Monthly Archives: October 2009

The Official 2010 Stellar Awards Nominees List

James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award: Lee Williams & The Spiritual QC’s

Thomas A Dorsey Notable Achievement Award: Mississippi Mass Choir

Dr. Bobby Jones Legend Award: Edwin Hawkins

Artist of the Year
Donald Lawrence – The Law of Confession Part 1
Hezekiah Walker and Love Fellowship Choir – Souled Out
Kierra Sheard – Bold Right Life
Vickie Winans – How I Got Over

Song of the Year
"Back II Eden" – Donald Lawrence, The Law of Confession Part 1
"I Am Souled Out"- Hezekiah Walker and Love Fellowship Choir, Souled Out
"God in Me" – Mary Mary, The Sound
"How I Got Over" – Vickie Winans, How I Got Over

Male Vocalist of the Year
Israel Houghton – The Power of One
Philip Carter – Songs from the Storm
Smokie Norful – Smokie Norful Live
Stephen Hurd – Times of Refreshing

Female Vocalist of the Year
Crystal Aikin – Crystal Aikin
Kierra Sheard – Bold Right Life
Niyoki – Rest
Vickie Winans – How I Got Over

Group/Duo of the Year
Donald Lawrence – The Law of Confession Part 1
Kurt Carr & The Kurt Carr Singers – Just The Beginning
Lisa Knowles & The Brown Singers – Experience The Evolution
Mary Mary – The Sound

New Artist of the Year
CoCo McMillan – I’ve Been Delivered
Crystal Aikin – Crystal Aikin
Kim Ruff – Ready To Live
Shari Addison – Shari Addison

CD of the Year
Donald Lawrence – The Law of Confession Part 1
Hezekiah Walker and Love Fellowship Choir – Souled Out
Smokie Norful – Smokie Norful Live
Vickie Winans – How I Got Over

Choir of the Year
Hezekiah Walker and Love Fellowship Choir – Souled Out
Joe Leavell & St. Stephen Temple Choir – God Is Able
Malcolm Williams & Great Faith – In Your Glory
Philip Carter & SOV – Songs from the Storm

Producer of the Year
Donald Lawrence & Daniel Weatherspoon for The Law of Confession Part 1
Philip Carter and Michael Smith for Songs from the Storm
Troy Sneed, Derrieux Edgecombe and Titus Robertson for In Due Season
Vickie Winans for How I Got Over

Contemporary Group/Duo of the Year
5AM Praise – The Beginning
Christopher Page & The Dream Keeper’s Ensemble – A Page From My Heart
Donald Lawrence – The Law of Confession Part 1
Mary Mary – The Sound

Traditional Group/Duo of the Year
Endurance – The Best of Endurance and More
Greg O’Quin & iPraize – After The Storm
Lee Williams & The Spiritual QC’s – Fall On Me
Lisa Knowles & The Brown Singers – Experience The Evolution

Contemporary Male of the Year
Darwin Hobbs – Free
Earl Bynum – Open My Heart
Smokie Norful – Smokie Norful Live
Troy Sneed – In Due Season

Traditional Male of the Year
Bishop Paul S. Morton – Cry Your Last Tear
Donnie McClurkin – We All Are One (Live in Detroit)
Malcolm Williams – In Your Glory
Philip Carter – Songs from the Storm

Contemporary Female of the Year
Crystal Aikin – Crystal Aikin
Kim Burrell – No Ways Tired
Kierra Sheard – Bold Right Life
Kim Ruff – Ready To Live

Traditional Female of the Year
Dorothy Norwood – 50 Years: It’s Been Worth It All
Dottie Peoples – Do It!
Shari Addison – Shari Addison
Vickie Winans – How I Got Over

Contemporary CD of the Year
Crystal Aikin – Crystal Aikin
Donald Lawrence – The Law of Confession Part 1
Hezekiah Walker and Love Fellowship Choir – Souled Out
Kierra Sheard – Bold Right Life

Traditional CD of the Year
Bishop Paul S. Morton & The FGBCF Mass Choir – Cry Your Last Tear
Malcolm Williams & Great Faith – In Your Glory
Philip Carter & SOV – Songs from the Storm
Shari Addison – Shari Addison

Urban/ Inspirational Single / Performance of the Year
"Let the Word Do the Work" – Donald Lawrence & Company, The Law of Confession Part 1
"God in Me" – Mary Mary, The Sound
"Joy" – Niyoki, Rest
"How I Got Over" – Vickie Winans, How I Got Over

