JGM Pick of the Week: August 7, 2018
August 8, 2018	Pick of the Week, Singles, Traditional Gospel Leave a comment 351 Views
"I Owe God a Praise" Jimmy Hicks & ACOJ From the Blacksmoke Music Worldwide album Waterway (release date: August 4, 2017) By Bob Marovich What I like about Jimmy Hicks is how he can transform a church song into what sounds like a big number from a gospel musical. Hicks and his Voices of Integrity did that with 2006's "Born Blessed" and "This Kind By Fasting and Prayer." He has done it again with "I Owe God a Praise," an effervescent hand-clapper featuring call-and-response with the Apostolic Church of Jesus (ACOJ) Choir and Hicks's favorite singing duet partner, Diana Hicks. The ...
JGM Pick of the Week: July 30, 2018
July 31, 2018	Contemporary Christian Music, Pick of the Week, Reviews, Singles Leave a comment 372 Views
"Give It All to Him" The Oladipo Sisters From The Rebirth (release date: June 10, 2018) www.oladiposisters.com By Bob Marovich Boston's Oladipo Sisters—nineteen-year-old Oladunni and seventeen-year-old Olayeni-make a joyful noise on "Give It All to Him." Though born in Massachusetts, the sisters' combination British and Nigerian heritage is on display in the song's simple melody and harmonies, and its lyrics of praise and worship. Their American experience comes through their gospel vocal techniques, including some delightfully improvised soprano notes at the end. The song is on the sisters' sophomore project, The Rebirth, which follows their 2011 debut The Mighty One and a couple ...
July 24, 2018	Christian Rap/Hip Hop, Pick of the Week, Reviews, Singles Leave a comment 459 Views
"Even Louder" Steven Malcolm feat. Leeland From the IVAV (Word Entertainment) EP The Second City, Pt. 2 (release date: June 8, 2018) www.StevenMalcolm.com By Bob Marovich "Even Louder," written by Steven Malcolm and Leeland Mooring, blends musical understatement with Malcolm's declarative rap about the many wonders of salvation. Its lullaby-like melody, incessant beat, atmospheric swirl of background voices (courtesy of Christian worship band Leeland), and string-laden interlude combine to create a captivating conclusion to Malcolm's second in a four-part EP series called The Second City. From Grand Rapids, Michigan, Steven Malcolm is part Jamaican and celebrates his roots on the EP ...
July 17, 2018	Pick of the Week, Singles, Traditional Gospel 1 Comment 404 Views
"Holy Ghost" Frozene Lott Hayes LotHay Music (2018) Available on iTunes By Bob Marovich You can be certain that a song titled "Holy Ghost" is going to be a church burner, and Frozene Hayes delivers on this promise. Supported by a chugging band and a choir of BGVs, Hayes sings about the exhilaration of salvation like a veteran church soloist. She has that deliciously raspy alto voice that can make "Happy Birthday to You" sound sanctified. She sang a live version of "Holy Ghost" at last month's Rhythm of Gospel Awards, where it was named Traditional Song of the Year. It brought ...
July 3, 2018	Contemporary Gospel, Pick of the Week, Reviews, Singles Leave a comment 411 Views
"Chainbreaker" Angela "Missy" Billups E'Mazin Entertainment (release date: May 15, 2018) Available digitally By Bob Marovich New York-based singer Angela "Missy" Billups is known for both traditional church wreckers and rhythmic praise ballads. Her latest single, "Chainbreaker," is right in the middle in terms of tempo, while the lyrics are consistent with the message she has sung at a variety of speeds: that God can release us from the physical and emotional chains that bind us. But you gotta believe. "Chainbreaker," which Billups sang to an appreciative audience at the Rhythm of Gospel Awards ceremony last month, was produced by ...
JGM Pick of the Week: June 25, 2018
June 26, 2018	Pick of the Week, Reviews, Singles, Traditional Gospel Leave a comment 411 Views
"Enter His Gates" Patrick Lundy and the Ministers of Music From the New Day Distribution CD By Faith www.plundymom.com By Bob Marovich Minister Patrick Lundy's musical instruction in the gospel and classical worlds are in evidence on the robust church rouser "Enter His Gates." Taking its text from Psalm 100:4, the song features full production, a solid backbeat, and stirring singing that evokes Ricky Dillard's work. The song belongs as much to the choir as to the single's fiery lead singers, Beverly Reynolds and Jacqulyn Sanders. The album version transitions into a praise break—'nuff said! The Georgia-born director and songwriter Lundy honed ...
June 19, 2018	Contemporary Gospel, Pick of the Week, Reviews, Singles Leave a comment 408 Views
"Are You Ready" Jason Champion My Block Records (release date: October 27, 2017) By Bob Marovich To a mid-tempo boogie-woogie rhythm, gospel singer Jason Champion asks the ultimate salvation question: are you ready for Jesus when He comes? He then lets loose with a couple of Sam Cooke yodels and declares he's ready – in fact, he already has his bags packed. Now that's ready. The song's loose and engaging doo-wop drive is given Technicolor treatment in Derek Banks' video, which depicts Champion dressed in retro clothes, driving a retro car, and playing a retro upright piano at an old farmhouse in ...
June 12, 2018	Pick of the Week, Praise & Worship, Reviews, Singles Leave a comment 424 Views
"If God" Casey J From the forthcoming Tyscot album The Gathering (single release date: June 25, 2018) www.tyscot.com Bob Marovich As a schoolteacher, Casey J has had to ask lots of hard questions. So it's not surprising that on her new single, "If God," she wonders aloud why there is still cancer, still violence, and "so much disease." More questions than answers, certainly, but she and her background vocalists find solace in the question posed in Romans 8:31: "If God be for us, who can be against us?" Seemingly based on an old hymn melody, the song riffs on the ...
May 30, 2018	Pick of the Week, Singles, Traditional Gospel Leave a comment 413 Views
"Prayer Changes Things" Adriann Lewis-Freeman D.A.F. Entertainment Group (release date: May 12, 2017) By Bob Marovich The former lead singer of the female gospel group RiZen takes us to church with her solo debut, "Prayer Changes Things." Produced by her brother, Ay'Ron Lewis, and supported by effervescent background singers and musicians, the song finds Adriann Lewis-Freeman getting downright evangelistic as she advises listeners to "turn it over to the Lord" because "He will work it out and come through for you." Lewis-Freeman sings from experience, having dealt with a cervical cancer diagnosis, the challenges of single motherhood, and having a ...
"Keys to the Kingdom" Min. David Whitfield & Whitfield Productions, feat. Lena Starks Choirboi Records (release date: March 16, 2018) By Bob Marovich On this church rouser, Angelique "Lena" Starks, a sparkplug of a lead vocalist, breaks it down: you don't have to be rich, or a doctor or lawyer, or even a warrior, to make it to Heaven. Just "be holy, be righteous," she sings. Known to enjoy singing to a quick tempo, Starks gets downright evangelistic on the vamp as the choir supports her with lyric responses and handclaps. Min. David Whitfield & Whitfield Productions carries on the ...