The 9th Annual I Hear Music In the Air Conference will be held in Cincinnati, OH on May 28-30, 2010.  This year’s conference kicks off on Saturday with the “People’s Choice” Awards ceremony hosted by the dynamic duo and stars of TBS “Meet the Browns”, David & Tamela Mann and Bishop Greg Davis.  Also guest appearances from Ashmont Hill and Called II Worship. The following day is filled with exciting events all day.  There is a Teen Summit and I Hear Music IDOL which is free and open to the public. Contestants have the opportunity to submit their demo in hopes to perform and compete for prizes.  Christopher, D Maub, Ray Bady and Speak Life will entertain the audience during the competition also. Later that night, the highly anticipated, “Evening with Marvin Sapp” will feature special guests Byron Cage, Darwin Hobbs, Rodney Posey, Christopher and Kathy Taylor Brown. The weekend ends on Sunday, May 30 with the “Legends Ball” that features a keynote address from Pastor Damon Lynch Jr. and The Lifetime Achievement Award presented to The Clark Sisters.  Other honorees for the event are Lincoln Ware, Minister Natalie Brooks, The National Urban League, Sesh Communications and Reverend H. L. Harvey.

Famed preacher and artist Juanita Bynum has signed both a recording contract and management deal with Matthew Knowles and Music World Entertainment. Earlier this month, Bynum released her latest effort More Passion. This deal sees her releasing another effort later this year titled The Diary of Juanita Bynum.

Also new to the Music World family is worship leader and Stellar award nominee Micah Stampley.  Stampley has signed a management and recording joint venture with Music World Entertainment‘s faith-based label Spirit Rising Music. Stampley’s 2005 debut release, The Songbook of Micah was the second highest debut for a male gospel artist in Billboard history, entering at #3 on the Top Gospel Charts. The producer and psalmist joins Brian Courtney Wilson, Trin-i-tee 5:7 and now Juanita Bynum as part of the Spirit Rising family. Stampley’s new album is due in stores later this year.

Verity Gospel Music Group artist Richard Smallwood along with his famed choir Vision is in the studio working on a brand new project. The new album, titled Promises is slated for an October 27, 2010 release date. The six-time Grammy nominee’s last effort, Journey: Live In New York, released in 2007 and featured guest appearances from The Hawkins Singers, Chaka Khan, and Kim Burrell.

BET Sunday Best Season 2 winner Y’Anna Crawley has signed an endorsement deal with Shure Pro Audio. This endorsement deal kicks off a huge season for Crawley, whose new single, a cover of the Bill Withers classic “Grandma’s Hands”, is due at radio on May 4. Crawley’s long awaited solo release is due in stores on July 13, 2010, featuring production from famed duo Buster & Shavoni.
 

From May to June 2010, Deitrick and the cast of “Blessed & Cursed” will hit the road and take over youth departments across the nation promoting the upcoming movie and soundtrack to this summer’s blockbuster hit “Blessed & Cursed”. The tour will feature a screening of the movie and live performances from artists in the movie including Deitrick Haddon, Damita Haddon, Kiki Sheard and others. To book the tour at your church, contact Holly Carter or Ronnie Pitre at (323) 468-9470 or (310) 261-1052.

Tyler Perry does it again as he connects with his fan base and finishes #2 at the box office last weekend with 30.2 million and ticket sales.  Clash of the Titans finished #1 with 61.4 million in box office sales with third place going to How to Train Your Dragon with 29.2 Million.

Studio research showed that 80% of the crowd was female, 75% was over 25, and 80% was African American. I was part of the 20% of men who saw the movie and found it quite entertaining and funny.  I don’t know why I always sit next to the woman who loudly agrees with every sentence Tyler Perry relates to the African American experience, but after a while I was able to tune her out and found myself well involved in the movie myself.  There were a couple of scenes that came across un-realistic, but overall the sequel didn’t disappoint loyal fans.

The director consistently brings his fan base out to theaters with a new offering twice a year and only last year’s Madea Goes to Jail debuted bigger with $41M. His past eight films have averaged a domestic gross of $53M while being produced for budgets of under $16M. For the month of April, Why Did I Get Married Too ranks as the seventh biggest opener ever and the largest for a film opening in less than 3,000 theaters. Next up for the movie mogul is directing a different writer’s story titled, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf featuring Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Whoopi Goldberg debuting over Martin Luther King weekend next January.

Single, “Prayed Up” Heating Up At Radio

Detroit, MI– Grammy Award winner Karen Clark Sheard is about family. Family has been key to her success as one of music’s most dynamic vocalists. Whether it’s an inspirational R&B track or a down-home gospel groove, Sheard’s multi-octave vocal range and dizzying vocal gymnastics with and without the legendary Clark Sisters have inspired today’s brightest pop divas such as Beyonce and Mariah Carey, among others. It started as a child when Sheard was trained to sing by her mother (gospel music pioneer Dr. Mattie Moss-Clark) and has come full circle with her 20 year old son (J. Drew Sheard II) producing tracks on her first CD in four years, All in One (Karew Records/EMI Gospel), a slick set of urban-flavored gospel that will hit retail and digital stores on April 6, 2010.

