ROOT

I HEAR MUSIC EDITION

Issue 23

MYRON BUTLER IS BACK & IT’S STILL

ALL GOOD MARRIAGE TALK: RAW & UNCUT WITH GERALD & TAMMI HADDON

+PLUS TODD DULANEY BRIAN COURTNEY WILSON

BLACK MUSIC MONTH PRINCE

AND MORE!

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Jun/Jul 2016

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IN THIS ISSUE

Editor's Note

THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE ............................6 STILL ALL GOOD ........................................…..10

Seven years ago, I stepped out on a limb and started this very magazine that you’re holding in your hands.

Being an entrepreneur has its challenges but I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else. The number 7 is the number of completion, but Root Magazine is just getting started! Welcome to Issue #23. In this issue we partnered with industry veteran, Tracey Artis, and I Hear Music 2016 on what is set to be another amazing conference. Tracey has helped mold the careers of so many gospel greats like Kirk Franklin, Trin-i-tee 5:7, Kurt Carr, Byron Cage and many others. Her I Hear Music conference continues to be one of the best conferences in the midwest, 15 years and counting....

FLIP COVER MR. NICE GUY ....................................................15 HEART OF WORSHIP .….........................……17 ACT 2 ......................................................................19 THE BENEDICTION: PRINCE ......................23

Editor-In-Chief: Hasan James Senior Art Director Fatima Williams-Burke www.LURmarketing.com Contributors Markita Collins Chandra Deal Torin Derek Michael Gordon Isaac Hamm III J.S. Williams Martin Williams Chloe Vanderpoole Photography Derek Blanks Dave Wells Shalae Madison Anthony Artis

Robert Ector Stephen Reid Management Shawn Gibbs for The Firm Artist Management Shawn.

Another “Man of Motown,” Brian Courtney Wilson, is a singers singer! With a voice like butter, the Chicago native almost lost it all as he was caught in the middle of a legal battle with his former label, Music World. Last year, he released his Motown debut “Worth Fighting For” and it was evident that Brian Courtney Wilson wasn’t going anywhere.

TheFirmManagement@Gmail.com

Sales & Marketing Ricardo Cantrell Printing Shweiki Media

Visit Us On The Web at: www.rootmagazineonline.com

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In this issue, this month’s cover artists are both Men of Distinction, Ministry, Music and Motown! Myron Butler has been in the Gospel music industry since his days with God’s Property. Since then, he has released three albums, written and produced for a plethora of artists and became the lead worship leader at The Potters House, lead by “America’s Pastor,” Bishop T.D. Jakes. This month he will release his highly anticipated fourth album and we got a chance to talk to him about his new album and so much more.

A few years ago I was introduced to an indie artist by the name of Todd Dulaney and his song “Pulling Me Through” was on repeat. Our staff writer, Michael Gordon, caught up with Dulaney and they chopped it up about everything from Church Clothes to Major League Baseball. A great read indeed!

Also, Gerald and Tammi Haddon also give us a no holds barred conversation about marriage and Ài >Ì Ã « Ì >Ì Þ Õ ÕÃÌ Ài>` Ì Li iÛi° -Õ `>Þ iÃÌ w > ÃÌ >Ì Vi À>Üv À` > ` >V ÕÃ V Ì round off another great issue. So sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Love, Live, Life!

Hasan E-mail: Hasan@RootMagazineOnline.com Instagram & Twitter: @ROOTMAGAZINE Facebook: ROOT MAGAZINE

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY: SHALAE MADISON

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GERALD & TAMMI HADDON

h t u r T abv out : e o L

the

RAW

As told to Markita Collins

Markita: WHAT?!!!

I truly enjoy the bond that I have developed with Tammi Haddon, but when I was able to get Gerald to sit down and talk with me as well, it became apparent to me why their marriage is so blessed! Their chemistry is major.

Their love is sincere. They are parents, songwriters, musicians, worship leaders and minsters of music in their local church. Yet they’re still able to balance all of that and be this amazing married couple.

Gerald: Most of that story is right.

