Deitrick Haddon- Church On The Moon
Imagine if you will, the superstar sparkle of Kirk Franklin and the bravado of Michael Jackson entangled around fashionable hip-hop beats and urban contemporary extravagance. It’s probably the safest way to describe urban gospel star Deitrick Haddon. He’s since dropped his choirboy image for the cool street evangelist look since 7 Days, his 2006 project produced by hip-hop duo Tim & Bob. On his fifth studio album for Verity, Haddon plays with the concept album motif of Ne-Yo’s Libra Scale to kick off a futuristic gospel sound that plays with the Legos of Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas. It’s highly ambitious, crammed tightly with eighteen tracks loaded with lots of cyber-pop and even Auto-tune. Club bounce surfaces on “Reppin’ the Kingdom,” where Haddon steps back from the spotlight to allow fellow gospel contemporaries J Moss, Canton Jones and Tye Tribbett to work in their verses. “Show Stopper” swerves into Chris Brown-style pop, while the Rodney Jerkins-produced “Power,” “One More Chance” and “Fighting Temptation” keeps him on the precipice of R&B crossover. Melodic ballads do offer up some needed balance on the lengthy set. His finest intimate moment, while staying in the realm of extraterrestrial fantasy, is “Gravity,” where Haddon deals with the pressures of Earth:”Wanna share with the world the peace that I’ve found/But gravity keeps on bringing me down.” Halfway into the set, the mood shifts from Lowrider crunk to worshipful gospel (“You Are My Strength,” “Well Done”).
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Kirk Franklin- Hello Fear
With a knack for uplifting people through music, Kirk Franklin gives fans encouragement to press on during trying times with his latest album, Hello Fear. But instead of looking into the unknown with trepidation, Franklin (a Dove and GRAMMY Award-winner) greets difficult circumstances with a buoyant proclamation of faith. The best example? A song called “I Smile” that’s counter-intuitively dedicated to “recession, depression, and unemployment.”
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James Fortune & FIYA- Encore
Gospel hitmaker returns with more polished set, despite the preachy ramblings
With the winning hand of radio, James Fortune stands tall as a star in today’s gospel world. Counting his radio smash “I Trust You” and “You Survived,” two exceptional power ballads that pattern the gloried musical paces of Kirk Franklin, Fortune and his troupe FIYA have taking the contemporary gospel playing field by storm, even if it’s very familiar to the Franklin brand. The chatter of Fortune’s talked-out, mostly preached ad-libs to the light whispers from the choral layouts are obvious giveaways to the cherishing pop-like gospel traditions of Franklin’s arsenal. But where Fortune stumbles severely is in his albums’ presentation – crowded with a maximum list of guest singers, busy rhythm sections and the departure from traditional melody. Thankfully, one or two songs rise up as the album’s bread and butter, but Fortune, a better song writer and musician than he is a front man, learns a few important lessons along the way and applies them wittingly on his third record, Encore.
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