Sheard’s Go-Go flavored, up-tempo radio single “Prayed Up” (available digitally on March 16th) is making a fast impact at radio. The song is currently #26 on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart and rapidly building momentum. The song’s success is a dream come true for Sheard who has aspired to own a record label for years. Sheard and her husband, Bishop J. Drew Sheard (Pastor of Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church Of God In Christ in Detroit, MI, found Karew Records.

All in One features eleven original songs ranging from neo-soul ballads such as “He Knows” a duet with sister Dorinda Clark Cole to the futuristic pop vibes of “Take Me.” In between, there are worship tunes, and good ole Sunday morning church tracks. Sheard pulls in family members for vocal cameos such as sister Dorinda Clark Cole, daughter Kierra Sheard and niece Angel Chisholm. Her cousin Bill Moss Jr. plays the keys. Her son, J. Drew and her cousin J. Moss both individually wrote and produce various tracks on the project. On top of that, Sheard, who won a Grammy for composing the Clark Sisters’ #1 2007 comeback smash “Blessed and Highly Favored,” also co-wrote several of these future classics.

Aside from three decades of hits with her sisters, Sheard is also known for solo hits such as “Balm in Gilead” and “Nothing Without You.” Sheard released four critically acclaimed solo album projects, starting with her 1997 debut Finally Karen, a classic; 2nd Chance; The Heavens Are Telling and It’s Not Over. Sheard expresses, “With this new CD, I want to reach my young people but then I have some music the older church folks can rock to, as well.”

Fans of theater can applaud Sheard’s upcoming role in the new musical stage play, “Church Girl” that also stars Robin Givens. The national tour kicks off March 23, 2010 at Detroit’s Music Hall Center and is scheduled to stop through a dozen other cities. On April 6, 2010 Sheard will reminisce about her career and give a mini-concert at “The Experience with Karen Clark Sheard” taking place April 6, 2010 at the Harold Washington Cultural Center in Chicago, IL. All In One CD in-stores April 6 and available on-line at Amazon, ITUNES and more. For more information, visit www.karewrecords.com

Stellar award winning artist Maurette Brown Clark is set to return with her second live recording for her fourth release. The recording takes place on April 23, 2010 in Norfolk, VA at Calvary Revival Church.

The vocalist’s most recent effort titled The Dream produced the chart-topping hits “One God” and “It Ain’t Over”, garnering Clark a 2008 Stellar for Praise & Worship CD of the Year. The same album produced a Stellar for Children’s Performance of the Year for her daughter Jada for the single “I Am What God Says I Am”.

Diligence is earnest, persistent, steady effort with full concentration and carefulness. Thus, it is in total opposition to mankind’s and society’s goal to make everything as effortless as possible.

As we revisit the text of Matthew 7:14 we find Jesus giving illustrative instruction concerning the way to life. He uses for concrete example the city gates of Jerusalem. The gates were varied in name, size and location.

Jerusalem was the site of many pilgrimages and was under Roman occupation at the time. Hence, there were always many people from many different places, in the city, coming and going at all times. As the throngs entered the city they would simply flow toward and through the easiest point of egress which would be one of the wider gates.

Unless some state of alert had been declared, one would simply “go with the flow” of the crowd and gain entrance to the city. Thieves, robbers, murderers and more were able to melt and blend into the crowd by using the wide gate. No effort or aforethought was needed; hence, no diligence.

The narrow gates however, took some effort to go through in that many people were trying to get through a small space at the same time. The word strait in Matthew 7:14 is the Greek word stenos and means “narrow” and comes from a root word meaning to crowd.

“Strait is the gate and narrow is the way” literally means that the way to life is not as easily entered as the way that leads to death and hell. Diligence must be given and is needed to “find the way and walk therein.”

“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs 14:12

It would seem right to find the easiest route, the most popular route, the one that required the least effort the one that required the least change. Nevertheless, that route, the one which requires little or no diligence at all leads to death.

Diligence is needed in everything that pertains to God and godliness. Diligence is needed in marriages and relationships of value. Diligence is needed in parenting and education. Diligence is needed in business and in everything that we do that is worthwhile and valuable to us. Diligence is needed. When there is no diligence there is no life, there is only death.

The definition of death is separation. When there is no diligence, divorce ensues both spiritually and naturally. Hence, in a world which strives to make all things effortless, concentrated effort must be made. Diligence is needed. Stay on the path . . . . . .

About Contributing Writer: Copyright©2010 Anya M. Hall – Dr. Anya M. Hall is an anointed vessel of the Lord used as an Apostle, Teacher and Bishop in the Body of Christ teach, train, raise up and send forth strong leaders. She is the Founder of TeKton Ministries Int’l and STRATEGOS Kingdom Academy. For more information or to contact her go to: www.tektonministries.com or call 1-866-95-SHIFT or email: apostle@tektonministries.com .