Music Video of the Year
Dr. Bobby Jones presents Renee Spearman & Prez – Dr. Bobby Jones presents Renee Spearman & Prez
Gerald Hinton – I’m On My Way
Niyoki – Joy/Rest
Vickie Winans – How I Got Over

Contemporary Choir of the Year
Earl Bynum Ministries – Open My Heart
Hezekiah Walker and Love Fellowship Choir – Souled Out
Mike McCoy & Voices United – Continue to Continue
New Direction – Destiny

Traditional Choir of the Year
Bishop Paul S. Morton & The FGBCF Mass Choir – Cry Your Last Tear
Joe Leavell & St. Stephen Temple Choir – God Is Able
Malcolm Williams & Great Faith – In Your Glory
Philip Carter & SOV – Songs from the Storm

Special Event CD of the Year
Dorothy Norwood – 50 Years: It’s Been Worth It All
Endurance – The Best of Endurance and More
Reverend Timothy Wright – The Godfather of Gospel
The Clark Sisters, J. Moss & Kierra Sheard – Silky Soul Music: A Tribute to Maze

Instrumental CD of the Year
Ben Tankard – Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
Daniel Weatherspoon – Official
Derrick Scott – The Seed of Kenaniah, The Total Experience
Mel Holder – Music Book Vol. 1

Rap/Hip Hop Gospel CD of the Year
Da’ T.R.U.T.H. – The Big Picture
Dooney Da Priest – Pull Your Pants Up!
Lecrae – Rebel
Papa San – Higher Heights

Children’s Performance of the Year
Eva Sabiniano feat. Alex Duncan – Born to Praise CD-2
Pure N Heart (Children’s Choir) – Pure-N-Heart Live
Rev. Dr. Emory Andrews & Oxon Hill High School Choir – Amazing
The Velazquez Family Singers – Family & Friends

Quartet of the Year
Endurance, The Best of Endurance & More – SCCME Records
Lee Williams & The Spiritual QC’s, Fall On Me – MCG Records
Lisa Knowles & The Brown Singers – Experience The Evolution
The Soul Stirrers – A Soul Stirring Reunion

Recorded Music Package of the Year
Chris Fieldman for Deitrick Haddon – Revealed
Denise Trotman for Donald Lawrence – The Confession Part 1
Lucretia Knight for Vickie Winans – How I Got Over
Sam Noerr, BOERHAUS for Israel Houghton – The Power of One

Praise & Worship CD of the Year
Israel Houghton – The Power of One
Kathy Taylor – Live: The Worship Experience
Micah Stampley – Ransomed
Stephen Hurd – Times of Refreshing

This post was written by admin | October 30, 2009

Ann Nesby Readies ‘Soulful Christmas’ DVD and Holiday TV Special

Atlanta, GA – Closing out a remarkable year in music, Ann Nesby , the two-time Grammy award winning former lead vocalist to the Sounds of Blackness readies the release of her latest musical offering ‘Ann Nesby’s a Soulful Christmas’ for the 2009 holiday season.

‘Soulful Christmas’ released on Nesby’s It’s Time Child Records in association with Tyscot Records follows her acclaimed The Lula Lee Project album which debuted at #13 on Billboard’s Top Gospel album chart and #57 respectively on the R&B chart this year.

Spending the summer promoting The Lula Lee Project , she taped ‘Soulful Christmas’ with a live band at the Gospel Music Channel studios in Atlanta in front of a live studio audience.

"I wanted to be used by God to help them usher in the masses into the holiday season," says Nesby who excitingly marks this as her first ever Christmas show collection.

‘Soulful Christmas’ highlights a few of the most noted holiday anthems sung only as Ann Nesby could deliver – "Jesus, What a Wonderful Child" leads the musical montage setting the tone for cheerful yuletide, the classically melodic "Silent Night " finds an appropriate spot on this Christmas set, to her holiday staple from the Sounds of Blackness, "Soul Holiday," featuring Grammy award winning songwriter/singer Big Jim Wright, musical director of the new hit BET late night talk show the Mo’Nique Show.

Nesby also revisits a few of her other popular inspirational tunes from Sounds of Blackness and her own solo musical repertoire to round out ‘Soulful Christmas’ – "I Believe," "Going All the Way," "So Much Joy," to her recent radio single, "I Found a Place."

‘Ann Nesby’s a Soulful Christmas’ DVD will arrive in stores November 3, 2009 . To promote ‘Soulful Christmas,’ The Gospel Music Channel will air Nesby’s holiday special air nationally on Sunday, November 29, 2009 at 8pm with an encore at 11pm . The Gospel Music Channel will re-air the TV special through the end of December.

