James “Jazzy” Jordan, executive vice president, Verity Gospel Music Group, today announced that the label has added Latice Crawford-Spain to its roster. Crawford-Spain is perhaps best known as a finalist in the second season of BET’s highly successful gospel music talent search, Sunday Best. A crowd favorite with a small frame and a big voice, Crawford-Spain left an indelible mark in the Gospel music industry since being introduced to the nation as a contestant on the show in 2009. About her new deal with Verity, Crawford-Spain says “I’ve waited to be here for three years, Verity was always the place that I wanted to be once I accepted the whole singing as a career thing…I’m super excited.”

“We’re looking forward to great things from Latice,” says Jordan. “She is the total package, she has an outstanding voice, she is a true worshipper, and she is a gifted writer. Latice has a clear vision for where she wants her music ministry to go, and we look forward to working with her to get there.”

In this picture, finalizing Crawford-Spain’s Recording Agreement, are L-R: Roger Skelton, SVP Business & Legal Affairs, RCA Music Group; James “Jazzy” Jordan, Executive Vice President, Verity Gospel Music Group; Latice Crawford-Spain; Rashan Staley, manager; Kojo Benil, attorney.

Photo Credit: B. Jeffrey Grant-Clark

Stanley Brown, former Sunday Best music director, and Senior Director, A&R, for Verity Gospel Music Group, says: “I think Latice is one of the strongest female vocalists in Gospel music. She has great tone, she’s a great song stylist, but she also has a captivating stage presence that makes her unforgettable.”

Crawford-Spain says that her experience on Sunday Best propelled her to pursue singing professionally. “I never wanted to sing; the effect of Sunday Best hit me after the show began airing. I would get approached by people who were transformed by Sunday Best and who talked about how certain performances effected their lives. Music is a life changer, and those stories made me want to do this for a living; they made me want to walk in my calling.”

Crawford-Spain says of her debut, “I definitely want this CD to be an uplifting album for women and girls – women are so materialized in society, I want to reiterate who we are in Christ. We have ministries and we have callings just like everyone else does. I just want a kingdom album, I don’t want it to be classified as church music, etc…I just want to do music that uplifts the kingdom and brings people back to the kingdom. I want something classic; something timeless. I want the old feeling of music back; real lyrics, real feelings that convict somebody’s heart and make them want to change.”

The daughter of a preacher, Latice Crawford-Spain grew up in the Bronx and Queens, New York. She is married to Jeff Spain, another Sunday Best season two contestant. The two met on the show. Crawford-Spain currently splits her time between Atlanta and New York and occasionally leads praise & worship, along with her husband, at Wisdom Chapel International in the Bronx.

Bishop T.D. Jakes’ new book may have come out at just the right time—a time when the nation has been rocked by the untimely death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla.

Seventeen-year-old Martin died on Feb. 26 at the hand of George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old who claimed self-defense. Martin’s death has rallied the multicultural masses to demand justice.

Jakes was on MSN’s Jansing & Co. show to discuss the Martin case and forgiveness, the topic of his new book Let it Go. On the show, Chris Jansing, the host of Jansing & Co., asked the Dallas megachurch pastor if he agrees with Sybrina Fulton, Martin’s mother, that the police and the media are trying to kill her son’s reputation by calling him a hoodlum.

“I think we’re really trying to gather all the facts. I think it’s prudent upon us that we do that. Had we not applied the pressure that we did, I’m not sure that those facts would have come out as succinctly as they are coming out now,” Jakes told Jansing.

“Every parent has teenagers who go through adolescence but you don’t want your children to be profiled. And we want to make sure that is not the case, I’m not saying that it is but we need to make sure that that is not the case and that justice is not misappropriated.”

Jakes did question, however, why Zimmerman has not been arrested.

“I think that if the shoe were on the other foot—had it been Trayvon who had killed some other child in some other situation—then he would have been arrested,” Jakes argued.

