Category Archives: Gospel Music

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TAKE THE LID OFF: Trust God, Release the Pressure, and Find the Life He Wants for You – NEW BOOK ALERT!!!

Hello World,

When the pressure of life seems to boil over – and it does for everyone – Pastor and GRAMMY-winning musician Smokie Norful has one piece of advice: take the lid off. This concept was inspired by watching his grandmother make her signature dish of sweet rice. When the heat got too high, the pot began hissing and boiling over, like it was about to explode and create panic. His grandmother would remind him the only way to avoid an eruption is to remove the lid. Like that pot of rice, the only way to avoid an emotional overload is to take our own lids off — that is, to stop being trapped inside ourselves and instead look to God and his grace to show us the strategy that makes us all he intends us to be, and serve him in the way he has called us to.

This is the premise behind Norful’s new book Take the Lid Off: Trust God, Release the Pressure, and Find the Life He Wants for You (Thomas Nelson), which is available as of TODAY. In Take the Lid Off, Norful — who is the founder and pastor of Victory Cathedral Worship Center, a congregation of 5,000 members with three campuses in the Chicagoland area — outlines four steps to take to relieving the pressure and drawing closer to God in the process:

1. Look Inward, experiencing the cleansing of forgiveness and the power of God.

2. Look Outward, seeking for others to experience the joy of living for God and have the best God has to offer.

3. Look Upward and marvel at God’s love and strength to accomplish his purposes.

4. Move Onward, devising a strategy to accomplish all God has put in our hearts to do.

Norful — through detailed explanations and relatable examples — guides readers in understanding that, when you focus on these four steps, the pressure of life goes down, you gain peace and perception, and things work out much better in the end. By working to “take the lid off,” readers can become the people they were created to be.

Interesting Biographical Highlights From Take the Lid Off :

*Norful is a PK (preacher’s kid).

*Prior to his music career, he worked as junior high school teacher in Pine Bluff, Arkansas where his father was the president of the local school board.

*Although Norful was a successful gospel artist, he was miserable at one point and had even stopped going to church.

*Fellow gospel artist Donnie McClurkin was instrumental in convincing Norful to become a pastor.

*Some people who supported Norful in his music career weren’t as supportive when he became a pastor.

*Norful’s GRAMMY Awards are displayed behind his sons’ trophies for karate, T-ball and soccer.

*When Norful became a pastor, he gave up 80 percent of his income for several years.

Check out the Take the Lid Off trailer below:

To underscore the message of Take the Lid Off Norful is partnering with his long-time label home, Motown Gospel, to release a digital-only album titled Nothing Is Impossible. The 12-track project, available Sept. 9, 2017, features some of Norful’s most beloved songs of encouragement and inspiration, including “Still Say Thank You,” “No One Else” and “Run Til I Finish.”

About the Author:

SMOKIE NORFUL is founder and senior pastor of Victory Cathedral Worship Center, a congregation on three campuses in Bolingbrook and Chicago, Illinois. A multiple Grammy-winning artist who has sold more than three million albums worldwide, he has also received Stellar awards; Dove awards; an NAACP Image Award nomination; a Soul Train Award nomination; two nominations for the BET Award for gospel music; two RIAA certified Gold-selling compact discs; and countless other accolades. A graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois, Norful also served on the board of regents for Trinity International University. He lives with his wife and family in the Chicago area. 

Learn more about Norful at SmokieNorful.com, and connect with him

on Facebook and Twitter.

Take the Lid Off is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBook.com, 

and other major bookstores nationwide and online.

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Tasha Cobbs Leonard’s Album Release Party Recap for HEART.PASSION.PURSUIT…(PHOTOS+VIDEO)

Hello World,

Friday night, I ventured over to the Dec at The dReam Center Church of Atlanta to check out the album release party for Tasha Cobbs Leonard’s third album HEART. PASSION. PURSUIT. (Motown Gospel). First of all, the dReam Center has moved and grown! A few years ago, it used to be in North Atlanta in a kind of medium-sized industrial building and now it is in large traditional church building just past South DeKalb Mall. Secondly, although Tasha Cobbs Leonard is a multiple Stellar and Dove Award winner and, GRAMMY®-Award winning recording artist, I honestly didn’t expect the onslaught of folk that were trying to get up in the church. The parking lot was full, folk parked in the surrounding neighborhood and an overflow parking lot nearby the mall was getting action too. I ended up parking in the grass and almost got in a tiff with two older ladies who had their eye on the parking spot that I was trying to stake out! LOL. But after that, everything flowed pretty smoothly.

This is the stage/altar area of the dReam Center…Pretty traditional…

So just ahead of me I noticed Shekinah Anderson, who is the best friend of Tiny Harris and a reality star in her own right. Of course, I had to look around for Tiny or T.I., but I did not see them. I also noticed Egypt Sherrod, former radio personality and current realtor and host of HGTV’s “Property Virgins.”

So I’ve never seen a church with this type of sign affixed to the architecture…”Get In Where You Fit In.” Okay…not traditional…

Pastor William Murphy asked everyone to turn on their cell phone lights (so I don’t know how to do that LOL) because in his words, “It’s about to be a ‘lit’uation.” “Light it up and let the world know who Jesus is.”

That’s pretty, huh?