This post was written by admin | October 29, 2009

Test

This post was written by admin | October 28, 2009

Test

This post was written by admin | October 28, 2009

Spike Lee Calls Out Tyler Perry: Calls Perry’s Work “coonery and buffoonery”

Tyler Perry to Spike Lee: “I would love to read that to my fan base.”

Once upon a time (i.e. this past spring), Spike Lee Called Out Tyler Perry:

“Each artist should be allowed to pursue their artistic endeavors but I still think there is a lot of stuff out today that is “coonery” and buffoonery. I know it’s making a lot of money and breaking records, but we can do better. … I am a huge basketball fan, and when I watch the games on TNT, I see these two ads for these two shows (Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns” and “House of Payne”) and I am scratching my head. … We got a Black president and we going back to Mantan Moreland and Sleep ‘n’ Eat?”

Spike goes on to say:

“We’ve had this discussion back and forth. When John Singleton [made “Boyz in the Hood”], people came out to see it. But when he did “Rosewood,” nobody showed up. So a lot of this is on us! You vote with your pocketbook, your wallet. You vote with your time sitting in front of the idiot box, and [Tyler Perry] has a huge audience. We shouldn’t think that Tyler Perry is going to make the same film that I am going to make, or that John Singleton or my cousin Malcolm Lee [would make]. As African Americans, we’re not one monolithic group so there is room for all of that. But at the same time, for me, the imaging is troubling and it harkens back to “Amos n’ Andy.””

TP responded to Lee on “60 Minutes” by saying:

“You know, that pisses me off. It really does. Because it’s so insulting. It’s attitudes like that that make Hollywood think that these people do not exist and that’s why there’s no material speaking to them. I would love to read that to my fan base. [The characters are] disarming, charming, make-you-laugh bait so I can slap Madea in something and talk about God, love, faith, forgiveness, family, any of those things.”

Sadly, this is just one more internal debate amongst African Americans being hashed out on a national platform and it’s almost impossible not to take sides given our history in this country. Alas, what’s done is done, and the battle wages on.

Spike’s commitment to uplifting the Black community throughout his accomplished career is unquestionable. Upon reflecting on his catalogue of work, it’s also pretty evident that he’s a proponent for progress in general as he strives to present stories that deal with a myriad of themes from coming-of-age (Crooklyn) and homosexuality (She Hate Me). Within each film, he manages to capture the intricacies of every day life, but always with the African American audience in mind.

Nevertheless, it’s clear that Tyler aims to uplift our community as well, covering subject matters that affect many Black Americans with humor and hope. We’ve all witnessed the evolution of his Spike Lee’s film career over the past 2 decades. Perhaps in another 15 years or so, Perry’s body of work will show that he is, in fact, not in the business of ‘holding us back.’ Some of his recent films have been absent of the alleged “coonery” of which Lee speaks. “Why Did I Get Married” is a prime example free of minstrel-like imagery.

Many are inclined to focus on the debate between these two dynamic gentlemen, but a large portion of the contention belongs to the big film studios. If they didn’t back and distribute Perry’s films (or any films accused of perpetuating stereotypes) this debate would not exist.

Sure, many cringe when they see Madea pull a gun out from under her dress or the eye popping of that fellow from “Meet the Blacks/Browns,” but many of us find that stuff pretty hilarious too. Is it possible that both Perry and Lee only differ in the manner in which they present similar ideals or is this a case of “progress vs. regress”? To echo Lee’s initial statement, every artist should be allowed to pursue their artistic endeavors. But like the saying goes, “with great power, comes great responsibility.”

So what do you think? – Buffonery, or not buffonery: that is the question.

Written By: Sky Obercam – Clutch Magazine

This post was written by admin | October 27, 2009

Tina OF ‘MARY MARY’ HAD A BABY

Mary Mary’s Tina Campbell gave birth to a baby boy Tuesday, Oct. 20th.

According to GospelFlava.com, Campbell and her husband, Soul Seekers member Teddy Campbell, welcomed TJ into the world weighing seven pounds.

This is the third child for the couple.

Campbell’s sister and group partner, Erica, has announced that she is three months pregnant with her second child.

She is married to producer Warren Campbell.

This post was written by admin | October 27, 2009

BeBe & CeCe Grace the Cover of Jet Magazine This Week

The reunion of BeBe & CeCe Winans is the cover story in this week’s Jet magazine. In the interview with Jet Senior Editor Clarence Waldron, the duo known for R&B and gospel crossover hits such as "Addictive Love" and "I’ll take You There", discuss the death of their father, and what took them so long to record again after a 15 year hiatus.