Jakes also appeared on Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien on CNN. He told O’Brien that forgiveness is connected with personal healing rather than exonerating the perpetrator.

“Forgiveness says I’m not going to allow myself, 10 years from now, to still be sitting on the side of the bed seething in anger at the individual,” Jakes said. “That I have to find a way to move forward, and that I unhitch myself from this incident and move on with my life.”

Click Here to watch the video-taped interview. 

This week, BEC Recordings’ KJ-52 released his seventh studio album, Dangerous, which debuted in the Top 10 on the iTunes® Christian & Gospel Album chart this week. The title track is climbing the radio charts — at CHR the song is New and Active this week, and at Rock it has moved into the Top 25. Fans can also Tweet to unlock, listen and enter to win a promotion by clicking on this link.

Dangerous comes after 11 years in the music industry and more than 575,000 albums sold for this hip-hop veteran. In addition to KJ overseeing the album, it includes tag teams with producers Tedd T. (Mute Math, Delirious) and Aaron Sprinkle (Deftones, Hawk Nelson, Jeremy Camp). Fans will recognize the special guest vocals, which include GRAMMY®-nominated Lecrae (“They Like Me”) Canton Jones (“It’s Going Down”), Dre Murray (“That Was My Life”), George Moss (“Do the Bill Cosby”), Thi’sl (“Shake ‘Em Up”) Rhema Soul (“Speed That Light”) and Emily of Shine Bright Baby (“So Far Apart”).

Here is what the media are saying about KJ-52’s latest effort:

“KJ-52 can be unapologetically straightforward about faith. His latest has the high production value of something like Kanye West or the Black Eyed Peas, but the subject matter is youth-group ready.” – Christianity Today

“Dangerous is KJ’s best album to date. He’s created a great project for long-time fans and will definitely win some new converts.” – C. E’Jon Moore, The Christian Manifesto

“His seventh solo album, Dangerous brings with it every reason why he is still at the top of his game.” – ChristianMusicZine

“This release is filled with Christ-driven themes, fun-laced flavor, and sweet beats that are worthy to played at any house party.”
– JesusFreakHideout.com

“Kj-52 is a pro at blending humor, hope, and depth into every album, while still keeping the energy of hip-hop alive and movin’. Just like the artist who created it, Dangerous is diverse and unlike any other in its genre. It’s clear that even after eleven years of creating music, KJ-52 hasn’t lost a beat.” – NewReleaseTuesday.com

KJ-52 is taking this new album on the road for the upcoming 4thirty1 Experience. For complete tour dates and information visit his Facebook page.

About KJ-52:
Releasing his debut project in 2000, KJ-52 continued to do his “thing” five records later for a total of six projects released. Three of his four titles have scanned over 100,000 units-the only Christian hip-hop artist in history to do so. KJ-52 has become one of the most trusted names in music as a songwriter, producer, minister, and comic poet. KJ-52 is a six-time Dove Award winner.

In an exclusive interview with the CBN’s 700 Club, Riva Tims speaks about her late ex-husband Pastor Zachery Tims and her new book “When it All Falls Apart.”

CBN.com reports that in just a few short years, Pastor Zachery and Co-pastor Riva Tims, his wife of 15 years, grew their church of 5 to an astonishing 8,000- member congregation. But the pressure of their meteoric rise would eventually take its toll… on their marriage, on their ministry, and on the life of pastor Zachery Tims. 

Riva Tims has spoken very little about the events that lead up to the death of her ex-husband…. Until now.

“I loved that he had a boldness about him. He wasn’t afraid. He was always thinking big… doing things grand.  And that really pulled me in.”

Zachery and Riva were 22 when they first met at church. With a shared passion to win souls to Jesus they married and shortly thereafter ventured out to start a ministry in Orlando, Florida.

“We labeled ourselves an outreach ministry. So our whole goal was to pull people in from the street, not to pull them from other churches, but really to get those that were unsaved. And I think the people felt our love, they felt our sincerity, and we were young. We had a lot of zeal for the Lord, a lot of excitement.”

