Blacksmoke recording artist, Lonnie Hunter, continues to savor a sweet comeback with his latest CD, “I’m Back.” The veteran choirmaster and nationally syndicated radio host came back strong a few months ago with the rousing track, “I’m Back”, which peaked at #15 on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart. Now, the Chicago native (living in the Philadelphia area where he tapes his daily, nationally syndicated, four-hour, “The Lonnie Hunter Show”, on the Radio One network) is at it again with a soulful springtime song of gratitude, “Anyway.” The song has shot up to #20 on the Mediabase National Gospel Radio Airplay chart that is published in USA Today every Tuesday.

The live track is crafted in a slick, soulful `70s vibe akin to slow jams by The Emotions and The Soul Children. As it opens, Hunter employs the spoken word rap style of Isaac Hayes’ first hits and says, “Grace is when you get more than you deserve. Mercy is when you don’t get exactly what you do deserve,” to scattered handclaps of agreement from the congregation gathered at Philadelphia’s Sharon Baptist Church. Then, Hunter’s choir Structure begins to seamlessly sing the tones of “don’t deserve it, so unworthy. Still, you bless me anyway.” They crescendo with, “So sorry, I’ve fallen short of Your word,” as Hunter sings the redemptive lines of the song to the audible delight of the audience.

“This song is so huge because it’s everybody’s testimony,” Hunter says. When you think of the words: I don’t deserve it, so unworthy but still You blessed me anyway. Who does not have that testimony? We do what we want to do and we say what we want to say and we still ask God for forgiveness. We still ask God to bless us. We still want God to cover us and what does He do? He blesses us anyway.”

The youngest of five children, Hunter was raised around Chicago’s gospel music community as his mother sang background for a variety of gospel artists. She died when he was eight years old and he vowed to fulfill her musical ambitions. Aside from a dual career in the public relations field and a three-year stint as a runway and print model, music has always been Hunter’s first love. He was a soloist for the U.S. Air Force Jazz Band and a celebrated gospel choir conductor. He’s best known for his work with the Voices of St. Mark Choir where he produced three CDs for Malaco Records resulting in the hits “Even Me” (The Drip Drop Song)”, “Let’s Dance” and “There’s Power In His Name”. He began his radio career with Chicago’s #1 WGCI gospel radio station before Radio One tapped him as a midday host for the syndicated, “The Lonnie Hunter Show,” that airs across the country. For more on Lonnie Hunter, log on at www.lonniehuntermusic.com or www.mrkerrydouglas.com

 

Hailing from San Antonio, Texas, southern belle Marlene Brehm took a chance and dropped everything she knew and made her move to the Golden State to pursue her dreams of music, acting and business….and what a success she has been thus far! With her work featured in Chicken Soup for the Marketing Soul and Success from Home Magazine, Marlene continues to expand her dreams in California by officially creating her first album, Reach The Sky, under Dream Records / EMI CMG.

Ever since she can remember, Marlene has been singing. At the age of seven, her mother took her to audition for Showstoppers where she performed about a 100 times a year singing and dancing with the group. Musicals were her focus up through her attendance at Webster University Conservatory of Theatre Arts where she was selected as one of 24 out of over 800 auditions. Here, she was able to professionally hone her musical and theatrical talents at one of “America’s best colleges” which has produced many Tony Award winning talents.

After college, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in pop music, TV and film. She landed roles on several commercials and TV shows including Without a Trace, That 70’s Show, and 8 Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter and was voted top 10 best bands on The Next Great American Band. She was even blessed with the opportunity of working with Five time Grammy Award winning writer/producer, Kuk Harrell. Marlene’s heart, however, longed to sing about her faith and make a difference in the world. When the opportunity was presented to go to India and help victims of human trafficking with International Princess Project, an organization that gives women freedom, she jumped right in… and life hasn’t been the same since.

