierra's desire to reach her peers with a sound they can groove to but still praise God with. Kierra "KiKi" Sheard was born and raised in Detroit, where she and her family still reside, and grew up with church, family, music, and teaching all around her. At age six, she began singing in the children's choir of Detroit's Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ, which was pastored by her father, Rev. J. Drew Sheard. It was immediately apparent to her family that she was full of extraordinary talent and had "Sheard blood" in her. Before her grandmother passed away, she told Kierra's mother that "this baby was going to sing." Karen, Kierra's mother, was told to raise her right both spiritually and musically.
Kierra Sheard made her recording debut when she was nine and sang a duet with her mother on "The Safest Place," from Karen's chart-topping album, Finally Karen. When she was ten, she began traveling with her mother on tour to join her for the song. Kierra went on to win the Steller Award for Children's Performance for the song. At first, Kierra recalls not being that interested in singing and performing, but she soon began to witness the fun and joy her family had in singing and praising God, and she longed to be apart of it. By the time she was 13, Kierra had the desire in her heart to minister to people her own age, and she felt God leading her to do that.
Kierra's album, I Owe You, debuted at #1 on the Gospel charts. The album was a dream come true for Sheard and was something she had prayed for for a long time. She chose the title becuase she says she really feels that way about God. God healed Karen, Kierra's mother, of a very serious medical complication in which the doctors had only given her a 2% chance to live. Kierra feels so richly blessed by the Lord because He healed her mother, because He allowed her to make this album, and because He is always with her and will never leave her, that she chose to express her feelings of gratitude in her title.
When Sheard is not busy with school, she is on stage performing. She had the opportunity to perfrom with her mother and Mary J. Blige at a Mary J. Blige concert. It was a thrill for her to be on stage with Blige, who is an influence of hers, as well as have the opportuinity to minister to a secular crowd with Gospel music. Other artists she has shared the stage with include Mary, Mary, and Donnie McClurkin.
Kierra wants people to know that, while she does follow in a long line of great musicsl talents, she does have her own style and is very serious about her ministry. She is determined to show young people that they don't have to live in sin to have fun and enjoy life. I Owe You, she believes, demonstrates that the greatest joy in life is in singing and praising God.
Feeling Black Gospel Created by jcmosquera