So Pastor Murphy told what I thought was a pretty powerful story about when he first stated the dReam center on Jan. 15, 2006. He said he thoroughly prepared for the sermon he delivered on that Sunday. Although there were roughly 350 people there, only one person joined the church. He said he tried to act like he wasn’t bothered by the fact that only one person joined. That person, however, was Tasha Cobbs. This was years before she recorded her first album, but look at the impact she has had in the name of God since then. It just goes to show that through one person you can impact the world, and you never know who will be that one person! I mean it was standing room only at that church for Tasha Cobbs Leonard, and I saw a few people who were turned away…

Pastor Murphy also shared how Tasha Cobbs Leonard’s album HEART. PASSION. PURSUIT. was recorded nearby where the Interstate 85 bridge in Atlanta collapsed in March and how he thought that was significant as the goal of the album is to build bridges between different races, cultures and ethnicities.

Then it was time for Tasha to saaang….

If you look closely, you can see her hubby Kenneth Leonard, just behind her to the right, looking like he’s supervising everything…Photo Credit: Tonya Reeves & Michael Walker/UMeek Images

I like this photo because everyone’s hands are lifted up, but she is getting down…

Tasha Cobbs Leonard and Kierra Sheard. Kierra is featured on the song “Your Spirit.” So I kept looking around for Nicki Minaj, who is featured on “I’m Getting Ready,” but I guess she wasn’t there…Photo Credit: Tonya Reeves & Michael Walker/UMeek Images

 So this teenager or preteenager (The older I get, the harder it is for me to tell…) came up during the middle of the concert and pressed some money in Tasha’s hands….Obviously, she was moved…Photo Credit: Tonya Reeves & Michael Walker/UMeek Images

And even her fellow singers were moved…

A Holy Ghost dance…

Attorney Phaedra Parks, formerly of the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” was there and feeling it…See Pastor Kim of the “Preachers of Atlanta” behind her…

At the end of the concert, Tasha Cobbs Leonard gave an altar call and spoke about the purpose of her album….

Also in attendance were Jimi Cravity, Breona Lawrence, Anna Golden, Bishop Paul S. Morton, Catherine Brewton, Bishop Travis Jennings, Pastor John Gray, Aventer Gray, Y’Anna Crawley, Todd Galberth, Bryan Pierce and more. So I hope you feel like you were there at Tasha Cobbs Leonard’s album release party…

The highly anticipated album, HEART. PASSION. PURSUIT. (Motown Gospel), from multiple Stellar and Dove Award winner and, GRAMMY®-Award winning recording artist Tasha Cobbs Leonard, is available now in stores, and online everywhere.For more information about Tasha Cobbs Leonard visit: www.TashaCobbs.org
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Le’Andria Johnson Debuts New Album “Bigger Than Me” in Atlanta! (VIDEOS+PHOTOS)

Photo Credit: James Pray for RCA Inspiration

Hello World,

My favorite “bad girl” of gospel Le’Andria Johnson is back with her new album “Bigger Than Me,” which is available where you buy music as of TODAY! On behalf of RCA Inspiration, she debuted singles from her album in the packed out The Gathering Spot in downtown Atlanta last night, and I was blessed to be able to hear her new music in person. Another gospel great Marvin Sapp said something on his “Unsung” episode on Sunday that I’ve been thinking about since then. He said he is not sure if he wants any more hit songs because they were birthed out of painful experiences. Well, Le’Andria may have at least one hit on her hands because her song “All I Got” is dedicated to her brother Gregory A. Johnson Jr. , who passed away last November. In addition to singing “All I Got,” she also showed the video for the single. Check out the video of her singing a bit of “All I Got.”

Below are a few pics I took as the video was screened for the audience…

That is a picture of Le’Andria and her brother. Apparently, the video, which was directed by Derek Blanks,  was filmed on his birthday….

Saanging’…

Sometimes you have to sing in the rain…

The last shot was beautiful…

To her surprise,  Le’Andria’s father Bishop Gregory A. Johnson Sr. was in the house. I’m sure it was an emotional night for both of them, but she had everybody laughing when she said she wouldn’t have worn her short shorts if she had known her father was going to be there. I can relate! (And I still I want to know why I’m the only PK I know who can’t sing especially when my father can 🙁  )

Another song she sang “Gone Too Long” is about when you’ve been gone too long from the presence of the Father. Every once in a while, I get rebellious with God and walk away but thankfully, I haven’t got gone that long. And I’m diligently praying for those in my life who have been “gone too long” from God. She sang this song beautifully, but when she invited Zebulon Ellis and her brother Michael to sing the song with her, babaaay…Take a listen for yoself…

And of course, the title cut from “Bigger Than Me.” See below….

Le’andria’s producers Chuck Harmony and Claude Kelly of Weirdo Workshop were introduced as well. They have worked with Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Ludacris, Ledisi and legends such as Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston. Claude told the audience as they are usually “locked in a studio,” they never get the opportunity to see how audiences respond to an artist in person. He also said that when Le’andria came to their location in Nashville, she had to walk by plaques commemorating all of the artists they have worked with in their career. When she walked by Whitney Houston’s plaque, she told them that was what she wanted. “It wasn’t about her fame though. It was about the effect that a positive female voice can have on generation.”

Chuck and Claude with Gabby Jones of RCA Inspiration….Photo Credit: James Pray for RCA Inspiration

Here is Le’Andria with her father and brothers…Their genes are strong! Photo Credit: James Pray for RCA Inspiration

And for my OWN “Greenleaf” watchers, Le’Andria is on Volume 2 of the “Greenleaf” soundtrack!!! Photo Credit: James Pray for RCA Inspiration

Judging by how folk responded to her performance last night, Le’andria  new album “Bigger Than Me” is fire! Get that!

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