We opened up in prayer and Gerald randomly yells out a “Yeah GOD!...” Of course we all LOL! Markita: Tell me Tammi, how did you and Gerald meet?

Tammi: We met in High School! He was in the 10th grade and I was a senior. Me and Deitrick were in choir and Gerald was in band with my cousin and he would hang out in the choir room and come to my Grandmother’s house with my cousin, so we knew each other from that. Check this out, I was on a date with another guy at a concert and Gerald walked up to me in front of the guy and kissed me on my mouth and said that he was riding home with me tonight! (haha)

UT

C & UN

Tammi: All of it is right.

Gerald: NO! I was staring at you in the choir room, you did that to me! (Haha) Markita: Gerald, what made you and Tammi want to not only commit to each other but also work together?

Gerald: Our friendship. I like her 80% of the time. You caught me on a good day because two days ago, it would’ve been that 20%...but today is a good day!

Markita: You two have been together for over 20 years. Did you ever think you would be worshipping and working together?

Gerald and Tammi: NO! Tammi: It just kind of happened and we realized together we created a sound that was very unique to us, so we just kept playing with it!

Gerald: She told the truth on that one.

I’ll only stop her if she’s telling stories.

She is right this time.

Markita: How do you keep business, worship, and your personal business

together and separate at the same time?

Who’s going to answer that?

Tammi: When it comes to Gerald and Tammi all the rest of it goes away. We V i wÀÃÌ° ÜiÛiÀ] Ì Ü>à ½Ì > Ü>Þà i that. We had to learn how to balance that.

Gerald: ... and we are STILL working on that.

Tammi: Yes we are working on that. I think one of the things that made us press towards balancing that is that we went through a phase when we wÀÃÌ Ûi` Ì Ã Ƃ }i ià > ` iÀ> ` became minster of music at City of Refuge. During that time, Gerald didn’t get any songs placed and no production deals. We didn’t do anything because he was focused on being the Minister of Music at church, so the issues at church came home with us. It was constant L V iÀ } > ` w} Ì } LiV>ÕÃi ÕÀ vi was being consumed by this ministry that was not OURS. Markita: I like that Tammi. The ministry that’s not OURS! Tammi: At the end of the day whether we left today or tomorrow, someone else will take the position and the ministry will still go on. We had to think about Gerald and Tammi and worry about what

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we were called to do. We promised one another that we wouldn’t allow other people’s problems to affect us anymore.

Everything shuts down when I need Gerald or when he needs me, or when Ì i `à ii` Õð ̽à v> Þ wÀÃÌ° Markita: Gerald, how do you keep her attention where she doesn’t feel neglected or rejected? You wear so many hats bro.

Gerald: I still date her...

Tammi & Markita : AWWWWWWWWWW! Gerald: I still date her and she’s still my } À vÀ i `° 7 i Üi wÀÃÌ ÃÌ>ÀÌi` ÕÌ Ã i went everywhere with me. She went with me to the barbershop. She went with me to get my brakes done. She rides with me. She’s my ride or die!

Tammi: Not only does Gerald wear many hats, he’s also apart of the Gerald and Tammi Haddon brand. We have a business side and a personal side. I have to say he’s been open to me saying “OK I feel like you’re neglecting Tammi and Gerald and focusing on other things”…

When I bring that to his attention he tries to correct that and we get through it.

Markita: Do you watch your tone when bringing those concerns up or are you abrupt?

Tammi: Well I do a little bit of both. I think what makes Gerald and I different from other couples is that we are professional debaters. It’s an art to us.

Gerald: YEP! Markita: Please help the people with this art…

Tammi: Our friends laugh at us cause we could’ve just had an intense heated argument and then 10 minutes later we are laughing with each other. I understand I married an “Alpha male.”

I used to be shy and wouldn’t speak up for myself but I learned quick on how to come up to his level or I would’ve be eaten alive. So because he’s an alpha male and he likes to debate, he allows me to be the same way. We go at it, but we never hit below the belt.

Gerald: (Whispers) She hits below the belt.

Tammi: No I don’t!

Markita: I believe him.

