Latest Release
- OCT 10, 2024
- 1 Song
- GLORIOUS · 2024
- Hello Fear · 2011
- The Nu Nation Project · 1998
- Kingdom Book One · 2022
- Losing My Religion · 2015
- The Essential Kirk Franklin · 1995
- Long Live Love · 2019
- The Nu Nation Project · 1998
- Fall in Love at Christmas - Single · 2021
- Hero · 2005
Essential Albums
- The once (and perhaps future) king of gospel R&B stomp delivers his strongest showing in a decade with his 11th record, Hello Fear. Despite the title track’s super-cheesy self-help vibe—it’s a break-up song delivered to an emotion, get it?—it nonetheless is a pretty great track. That's due to Franklin’s sophisticated, stripped-down arrangement and a stellar mini-chorus of backup singers (featuring, among others, Nikki Ross, Anaysha Figueroa, Charmaine Swimpson, Candy West, and Peaches West) who assist on the whole album. Rance Allen, Marvin Sapp, and Mali Music guest on various other jams, but this is Franklin’s show. And he always innovates, pushing gospel into new territories. That sweet go-go beat on “Before I Die” is something you’ve never heard before, while “The Moment #1” brings it all back home with a retro ‘70s mass-choir sound, recalling the finest moments of Aretha and The Winans.
Albums
Artist Playlists
- This gospel superstar brings his soulful and spiritual message to the world.
- He gave ideas to religious performers and secular rappers alike.
- He's continually finding new ways to deliver spiritual testimony.
- Listen to the hits performed on the blockbuster tour.
More To Hear
- Kirk plays his favorite songs from past to present.
- Estelle interviews Kirk Franklin and connects with her church roots.
- The gospel legend opens up on his Long Live Love album.
- On new gospel, Chance the Rapper, and more.
About Kirk Franklin
Urban contemporary gospel king Kirk Franklin is his own best case study of music's ability to triumph over trauma. Born Kirk Mathis in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1970, he was abandoned by both parents and raised by an aunt who recycled cans to pay for her four-year-old nephew's music lessons. He led an adult Baptist church choir at age 11, then released his debut album, 1993’s high-energy live recording Kirk Franklin & The Family, with a local 17-piece choir. The album crossed over to hit No. 3 on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop chart, introducing Franklin’s preaching-MC persona and demonstrating his knack for introducing hip secular sounds into gospel music. The impeccably funky "Stomp," from 1997's God's Property from Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation, parlayed a sample from Funkadelic's "One Nation Under a Groove" into a party jam for all occasions; the next year, he balanced pop-adjacent accessibility with the anti-racist gospel-rap of tracks like "Revolution." Franklin's 2002 autobiographical masterpiece, Hero, personalized his crusade: Admissions of insecurity ignite the crescendoing "Imagine Me," while a Tears for Fears "Shout" sample accompanies lyrics about pornography addiction in "Let It Go." Franklin's rap-informed approach to gospel also made him an attractive collaborator for star MCs who were seeking a more spiritual path—in 2016, he appeared on Kanye’s Life of Pablo and Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book. After 2019’s Grammy-winning Long Live Love, Franklin focused on high-profile social-network activity around Black Lives Matter, and his Verzuz battle with friendly gospel rival Fred Hammond reaffirmed the Black church as a central institution in the civil rights movement.
- HOMETOWN
- Fort Worth, TX, United States
- BORN
- January 26, 1970
- GENRE
- Christian