‘I Just Wanna Live’ 13-Year-Old Singer Keedron Bryant Releases EP!

Hello World,

It’s been a little while since I’ve blogged and even during a pandemic, life continues to go on. There are many things that I could have written about and may still write about such as the devastating loss of “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman but I had to take a break as we all must do from time to time. But I’m back…slowly easing myself in… so give me grace, y’all…

When I first heard this young man sing, I knew it would be only a matter of time before this happened…See this story from the New York Post

Like many young students, 13-year-old Keedron Bryant is now navigating virtual learning as he goes back to school.

But this eighth-grader from Jacksonville, Fla., is also a viral sensation who’s dropping his debut EP, “I Just Wanna Live,” on Friday.

Bryant landed a record deal after he posted a smartphone-shot video of himself performing his song “I Just Wanna Live” a cappella. Posted on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in May, the clip became a rally cry for the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I never thought it was gonna go viral,” said Bryant, who was a contestant on NBC’s “Little Big Shots” last season. “But it was really sad that I had to sing those type of words. There were a lot of emotions going on in my mind at the time I was singing it . . . I asked God to give me power and strength and anointing to deliver the message right.”

Read the rest HERE.

Check out the official music video for “I Just Wanna Live!”

And here is a listing of the songs on the EP:


And finally below is the teenager sharing about how to get his new EP!

Congratulations to him! May he always use his talent in service of the Lord!

Any thoughts?

Texas Woman Alleges She Had An Inappropriate Relationship with Relentless Church Pastor John Gray…

 

Hello World,

Either Pastor John Gray is relentless in his pursuit of “inappropriate relationships” outside his marriage or chicks are relentless in coming after the married man of God. Whether the former or the latter is true, I’m just about sick of hearing about Pastor John Gray and what he done did or didn’t do…

I had heard over the weekend that another woman had accused Pastor Gray of acting like he was single and unsaved, but I wanted to wait until I saw the story on more conventional media platforms before I wrote about it. Since The Christian Post has covered the story, I feel more comfortable about airing out my opinion. Below is an excerpt of the story:

Lawyers for megachurch pastor John Gray said Monday that he is being blackmailed and extorted after the leader of Relentless Church in South Carolina was accused of engaging in another inappropriate relationship.

“There are allegations that there were phone conversations between the two parties, and that’s essentially the extent of the allegations,” attorney Devon Puriefoy of the law firm Truluck Thomason told Greenville News. “When you take her own words, she says there was no affair, no physical contact, they never met each other, they never saw each other.”

Puriefoy was not immediately available to discuss the situation when contacted for comment by The Christian Post Tuesday.

The latest allegation against Gray came last Friday from a 48-year-old Houston woman who identified herself as “Mary” during an interview with online personality Tasha K, which was broadcast on YouTube. The Houston woman said during her interactions with Gray, she sent him partially nude photos at his requests and he video-chatted with her while revealing his underwear. She claimed that he also met with her in Houston and invited her to visit his home and she declined because she feels he may have wanted to sleep with her.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

If the allegations are true, who cheats during a pandemic? Like it’s dangerous to go to the grocery store and folks are actually out here sharing air and God knows what else with people who haven’t promised to love and care for you in sickness and in health! That’s just dangerously dumb.

And then when you look at some of the receipts this Texas woman has provided, I’m just appalled. In one video, Pastor Gray involves his son and asks his son what does he eat every night. When his son replies pizza, he explains that is what happens in a household where no one is cooking. So basically he’s saying his wife is not cooking for  him nor their children. He threw his First Lady, his “good thing” under the bus. Ain’t he the one who found her? That’s the word says. Was she cooking when he met her? And what’s wrong with his hands? Clearly, he can drive, make a video and question his son at the same time so he’s ambidextrous. Those are qualifications enough to cook! And if this video is as crazy as it seems, I think Pastor Gray may have an untreated sex and love addiction. The existence of this video is downright reckless as he is a man with a pretty big platform (although it will continue to get smaller even if he is truly this senseless…Remember he  used to have a television show..). Did he not think this woman would save the video?

Again, I don’t know if this is true, but all manner of scandals and such keep circulating around Gray. And this was before 2020 in which we’ve all had our share of suffering. But Gray of all people, particularly as the shepherd of a congregation, should know that 2020 is not to be played with – especially when you’ve admitted to similar behavior before…

I guess that’s all I have to say about this. Pastor John Gray, if you’re reading this and the allegations are true, either get help or just do and be better. And if these allegations aren’t true, please watch yourself and your associations because your name stay in some scandals…

Any thoughts?

 

 

Stellar Gospel Music Awards 2020: See The Full List Of Winners HERE!

Hello World,

According to BET, not even a global pandemic could diminish the powerful spirit of praise, worship and celebration during the historic virtual broadcast of the Stellar Gospel Music Awards Sunday night on BET and BET Her.

Led by hosts Kirk FranklinJonathan McReynolds, and Koryn Hawthorne, the 35th Anniversary Stellar Gospel Music Awards awarded trophies in 28 categories for the year’s best performances in the genre — including six statues presented to the night’s big winner, host and Gospel icon Kirk Franklin.

Below is a list of winners:

Category #1
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Tasha Cobbs Leonard; Heart. Passion. Pursuit. (Live at Passion City Church); Motown Gospel

Category #2
SONG OF THE YEAR
Deliver Me (This Is My Exodus); Donald Lawrence, William Stokes, Marshon Lewis, Robert Woolridge & Desmond Davis; RCA Inspiration

Category #3
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Kirk Franklin; Long Live Love; Fo Yo Soul/ RCA/ RCA Inspiration

CATEGORY #4
ALBERTINA WALKER FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Le’Andria Johnson; Goshen; RCA Inspiration

CATEGORY #5
DUO/CHORUS GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Walls Group, Friend in Me, Wall2Wall Entertainment/My Block Records

CATEGORY #6
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Pastor Mike Jr.; Live Free; Black Smoke Worldwide

CATEGORY #7
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Long Live Love; Kirk Franklin; Fo Yo Soul/ RCA/ RCA Inspiration

You can view the complete list of winners here.

Singer Tamela Mann performed her hit powerful single “Touch from You” at the 2020 Stellar Gospel Music Awards…Tamela lookin’ good right? I see you lady…

Additionally, the night was marked by powerful performances and tributes to late civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis.

See the 35th Annual Stellar Awards Virtual Red Carpet hosted by Jekalyn Carr. Portions of this program were pre-recorded.

To relive all of the highlights, you can watch the Stellar Awards in national broadcast syndication in 210 markets starting August 29 – September 27 (check local listings).

Any thoughts?