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Cover Story

december 2007

He is the ruling supernova of gospel gone pop. Earlyin his career, the Fo Yo Soul Entertainment/ZombaGospel artist earned that exalted status by becom-ing the top selling contemporary gospel artist inmeasurable history. He has been anointed andcelebrated for his astonishing list of achievementsand awards; yet just there out of the public’s view, beyond the glory, sit the daily battles faced by aman whose life seems dusted with gold.Many, many days in the life of Kirk Franklinhave been filled with battles--nearly his wholelife in fact. His seventh and latest CD impact-ing December 18,

The Fight of My Life

,includes personal glimpses into his boutswith nature—his own, plus the darker sideof others. Sometimes it seems Lucifer isstanding on the sidelines waiting to call thewinner.Supernovas are triggered by suddenlyturning on or turning off the productionof energy. Energy has never been in shortsupply when it comes to this powerhouse –or his ability to shift the energy flowwhere he wants it. Compare the off-stage Franklin with the power wattageof the man in performance. Since hisearliest rounds of media interviews,Franklin has been soft spoken--no braggadocio here. If he wore goldchains and rocked the house onstage, well that was his way of call-ing attention to the message he

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was sending. It was a call for understanding, a beckoning to include a widerworld than “just preaching to the choir.”On the phone from his home in Texas, Franklin speaks of life, his doubts,the fights and the future. Pain edges into his voice from time to time, not toengender any sympathy, but to only further explain himself, making sure it’sunderstood that he’s talking about the glory and wonder and demands his Jesus makes, and he wants everybody within the sound of his voice to

feel

that glory.He speaks of the first release from the album, “Declaration (This IsIt!),” which reworks the old Michael McDonald/Kenny Loggins’ smash,and explains that when he was in the studio recording his version of thesong, someone who was around from back in the day told him the gen-esis of the tune. “It was written about Kenny Loggins’ father, who wasgravely ill at the time. So it’s always been a song about survival fromthe every day trials of life--to life and death--to looking at our life’s pur-pose,” he says.“Declaration (This Is It!)” was the #1 most added and #1 mostincreased airplay at Gospel radio when it was released and is beingpicked up at Urban AC formats quickly. Black radio has taken an openarms approach to Franklin’s music since the time back in early 1995 whenNorfolk DJ Drew Dawson began playing “Why We Sing.” The album had beenout for a year and had sold good, solid ‘gospel numbers.’ Dawson played itfrequently and it hit; soon other stations across the country were playing it,and the song moved across both format and racial lines. That album,

KirkFranklin & The Family

, made history as the first gospel debut record togo Platinum. “Why We Sing” became the inspirational hit of that yearand because it propelled listeners beyond the “Me Obessed” end of thecentury mind-set, it can be said it became the inspirational song of thedecade…but it did more. This album shifted gospel into mainstreamalmost seamlessly. The legendary Tom Joyner played Franklin rightalong with his jokes, the rap and the R&B--no explanations neces-sary. The music was and is irresistible. The essence of what familycould be, the reality of hardships we all endure and the power of spiritual revelations all contribute to Franklin’s extraordinarypower as a lyricist.The new album delivers on Franklin’s well-documented irre-sistibility factor. “Help Me Believe” targets those who maydoubt their own faith but are looking for reconfirmation. “HeWill Supply” is a tambourine-shaker that celebrates what Franklinknows in his soul to be true; hip hop comes on in with “Jesus,” theforce that rules Franklin’s life and presents one of the battles forhim. No doubt the adoration superstars routinely receive couldget in the way of their ability to humble themselves, but Franklinfights the good fight. “It’s hard for me to always let Jesus do whathe does and get myself out of the way,” he admits. But he worksat it every day, on his knees.He also works on making certain his music reaches out topeople. “I want them to identify with what they are hear-ing, to say, yes, they’ve been there. Everybody’s under-stands “This is It.” “There’ve been times in my life,

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I’ve been wondering why ... but, still somehow I believe,we always survive.” Thesong’s hand-clappinggroove reinforces thestrength of God’s graceand of prayer: “This is it... You can’t mess withmy mind anymore, I’vesworn I’ve been here before ... it’s a new day,I’m not afraid anymore ...yes, I believe…”He sings of not having his mindmessed with, but oh, has it ever been! Abandonment, rebellion,accidents, criticism--all couldhave produced a different man.When he was just about oldenough for pre-school, his teen-aged mother left him and therewas never a father around, butGod has always had his handson Franklin. When he was four,Gertrude Franklin, his elderly,distant aunt, adopted him.She brought him up in theBaptist Church, paid for hispiano lessons by collecting recy-clables and watched the preco-cious little boy’s talent blos-som.. He was offered a gospelrecord deal at age seven, buthis aunt refused to allow it. By11, he was named minister of music at Mount Rose BaptistChurch. With puberty, thegood little guy started to actup. The fatherless child felt backed into a corner by theroughnecks in the toughRiverside area of FortWorth. They called him“church boy.” “I resentedit because it was taken forweakness,” says Franklin,“It was like you can jump on the church boy because he’s not goingto fight back. He’s going to turn theother cheek.”Franklin didn’t turn the othercheek, he turned to acting up--drinking beer, smoking, runningthe streets and eventually endingup in juvenile detention.His rebellion was brought toa pretty quick halt. An inno-cent high school friend wasshot and killed in a freak acci-dent prompting the teenagerto reedicate his life to Jesus.Ironically the once hated invec-tive “Church Boy” would become a book, and most recently, Hollywoodpower house Lions Gate filmsoptioned that book to make a filmof Franklin’s life that includes someof the darker parts such as a child born out of wedlock to the teenageFranklin. His girlfriend was leftto care for the baby, Kerrion, forseveral years.But there were miles togo between Riverside andHollywood. He took a look at hislife to that point and decided if God could forgive him, he couldforgive himself. He turned backto music. First came an albumthat flopped but generated a meet-ing with a producer who heard thedemo and soon writing assigmentsfor the Dallas-Ft. Worth MassChoir, the Gospel Music Workshopof America’s Mass Choir, theTrinity Temple Full Gospel MassChoir and the Georgia MassChoir were his.Then in 1992, he put his ownchoir together, consisting of hisclosest singing friends and hislong journey into music histo-ry began. Rules were broken,records shattered, a genrerevolution begun andcriticism unleashed.Of course,

This is it ... You can’t messwith my mind anymore, I’vesworn I’ve been here before... it’s a new day, I’m not afraid anymore ... yes, I believe…

—Kirk Franklin

It’s hard for me toalways let Jesus do what he does and get myself out of the way.