Kirk Franklin – 20 years of Gospel love and innovation
6th June 2016 · 0 Comments
By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer
Kirk Franklin, an amazingly 10-time Grammy winner, is simply a giant in the world of gospel music. The innovative, multi-talented musician arrives with his 15-piece ensemble at the beautiful Orpheum Theatre on Saturday, June 11, 2016, as part of his “20 Years in One Night” tour.
“It’s a way for me to celebrate the music and to share it with the people who have been there from Day One,” says Franklin, a regular visitor to New Orleans performing at events like the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the Essence Music Festival. “To be able to come and do the music that I’ve been blessed to carry is an honor.”
KIRK FRANKLIN
“They all have different seasons,” he says of his various roles. “There are some seasons that I enjoy one more than the other and then there are some seasons when I enjoy them all. I love to kind of bob in and out of the seasons of my life. There are times I love studying different styles and seeing what’s new and what’s different and how we can incorporate more. There are colorful ways to talk about God and our love of Him and His love for us.”
Franklin’s gospel journey began in earnest at age 12 when he became the music director at the Mt. Rose Baptist Church.
“It was very traditional Baptist – very much into hymns, traditional songs and anthems,” says Franklin. After awhile, he made some changes to the musical focus that he remembers weren’t necessarily appreciated. “There were problems bringing drums into the church. There were also a lot of people who didn’t like having the choir dancing or (incorporating) choreography.”
“My exposure to contemporary music really came through mainstream (styles), hip hop and R&B,” he continues. “That’s when I really started to fall in love with music. It wasn’t really the music in the church that inspired me. It was the music outside of the church.”
It could be said that Franklin combined these two important aspects of his life – the church and modern music – to create his personal style. Significantly, as a composer, Franklin’s lyrics often address current issues and themes concerning everyday life.
“It’s very important for the music to be reflective of the times and that Christ can be part of our culture,” Franklin explains. “I do believe that there is a responsibility that we have in Christian music to be socially aware and for the gospel to be able to be horizontal as much as it vertical. Most gospel music, at its core, is very vertical – songs of worship and praise that are from the heart of the singer to the heart of God. Songs that are horizontal are more like Donny Hathaway’s (composer Sam Cooke’s) ‘A Change Is Gonna Come.’ They are songs that can be a part of people’s struggles – loosing a job, daily pressures. I think gospel can be both.”
An excellent example of Franklin’s approach to gospel music is his Grammy-winning tune, “Wanna Be Happy?” “The truth can hurt you or the truth can change you,” he expresses with a strong chorus that suggests, “Let Jesus take the wheel.” The remarkable tune is off his 2015, rather controversially and unexpectedly titled, album Losing My Religion.
“I believe that religion is a mass pursuit of trying to define who God is instead of allowing God to define Himself,” Franklin explains. “He does that through a personal relationship with us. That is not an attack against the church because I believe in the institution of the church in the same way that I would a hospital. It’s a place for people who are broken and hurting and need hope to go. But just like a hospital, it can be very frustrating. When sick people who are given a thick of papers that they need to fill out while they are bleeding and hurting, it can be very discouraging. The same way sometimes with the institution (of the church). There are people who are coming on Sunday mornings and we give them more of what they have to get through than the medicine that they need.”
Kirk Franklin, 46, is a dynamic superstar who has been honored with awards by the most highly regarded Black institutions including BET, Soul Train and Dove. Yet as a lyricist he is a man of the people and of God. He feels a certain affinity to New Orleans and looks forward to his return to the Crescent City.
“I’ve fallen in love with the culture there and the food there and the people there and the rich history for the kind of music that I do,” Franklin expresses with sincerity. “You always feel at home coming to New Orleans doing gospel music because it’s such a natural marriage to the city.”
Last Chance to Dance – Get Up!
The terrific Jazz in the Park series, (sadly) winds up this Thursday, June 9, at Armstrong Park. The fabulous pianist, Jon Cleary, who earned a Grammy award for his 2015 release GoGo Juice returns with his band the aptly named Absolute Monster Gentlemen to headline the show. “It’s my favorite gig in the city because there’s such a nice mix of all New Orleans,” says Cleary, who throughout his career, has been a keeper of the flame of the music of kings like Professor Longhair, James Booker, Earl King and Snooks Eaglin. “It’s like the vibe you used to get at the old Jazz Fest,” he adds. The Mainline Brass Band opens the stage show at 5 p.m. Admittance is free. Don’t miss this last chance to dance.
This article originally published in the June 6, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