Another powerful story is the companion article entitled "Gospel Vs. Inspirational: Is There A Difference?"

In this piece, gospel heavyweights such as Bryan Wilson, Shirley Caesar, Donald Lawrence, Vickie Winans and others debate what defines gospel music and separates it from inspirational music.

Media Contact:
Bill Carpenter at (202) 506-5051 or carpbil@aol.com

This post was written by admin | October 27, 2009

Trin-I-Tee 5:7 to Release Christmas album

Trin-i-tee 5:7 will release their first Christmas cd/dvd, Love * Peace * Joy at Christmas on October 27 on Spirit Rising/Music World Music.

The package includes 11 tracks and a bonus DVD of five holiday classics performed by Trin-i-tee 5:7 from the recent TV special, Gospel Music Channel presents Christmas at Union Station.  A special bonus track by gospel recording artist Brian Courtney Wilson rounds out the collection.
 

Produced by Music World Production team The Bama Boyz (Beyoncé & Solange), Love * Peace * Joy at Christmas is sure to have something for T57 fans and all Christmas music lovers around the world.

Love * Peace * Joy at Christmas includes season standards, "Joy to the World," "Winter Wonderland," "Silent Night," "O Holy Night," "The Christmas Song," "Little Drummer Boy," a jazz inspired rendition of "White Christmas," a soulful remake of Michael Jackson’s "Give Love on Christmas Day" and Contemporary Christian favorites "Mary Did You Know" and "Welcome to My World" are pleasant surprises.  Brian Courtney Wilson lends his re-recorded Donny Hathaway’s "This Christmas" as a bonus track to the package.  Live recorded performances on DVD include, "Winter Wonderland," "O Holy Night," "Silent Night," "This Christmas" and "The Christmas Song."

This post was written by admin | October 7, 2009

Kirk Franklin Performs At Concert Of The Decade

Christian and Gospel music’s premier artists will gather in Nashville on Monday, Oct. 12 to unite in support of the Gospel Music Association with an exclusive dinner concert at Nashville’s famed Loveless Café. The benefit concert will be streamed live at www.concertofthedecade.com

Five-time Dove Award Producer of the Year Brown Bannister will produce the spectacular evening of entertainment, which will include performances from Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Casting Crowns, MercyMe, Natalie Grant, Kirk Franklin and The Booth Brothers. Bannister and the artists have all donated their time and expenses to support the GMA.

"It’s an honor to join Casting Crowns, Amy, Kirk, MercyMe, and all of the other artists on this lineup, in support of the GMA," shares industry leader and award winning artist, Michael W. Smith. "This organization has been an incredible support to so many of us as we’ve built our ministries and careers, and we want to do all we can to help ensure a solid platform from which it can operate."

According to Ed Leonard, chairman of the GMA Board of Directors (and president of Daywind Music), these incredible artists responded immediately to support the "Save the GMA" event created in response to financial needs the GMA has, in part due to the economic recession.

"In a time of restricted sponsorship dollar availability and financial hardships faced by many in our community, the GMA has continued to be there for all of us, offering first class events, tackling important legislative issues and promoting the genre to the world through the Dove Awards. The organization faces financial obstacles that require all of our help to overcome. This dinner concert is a way to not only ensure the viability of GMA in the future, but to have the concert experience of a lifetime," Leonard said.

Leonard stressed that the special event is intended to do more than just "save the GMA" and that the Board of Directors is committed to building a GMA that is relevant for the future." "We all believe in the power of Christian and Gospel music to change lives," he said. "The GMA allows us to join together, setting aside personal agendas, to accomplish things we cannot accomplish separately, to ultimately extend the reach of the good news of the Gospel through music of all styles. That is a mission worth pursuing."

This post was written by admin | October 7, 2009

New CD: Canton Jones to Release Kingdom Business 2

Atlanta native and hip-hop favorite Canton Jones returns with his latest release Kingdome Business 2.

This album is the sequel to Kingdom Business, which produced the hits "Hater Day" and "My Day.

According to Gospelflava.com, Jones won four Stellar award nominations for work on his last CD. This new project, which is recorded with members of the CAJO (Canton Jones) Family is in stores Oct. 6.

His first album, 20 Years, 3 Months & 12 Days, came in 2003, and one year later he completed The Password. His breakthrough came in the summer of 2005 with the release of Love Jones, which made its debut on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart at No. 11.

This post was written by admin | October 5, 2009

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