“If God said, ‘Go on TV.’ we had the faith to do it.  If God said, ‘Go into the community,’ we just had the faith to do it.” 

But as church membership grew at an astonishing rate so did their stature in the church world.

“It becomes an empire. It becomes your own name that’s highlighted. And it becomes about you when that’s never how it’s supposed to be. Everything ought to point to Jesus! Everything ought to point to the Lord.”

“And if you’re not careful, they’ll begin to worship you more than they worship God.”

“In the beginning it did not affect us. He used to put on the back wall, HUMILITY, a huge sign. So every time he preached he would see that. But then when we moved to our last building, and TV, you know, we were on national television people were calling all the time, it started to infiltrate the church.

And began to interfere in their marriage.

“There was somewhat of a distance that began to take place. I could still connect, but I knew that there was something different.”

“The travel – When he began to travel a lot and wouldn’t allow me to go. Then I knew something was wrong.”

“It was always a reason why I couldn’t go. That’s when I knew.”

Click Here to Read the full report on CBN.com
 

A former student opened fire at a private Christian university in California on Monday, killing seven people.

The shooting started around midmorning at Oikos University, a vocational school offering studies in Asian medicine, theology, music and nursing in Oakland, Calif.

A police manhunt resulted in the capture of a suspect at a shopping center around three miles away. Oakland’s Police Chief Howard Jordan said a man identified as 43-year-old One L. Goh surrendered about one hour after the shooting.

Goh, a Korean national and former nursing student at the school, reportedly arrived on campus with the “the intent of locating an administrator. He then went through the entire building systematically and randomly shooting people,” Jordan told ABC News’ Good Morning America.

Jordan said police had learned “the suspect was upset with the administration at the school. He was also upset that students in the past, when he attended the school, mistreated him, disrespected him, and things of that nature.”

According to Jordan, the police do not yet have a motive. But he added that Goh was having behavioral problems at the university and was asked to leave several months ago. He said Goh was a “chaotic, calculated and determined gentleman,” and that it was his intention to kill people.

Police responded to several 911 calls after the first report was called in at 10:33 a.m., and found what Jordan described to be “an extremely chaotic scene.”

Goh allegedly shot 10 adults at the university, Jordan said at a news conference Monday evening. According to police, five victims were pronounced dead on the scene, and two died in the hospital. Jordan said the other three victims who were injured at the scene were taken to a hospital and are expected to survive.

Pastor Jong Kim, who founded the school about 10 years ago, told the Oakland Tribune that heard about 30 rapid-fire gunshots in the building.

“I stayed in my office,” he said.

Deborah Lee, who was in an English language class, told the Associated Press she heard five to six gunshots at first. “The teacher said, ‘Run,’ and we run,” she was reported as saying. “I was OK, because I know God protects me. I’m not afraid of him.”

According to a teacher at the school, many of the students at Oikos are Korean.

“We need to pull together to support the Korean community,” Mayor Jean Quan was reported saying in a CBS San Francisco report. “We need to put our arms around these people and do our best to bring peace back to the city”

Representatives of Korean Methodist Church in Oakland said at the news conference that a memorial service is scheduled for Tuesday evening. It is tentatively planned for 6 p.m. At 303 Hudson St.

Quan said the location may change in order to accommodate a larger group.

“This is the kind of incident that hurts the entire community,” she said. “We won’t understand the situation immediately, and the community will ask questions about it for a long time.”

Read More from Charisma Magazine. 

Holly Spears’ new full-length album, Heartache to Hope (Girl on a Mission Music) released today. Produced by Mitch Dane (Jars of Clay, Bebo Norman, Caedmon’s Call) and featuring vocal, bass, keyboard and mastering support from multi-platinum rockers Jars of Clay, the album is available in select retail stores and through digital providers iTunes® and Amazon.com, among others.

Leading up to the release, Spears has been busy supporting the album with a media campaign that has included stops at The Harvest Show, Live From Studio B, Atlanta Live, Rehoboth TV, Cincinnati’s Fox 19 Morning News and Nashville’s More at Midday.

