11/2/14 O&A Gospel Sunday: Jamie Grace Harper

GOSPEL SUNDAY

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Jamie Grace Harper is a 23-year-old Contemporary Christian musician, singer, rapper and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. Discovered in 2010, via her YouTube channel, by TobyMac and was immediately signed to his Gotee Records label. She released the song Hold Me in 2011, which landed her a nomination at the 2012 Grammys. Harper won the 2012 Dove Award for New Artist of the Year. Continue reading

10/19/14 O&A Gospel Sunday: John P. Kee

GOSPEL SUNDAY

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John P. Kee was born the 15th of 16 children in Durham, North Carolina. At an early age he began to develop his musical talent both instrumentally and vocally. He attended the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem and at 14, he and his brothers Wayne and Al moved to California where he began attending the Yuba College Conservatory School of Music in Marysville, California.

During this time, he began playing with various groups such as Cameo and Donald Byrd and the Blackbyrds. After having a hard time adjusting in California, he left and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina only to find himself living in a part of the city known for its violence and drug activities. After watching one of his friends being murdered in a drug deal gone bad, he rededicated his life back to God during a visit to a revival meeting. Continue reading

O&A 10/11/14 Gospel Sunday: LeCrae

GOSPEL SUNDAY lecrae-161388313

Lecrae Moore, known as Lecrae, is a Christian hip hop artist, record producer, and actor. He is the president, co-owner and co-founder of the independent record label Reach Records, and the co-founder and president of the non-profit organization ReachLife Ministries. To date, he has released seven studio albums and two mixtapes as a solo artist, and has released three studio albums, a remix album, and one EP as the leader of the rap group 116 Clique.  

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10/5/14 O&A Gospel Sunday: Fred Hammond

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Fred Hammond is a gospel singer,bass guitar player, and record producer. Hammond first gained recognition while playing bass guitar for the gospel group The Winans. By 1985 he was one of the six original members of the group Commissioned, participating in 10 of the group’s 12 albums. After his time with Commissioned ended, he regained fame in the gospel community after selling millions of albums with his musical group Radical For Christ. He is a multiple Grammy, Dove, and Stellar award winner as a performer, producer and writer. Continue reading

9/28/14 O&A Gospel Sunday: Whitney Houston

GOSPEL SUNDAY
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Whitney Houston was born on August 9, 1963 in what was then a middle-income neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. At the age of 11, Houston started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play the piano. Her first solo performance in the church was Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah. When Houston was a teenager, she attended Mount Saint Dominic Academy, a Catholic girls’ high school in Caldwell, New Jersey.

For Gospel Sunday Out and About NYC Magazine presents four Houston gospel classics Yes, Jesus Loves Me, This Day, I Love The Lord, and a special encore performance.

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9/14/14 O&A Gospel Sunday: Smokie Norful- I Need You Now

GOSPEL SUNDAY

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Reverend W.R. “Smokie” Norful, Jr. is an internationally renowned musician, music composer, and recording artist. His debut compact discs entitled I Need You Now and Smokie Norful Limited Edition have garnered favorable accolades and awards across the world, including the 2005 Grammy Award for Contemporary Soul Gospel Album of the Year for his release entitled, Nothing Without You; three Stellar awards; four Dove awards; three Gospel Music Excellence 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 others. Continue reading

9/7/14 O&A Gospel Sunday: Reverend James Cleveland

GOSPEL SUNDAY

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The Reverend Dr. James Edward Cleveland was a gospel singer, musician, and composer. Known as the King of Gospel music, Cleveland was a driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound by incorporating traditional black gospel, modern, soul, pop and jazz in arrangements for mass choirs. Throughout his career, Cleveland appeared on hundreds of recordings, won 4 Grammy Awards, and received a star along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Continue reading

8/24/14- O&A Gospel Sunday: Mahalia Jackson- The Queen Of Gospel

GOSPEL SUNDAY

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Mahalia Jackson, The Queen of Gospel, became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world. She became an internationally acclaimed singer and civil rights activist. Entertainer Harry Belafonte described Jackson as “the single most powerful black woman in the United States”. She recorded about 30 albums.  Continue reading