Shortly upon her return, Marlene became a worship leader at New Hope Christian Fellowship and it was here that she was discovered and signed by Dream Records. Marlene’s much anticipated album consists of ten inspiring songs produced by 2010’s Dove Award winning Producer of the year, Rusty Varenkamp. Written like a book, the music portrays her own personal life with every song birthed from her greatest joys and the most heartfelt moments. One of her favorite songs, “Second Chances,” is a song dedicated to raise awareness and create a Call to Action against the silent war of victims of human trafficking.

Marlene’s voice and talent are definitely a refreshing new sound to the Christian music genre and she plans to continually build upon her music and broaden it in every way she can with future albums on the horizon.

As for Reach The Sky, this highly anticipated album is expected to debut September 18, 2012. For more information on Marlene Brehm check out: www.DreamRecords.org and www.MarleneBrehm.com

Four of the most successful performers in gospel music history, Kirk Franklin, Marvin Sapp, Donnie McClurkin and Israel Houghton, announce today that they will share the same stage for the very first time when they embark on The King’s Men concert tour this fall. The historic U.S. tour will hit major venues in 15 U.S. cities beginning on Sunday, September 16th at Comerica Theatre in Phoenix, AZ, and culminating in Brooklyn, NY at Barclays Center on Sunday, October 14th.

“In the Gospel world, this is like Springsteen, McCartney, Prince and Elton hitting the road together,” said Kevin Morrow, Senior Vice President of Touring at Live Nation. “It’s going to be a once in a lifetime event for music fans.”

Between these four gospel music giants, The King’s Men have taken home over a hundred GRAMMY®, Dove, Stellar, BET, Soul Train, NAACP and American Music Awards. They have appeared on countless mainstream television shows and moved millions of fans at their sold-out live concerts nationally and internationally. Now, for the first time ever, The King’s Men bring all of their incredible and inspirational talents together under the same roof for gospel, R&B and pop music fans across the country.

Kirk Franklin commented: “The opportunity to partner with Live Nation is a GREAT honor and responsibility. The genre of gospel music having this kind of massive marketing support is monumental, and the talent on this tour makes it a must-see event! I’m very proud of this relationship and I expect it to be a new groundbreaking platform for inspirational entertainment.”

Exclusive artist meet & greet and VIP ticket packages are available. Please visit http://vipnation.com for details.

KIRK FRANKLIN
For nearly two decades, Kirk Franklin has been a multi-platinum-selling purveyor of majestic fusions of gospel and contemporary music. Franklin is a pioneer in gap-bridging musicianship, uniting audiences across gospel, hip hop, pop and R&B. His irresistible rhythms and rhapsodies have resulted in albums that consistently top both Billboard’s Gospel and Christian charts, as well as ascend in to the Top 10 of the mainstream R&B/Hip Hop chart. Franklin is also the host and executive producer of the gospel talent show “Sunday Best,” the highest-rated gospel program in BET network history now heading into its fifth season. To date, Franklin has garnered nine GRAMMY® Awards, an American Music Award, 39 Stellar Awards, 16 Dove Awards (CCM), eight NAACP Image Awards, two BET Awards, a Soul Train Award, and numerous others.

MARVIN SAPP
Since his debut release in 1996, Marvin Sapp has been thrilling Gospel audiences everywhere with his acrobatic vocals and deep-within-the-heart delivery. He made history with his seventh album, Here I Am, which was the all-time highest charting gospel album in Billboard history, debuting at Number 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. His latest release, his ninth solo effort, is entitled I Win. He has won two BET awards, seven Dove Awards, multiple Stellar Awards and numerous others.

DONNIE MCCLURKIN
For a man who has declared that he may at any moment cease making music to concentrate fully on his passion for ministering, Donnie McClurkin has never stayed away from recording profoundly uplifting music for the soul for very long. Born in 1959, McClurkin was encouraged at an early age by the legendary Andrae’ Crouch, after his aunt became a singer in the Gospel great’s choir. Fighting through a rough home life and a battle with cancer, Donnie was eventually discovered and recorded a solo album. After an appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s top-rated television show, Donnie’s solo debut was catapulted to the upper regions of the Gospel charts and his career was born. Donnie has won three GRAMMY® Awards, as well as BET, Soul Train and Dove awards.