NewReleaseTuesday.com’s Kevin Davis named Heartache to Hope to his “My Top 25 Albums of 2012” list, and called the collection “the most transparent, vulnerable and authentic songs I’ve heard in quite a while.” 

Christianity Today’s Andy Argyrakis also raved about the record, noting that “Producer Mitch Dane (Jars of Clay, Bebo Norman) works the magic that puts her in the same angelic ballpark as Sarah McLachlan and Natalie Merchant.” 

Spears has just released her debut singles, “Learning to Love” (Christian Radio) and “Watch Over Me” (Pop formats) which has a companion music video. 

When not on the road for concert appearances and promotional events, Spears is busy planning a wedding. The newly engaged songstress accepted a proposal from her bass player, Matt Gandenberger, at their rehearsal space on March 1st.

Spears’ 2009 indie release, Redemption Road, landed her music on network shows on MTV and VH1, and led to concert appearances alongside such notables as Blessid Union of Souls, Spin Doctors, Gin Blossoms and Roger McGuinn of The Byrds, among others. 

For more information, visit www.hollyspears.com.

Cissy Houston, the mother of Whitney Houston breaks her silence on the death of Whitney. In an exclusive two-part interview with MY Fox Philly, Cissy Houston told the network that she was able to come back to church 4 weeks after the funeral.

The exclusive interview took place at the same church where Whitney Houston grew up in. The same church where she was buried in, New Hope Baptist Church.

Cissy was asked if she would do anything different as a mother, and Cissy said, “Nothing.” “I don’t blame me for anything, because I know I did the best I could.” When asked about the days after Whitney’s death, Cissy Houston says “the media is awful.”

Check out part one of the interview below.

MTV.com and VH1.com will premiere the official video for NEEDTOBREATHE’s latest single “Keep Your Eyes Open”, today April 2nd. The captivating video, a perfect compliment to the memorable song, can be seen below.

NEEDTOBREATHE will perform “Keep Your Eyes Open” on Jimmy Kimmel Live this Thursday, April 5th.

The Charleston, SC band is currently on a widely successful national headlining tour in support of their late 2011 release, The Reckoning. The Reckoning Tour has already included two sold-out performances at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium, along with sellouts in Austin, Denver, Chicago, Toronto, Minneapolis and Washington. The group will wrap up their tour in Clemson, SC on April 27th before playing the Beale Street Festival in Memphis with My Morning Jacket & Florence & The Machine, and the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Tour dates are listed below.

NEEDTOBREATHE has earned critical acclaim for The Reckoning, which debuted at #6 on the Billboard Top 200. From USA Today and Rolling Stone, to Entertainment Weekly and Relix, The New York Times raves, “this gifted band makes anthemic Southern rock that … is beginning to reach for the far seats of the arena.”

Thursday’s performance on Kimmel follows successful late-night television appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Late show with Craig Ferguson. Watch NEEDTOBREATHE perform song Drive All Night on Letterman here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zzOQmdkSVQ

NEEDTOBREATHE.net has officially re-launched and is a definitive source for everything NEEDTOBREATHE. Check it out!!

For further information please visit:

TOUR DATES:
April 10th Singletary Center Lexington, KY
April 11th House of Blues Cleveland, OH
April 12th Egyptian Room Indianapolis, IN
April 13th Stage AE Pittsburgh, PA
April 14th Opera House Toronto, ON
April 16th State Theatre Portland, ME
April 17th House of Blues Boston, MA
April 19th Webster Hall New York, NY
April 20th Electric Factory Philadelphia, PA
April 21st 9:30 Club Washington DC
April 23rd Liberty University Lynchburg, VA
April 26th Memorial Auditorium Raleigh, NC
April 27th Little John Coliseum Clemson, SC
May 4th Beale Street Music Festival Memphis, TN
June 7th-10th Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival Manchester, TN *