Exclusive interview with Kirk Franklin
by Deborah Evans Price
It’s no secret that these are trying times we live in. From the war to the economy to crime and senseless violence, there are so many issues of concern. That’s why Kirk Franklin is striking a nerve with his new CD, The Fight of My Life, released Dec. 18 through Fo Yo Soul/Zomba Gospel.
“A lot of people are trying to stay above water,” Kirk says. “People fighting for their peace of mind and to keep their homes from being foreclosed or fighting for their children. I want people to know that I’m in there fighting with them. They aren’t in it by themselves.”
On his web site, Kirk is inviting fans to call in and share their stories. He’s set up a phone line at 214-989-4340 and is asking people to call and share what The Fight of My Life means to them.
The songs on the new album deal with a variety of emotional topics. “A Whole Nation talks about how it takes more than one person to raise a child,” he says. “We have more single parents than ever. So we can’t depend on just one home to raise one child. It takes a whole community to be involved in a child’s life.”
Kirk is hoping his music will offer up hope in the midst of turmoil, and Help Me Believe is a song that deals with feelings of confusion and disbelief. “The first verse [says] ‘I want to believe, but I’m having a hard time,’” Kirk admits candidly. “It says ‘I want to be free, but every time I try to fly, I realize I don’t know how...So if you can, give me a sign because I can’t feel it like I should. Help me believe. That’s an honest plea to God.”
The Fight of My Life features Kirk’s signature blend of R&B, rock and hip hop, and on this new collection he’s joined by some very special guests, including tobyMac, Da’ T.R.U.T.H., Donovan Owens, the Williams Brothers and Gospel legend Rance Allen. Most of the record was recorded in Dallas, where Kirk makes his home with his wife and four children, but for I Am God, he headed to Nashville to work with tobyMac and his band on their home turf. “When black people play rock music, it sounds like black rock,” says Kirk. “What I wanted to do is have it sound very authentic. That’s why I used Toby’s band and we had it all in a day.”
The Fight of My Life is Kirk’s second release on his own Fo Yo Soul label. He partners with Zomba Gospel, a large New York-based record company that works with him to market his records and get them in stores and on the web. When asked if he plans to sign other artists to Fo Yo Soul, Kirk responds, “I am planning on it, but I’m going to take my time.”
The Fight of My Life is getting a huge promotional push on Zomba Gospel, comparable to the kind of marketing attention usually afforded major secular artists. “We are so excited about Kirk Franklin and are doing a lot of things that are generally reserved for mainstream artists,” says Damon Williams, Zomba Gospel director of marketing. “We are doing a sniping campaign in New York City. That is one of the most aggressive ways that hip-hop artists and mainstream pop artists market and advertise their releases. They put posters, flyers and stickers all over the city to tell people that the project is coming out. This is the first time a Zomba Gospel artist has had sniping exposure.”
Damon says they have also put up billboards in Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles. It’ll also be hard to miss him on TV or in magazines as he’ll be seen everywhere from JET magazine to BET. “Kirk is just who he is and I believe that’s why the people respond to him because his heart is pure,” Damon says. “His music comes from the heart, so it reaches the heart.”
Gospel Music Channel's Kirk Franklin Street Date feature
More by Deborah Evans Price...
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About the Writer
Deborah Evans Price is a Nashville-based journalist who has spent the past 11 years covering country and Christian music for Billboard magazine, and has contributed stories on everyone from Alan Jackson to Bon Jovi to Avril Lavigne.
Deborah has received the "Outstanding Mainstream Contribution to Gospel Music" award from the Gospel Music Association. Considered a key analyst in the music field, Deborah has been interviewed by MSNBC, CNN, CMT, New York Times, Today Show, and ABC Primetime, among other outlets. She's served three years as judge on TBN's "Exalting Him Christian Artist Talent Search," where some say she's become the "Paula Abdul" of the Christian competition.
A Virginia native, Deborah grew up on Air Force bases in New Jersey, Georgia, Arkansas, and Japan. She and husband Gary have been married 21 years and have a 16-year-old son Trey. They reside outside Nashville and attend Mill Creek Baptist Church.