ISRAEL HOUGHTON
Israel Houghton is known by thousands for his day job as a worship leader at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. But since 1997 with the release of his debut album Whisper It Loud, Houghton has been recording and performing his music for Gospel fans all over the world. Since then he’s performed with such pop icons as Alicia Keys, performed at the 50th Annual GRAMMY® Awards, racking up two gold albums, six Dove Awards, two Stellar Awards, a Soul Train Award and four GRAMMY® Awards in the process.

 

There was no change among the top two spots on the charts.  Mary Mary and Marvin Sapp grab the #1 and #2 spots.  Surprisingly, Gospel legend Andrae Crouch continues to gain ground moving up to #3.  Crouch’s latest CD “The Journey” features the hit song “Let the Church Say Amen.”

Also, Gospel artist Regina Belle debuts her latest project “Higher” at #15 this week.  

See the Complete Top 10 Below:

1 | Mary Mary – Go Get It
2 | Marvin Sapp – I Win
3 | Andrae Crouch – The Journey
4 | WOW Gospel 2012
5 | William McDowell – Arise
6 | Zacardi Cortez – The Introduction
7 | Various Artists – Joyful Noise (Soundtrack)
8 | JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise – After This
9 | Jason Nelson – Shifting the Atmosphere
10 | James Fortune & FIYA – Identity

Next week, Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago will release their new album.  Look for that to do well.

 

Rodney King, the man who was at the center of the infamous Los Angeles riots, was found dead Sunday morning. He was 47. Our sources tell us that King’s fiancée, Cynthia Kelly, found him dead at the bottom of a swimming pool.

King recently marked the twentieth anniversary of the Los Angeles riots — the mayhem that took place after four police officers were acquitted of beating King in 1991. The beating, which was caught on camera, sparked national outrage and put King at the center of heated debate about the state of race relations in America.

CBS Los Angeles has released a radio interview with Rialto, California police Captain Randy De Anda, who says that King may have had some verbal contact with his fiancée, at which time she went outside and found him at the bottom of the pool.

“Rialto police officers responded to the location and removed him from inside of the pool and began CPR. The Rialto Fire Department paramedics responded and transported Mr. King to the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead at 6:11 a.m. this morning,” De Anda said.

Preliminary information showed no signs of foul play, he added.

In his memoir, “The Riot Within: My Journey From Rebellion to Redemption,” published earlier this year, King detailed the high-speed chase that led up to his beating on March 3, 1991 and how he went on to receive a $3.8 million settlement from the city of Los Angeles. Most of the money was lost, however, to bad investments, including a hip-hop record label he founded.

The 1992 riots, which were set off by the acquittals of the officers who beat King, lasted three days and left 55 people dead, more than 2,000 injured and swaths of Los Angeles on fire. At the height of the violence, King pleaded on television: “Can we all get along?”

In the two decades after he became the central figure in the riots, King was arrested several times, mostly for alcohol-related crimes. He later became a record company executive and a reality TV star, appearing on shows such as “Celebrity Rehab.”

In an interview earlier this year with The Associated Press, King said he was a happy man.

“America’s been good to me after I paid the price and stayed alive through it all,” he says. “This part of my life is the easy part now.”

 

Gospel’s brightest and newest singing sensation, Travis Malloy, is gearing up for the digital release of his self-titled sophomore project on June 29th, which will be available on all digital outlets via Malloy Entertainment.

Hailing from Pittsburgh, PA, with the release of his most intimate and transparent project to date, Travis Malloy is poised to join the ranks with some of Gospel’s most sought after and successful “twenty-something’s” that are quickly changing the face of Gospel like; Kierra Sheard, Jessica Reedy, Mali Music and Le’Andria Johnson.

