Componentes del sistema

The artist who has assisted HHH the most in commanding more attention from mainstream media and conservative churchgoers is Kirk Franklin. This composer, arranger, producer, pianist, and rapper (he only occasionally sings) has a backstory that is dramatic enough to be adapted for the big screen, which is in the planning stage. Neglected by his teenage mother, he was raised by his great aunt and uncle. Mesmerized by his uncle’s piano playing, Franklin him- self began playing by the time he was four. Taken to church by his great aunt several times a week, he was already directing, playing piano, and arranging for choirs when he was a teenager. “Acting out” in a variety of ways to prove that he was as tough as the bigger guys despite his slight stature, he became a teen par- ent and a high school dropout. Despite these detours, his prodigious talents caught the attention of Milton Biggham of the Georgia Mass Choir and Gospel Music Workshop of America, Inc. But it was when he met Vickie Mack Latail- lade, founder of Gospocentric Records, that history was made.42

Franklin has reportedly sold twelve million recordings, making him the most successful gospel artist in contemporary history.43_{His music ranges from} his ‹rst hit single, a ballad called “Why We Sing,” to his song with the widest crossover appeal, “Stomp,” from the recording God’s Property from Kirk Franklin’s Nu Nation, which reportedly sold 4.5 million copies and layers old George Clinton funk, rap, and a gospel message. His album The Nu Nation Project (Gospocentric Records, 2001), the ‹rst recording by a gospel artist to ship platinum, typi‹es the urban, in-your-face, not-your-mother’s gospel mu- sic Franklin has produced.

Like his “hip, ‘singing’ ” colleagues, including Mary Mary and Tonex, Franklin has been mistaken by the public as a hip-hop artist.44_Undoubtedly, these and similar gospel performers include elements of hip-hop in their pre- sentations, including rap, attire, and dance. However, as is the case with his singing peers, the majority of Franklin’s music is appropriate for and widely used in thousands of Black churches during the Sunday morning worship ex- perience. His being viewed as an HHH performer is understandable, since

some of his biggest hit singles (e.g., “Stomp” and “The Revolution”) re›ect his upbringing as a self-described “church boy” as well as his earlier career as a break-dancer known as “Kid Fresh.”

“The Revolution,” from The Nu Nation Project, is a prime example of how Franklin visually and textually has layered the traditional gospel message with hip-hop elements. The young people with whom I conducted feedback inter- views reported that both the CD version and the video work to attract hip-hop “headz” for several reasons: the incessant beats are there, it has the look of an R&B/hip-hop video (quick cuts, multiple out‹ts on the main artist, various performance scenarios, and stylized choreography), and the featured rapper is the esteemed hit-making producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, whose long list of credits includes Michael Jackson, Destiny’s Child, and Mary Mary.45

Clearly, the hook for the hip-hop lovers—and the distancing device for those who are not—is the attire, the dancers, and the rap. These components al- low Franklin to approach a new audience without looking or sounding radi- cally different from them. In two of the three video scenes in “The Revolution,” he and the singer/dancers perform with the casual/athletic wear popularized by hip-hop culture. The choreography re›ects Franklin’s break-dancing career in that it is far more street than sanctuary, without being sexually provocative. The movements are energetic—at some points, the singer/dancers seem to bounce on and off the ›oor—yet it is never lurid, as both male and female participants are clothed in unisex athletic wear.

However, just beyond these exterior aspects, there are layers of other texts that allow this song to be viewed as an evangelistic tool. Franklin begins the song and video by reciting a verse of scripture and engaging in a verbal ex- change with one of the other young men in the production. He delivers words from the King James Version of Revelation 7:16–17 in his most dynamic ser- monic style.

They shall hunger no more

Neither shall they thirst anymore . . . For God shall wipe away

Every tear from their eye.

Interspersed between these phrases are the kind of Sunday morning responses generally heard in the traditional Black Church while the woman or man of God is delivering the Word. The listener and viewer are told from the onset of the song and video that the focus is ministry through several elements, includ-

ing the church-appropriate call-and-response and the directive from the young speaker to Franklin to do what he was called to do—“Preach, preacher!” Other texts help to place the song within the gospel music tradition including a rap by Franklin that encompasses some widely held Protestant doctrine regarding the triune nature of God and the divinity of Jesus.

While at least one of the six feedback respondents found the dancing a dis- traction from the message, she did agree with the other ‹ve that the gospel was de‹nitely discernible within “The Revolution.” The gospel message is also identi‹able within the other hip-hop in›uenced songs Franklin has recorded, including “Stomp,” which features Cheryl Wray, formerly “Salt” of Salt-n-Pepa fame, rapping on the “urban” remix.46