Flexing his musical chops, Travis Malloy took on the surmountable task of writing and co-producing his entire project. “I have to admit I was a little nervous about spearheading my project, but my collaboration with some top producers like Larry Wilson (Lawrence Flowers & Intercession), Tommy Brown (Black Eyed Peas, J Lo.) and Darhyl Camper (Trey Songz, John Legend, R. Kelly) allowed this project to generate great songs.”

Travis Malloy is known as a passionate, heart felt songwriter, which is displayed on his sophomore project. Songs such as, the groove heavy “Very Good” and the moving worship ballad “Yes To Your Will”, featuring Tia Pittman, which are both being serviced to radio. Travis Malloy continues to usher in the presence of the Lord with the heartfelt adoration “Worship Medley” and the passionate reflection of “All the Glory”.

Travis Malloy hopes everyone who hears his sophomore project will be touched. “Everybody wants the promise, but nobody wants the process”. states Travis Malloy, “but I believe during the two-year process of this album, it was worth the blood, sweat and tears because of the ministry and anointing it contains. I want lives to be changed. Not only do I want to prick the hearts of people, but I also want to encourage and inspire.”

On June 29th at 7:30 pm, Travis Malloy will celebrate the release of his new project with the official digtial release party at Petra International Ministries (235 Eastgate Dr. Pittsburgh, PA 15235). Doors open at 7pm and will feature special guest Brother Hahz and Trini L. Massie & 4 The Caz of Christ, as well as other surprise guests!

For More Information contact Malloy Entertainment at malloyentertainment@gmail.com or (412)-390-6563 or visit www.travismalloymusic.com

 

Real Word Records artist Lil Prophet will be releasing his upcoming album The Revolution in stores through (via CLG distribution) on June 26th, 2012. You can expect features from Jeremiah Bonds, Pettidee, Rawsrvnt, Yaves, Kambino, Kelly Kelz and more.

Lil Prophet(a.k.a. Ryan Kelsie)
His ministry called Real Faith International has had him travelling all around, the country, and around the globe. Lil Prophet when asked about his ministry had this to say, “It’sbeen my heart to preach and God has completely opened doors and given me the opportunity to go out to speak in different cities, and in other countries. Its been truly a blessing working & on stage with so many ministers and artist through my career like Pettidee, Jeremiah Bonds, Bonafide (Grits), Rawsrvnt, Newly sign to Xist Music Yaves, Canton Jones, K-Drama, D-M.A.U.B., Brinson, Big Al, Mr. Del and so many more….”

A Revolution starts with Eph. 4:23. A daily renewing of your mind and spirit. We a lot of times want to make an impact in our cities, states, countries, etc, and that’s great! This album will challenge the believer to come to grips with their daily actions and thoughts. Asking themselves, “Do i have a personal daily relationship with Jesus Christ?” And if you do!? PRAISE GOD! If you don’t, now is the time to humble yourself, lay down all pride and, submit to Jesus Christ proclaiming he is Lord over your life.

LIL PROPHET AND THE REVOLUTION TOUR IS COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU!!

BOOK LIL PROPHET NOW!!!
BOOKINGRWR@GMAIL.COM
THEREALWORDRECORDS.COM
TWITTER.COM/LILPROPHET
FACEBOOK.COM/IAMPROP

Christian music’s preeminent soul singer Sean C. Johnson is on tour!  Sean’s effortless smooth grooving Neo Soul ballads and poetic hip hop infused style of worship can be experienced LIVE!  Sean has embarked on a 10-city tour to promote his Simply A Vessel Vol 3: Surrender All release which recently landed him at #2 Amazon Praise and Worship Chart, #3 Amazon Soul Chart and #4 Amazon Christian Contemporary Music Chart.  

Sean launched his Surrender All Tour in Dallas, TX and is set to impact the east to west coast – from Tennessee to California.  His Vol 3: edition is available online and continues to elevate the soul-singer as Christian and Gospel’s most popular Soul artist.

Acclaimed Actress, NAACP Image Award Nominee and Dove Award-Winning Singer TAMELA MANN is set to release her highly-anticipated Gospel CD BEST DAYS on August 14, 2012 through TillyMann Music Group Inc. and distributed by Central South Distribution. That week, Mann also celebrates the release of Sparkle, starring Jordin Sparks and Whitney Houston, in which she is featured playing the role of Houston’s best friend, “Sarah Waters.” The film hits theaters on August, 17, 2012. The first single from BEST DAYS, “Take Me To The King,” penned and produced by Tamela’s long-time friend and Gospel icon, Kirk Franklin, is taking radio by storm. The first week of release, the track was the most added and received most increased plays debuting at #20 on the Gospel chart. This week, “Take Me To The King” climbed to #11 on the Gospel radio chart. “I want to present music that people can be blessed by and that can be healing,” said Tamela about the new CD. “We have to put music out to keep people encouraged and keep lifting the body of Christ up, and even the ones that haven’t become Christians. We need to encourage them that the best thing that they could ever do is become a child of God.” Produced by Myron Butler and Kirk Franklin, the 12-song CD showcases Tamela’s powerful vocals and meaningful lyrics. The title track, penned by Butler, is a jubilant celebration of God’s promises.”It’s a very encouraging song and gives a lot of hope,” Tamela said. “It’s about looking back on your past, but not letting it take over your life. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Things will be better.” Surrounding the release of “Take Me To The King” to radio and in preparation of the CD release in August, a multi-city promo tour is scheduled for Tamela over the next few months, making stops at churches, radio stations and events across the country. Tamela will share new music from BEST DAYS, pre-sell CDs, and sign autographs for fans. Please stay tuned towww.tillymannmusic.com and www.facebook.com/davidtamelamann for her updated tour itinerary. In addition to launching her new CD, Tamela appears in the upcoming film Sparkle, in theaters on August 17. Sparkle, a remake of the 1976 film, tells the story of a young musical prodigy from a Harlem gospel choir, who is pushed into the limelight and struggles to become a star. The title character, Sparkle (Jordin Sparks) is the youngest of three sisters in the 1950’s girl group who faces issues that are tearing apart their family in her road to stardom. Along with Tamela and Sparks, the stellar cast also includes Houston, Derek Luke, Mike Epps, Carman Ejogo, Tika Sumpter, Omari Hardwick, Cee-Lo Green among others. To access Tamela’s online press page for downloads of her bio, CD cover, press images and more, and to stream her hit single “Take Me To The King,” please visit www.TamelaMannPress.com. Username: press Password: takemetotheking

ABOUT TAMELA MANN Tamela Mann is an accomplished NAACP Image Award nominated actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Starring as “Cora Simmons,” the loving and churchgoing “but woe to those who cross me” daughter of beloved Deacon Leroy Brown and the iconic Madea Simmons on the hit TBS comedy Tyler Perry’s Meet The Browns, Tamela makes millions laugh every week while she enjoys a unique personal double blessing. Continuing the role she originated in Perry’s 2004 play and 2008 film of the same name, the sassy, high spirited multi-talented singer and actress is able to work every day with David Mann, her husband who plays Leroy. Tamela’s highly successful, Dove Award-winning CD “The Master Plan” remained at the top of the Gospel sales chart for almost a year, and in 2010, Tamela released “The Master Plan Deluxe Edition” which contained not only all the songs from the best-seller, but David’s CD, “Mr. Brown’s Good Ol’ Time Church,” and a full bonus DVD of behind the scenes footage and music videos. Tamela and David’s new cooking and lifestyle show, “Hanging With The Manns,” will be coming to television this fall. For more information about Tamela Mann, visit http://www.tillymannmusic.com.