Tammi: Y’all shut up! I don’t hit below the belt unless he says something crazy about my Mama then I say something about his Mama!

Markita: Do you guys think that courting and dating is just as important as healthy sex?

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Gerald: OH YEAH!

going to sit here and listen, and not just listen but pay attention to her.

Tammi: Absolutely! When I say that I don’t even mean frequency. I think younger people feel like if you’re not >Û } ÃiÝ v ÕÀ > ` wÛi Ì ià > Üii something is wrong.

Markita: That doesn’t sound weird.

That’s the best answer ever! Do you think /> Ü> ÌÃ Þ Õ Ì wÝ Ì i ÃÃÕi À ÕÃÌ listen?

Markita: Listen, I am tired!

Gerald: I think she wants me to just listen.

Tammi: Being married, there’s not an urgency like I gotta get it now but you do have to have a well rounded relationship and satisfy your mate sexually. Wives, we have to meet every need on every level.

Markita: I think you’re right!

Markita: I think that’s so dope. We can be so churchy and act like this isn’t important but it is. Having a sex life is very important, however, frequency doesn’t equate to having a healthy relationship.

Markita and Tammi: Oh! LOL!

Gerald: Right!

Tammi\ ƂLÃ ÕÌi Þt > > wÀ Li iÛiÀ in keeping church folk out your bedroom! Keep your pastor out your bedroom. As long as it’s not hurting you or your spouse and you’re not convicted about it, do whatever makes you happy in the bedroom. We need to make sure we please each other. Do you know how many women talk to me and have never had an orgasm?! Somebody’s Grandmother has been married for 50 years, had three kids and never had an orgasm! Check this out, but her Granddaddy did cause here are the three kids!

Markita: WHAT?! Oh HECK NO! He better touch it, hold it, kiss it SOMETHING! Gerald: LOL! Tammi: We talk about satisfying the man but what about these frustrated women?

Markita: They better say something like “Put ya mouth on me”! That works every time! That’s ministry! Mouth, teeth… all that get me there!!!!!

Gerald and Tammi: LOL! Markita: I appreciate y’all being so real about this. Gerald what do you think is a great tip to give husbands outside of courting their wives? How should they honor their wives?

Gerald: This may sound weird, but the best thing you can do is listen. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t always get it right but last month (May), made 17 years of marriage for us. She wants me to listen, Ã i Ü> ÌÃ i Ì «ÕÌ iÀ wÀÃÌ] Ã i Ü> ÌÃ to consider her. Some men say that’s too much, but I believe that’s the best thing you can do for a woman. Just like most Ü i i y ÜiÀÃ] Ì iÞ i Ì Li i>À` too. So if she wants me to listen, I’m

Gerald: Well I think it’s a little bit of both.

9 Õ ` ½Ì Ü> Ì ÕÃ Ì wÝ Ì LÕÌ Þ Õ Ü> Ì ÕÃ Ì wÝ º Ì»° Ƃà Üi À` >Ã Ì >Ì Ã Õ `Ã] that’s how weird y’all are to me.

Gerald: We have an answer for everything.

Markita: Tammi, same question. What tip do you have for women?

Tammi: Don’t make his peaceful place where you’re not. What I mean by that is, don’t make him choose not to be around you to have peace.

Markita: WHOA! Tammi: He would rather be at the gym, with his mama, with his boys than be around you. Don’t make his peaceful the place you’re not.

Markita: Speaking of friendships, do we choose our friends over our spouses? Do we keep their secrets? Or do we tell our spouses? What should we do?

Tammi: Well our friends already know Gerald tells me everything and I tell him everything, so if they don’t want him to know, then they know not to tell me and vice versa. His friends are my friends and vice versa, so we end up talking together. When somebody is your real friend they value your marriage as much as you do, so if they have motives you need to remove them right away.

Markita: How do you feel about people who put their marital issues on display for the world to see?

Tammi: I am all about being silent. I am all about testimonies, but if I have forgiven him why am I gonna take a knife and keep digging in his chest? Just be quiet. We are not hearing anything good. We see you, we see your smile but you’re not saying anything good. There comes a time when you have to move on! Show me what restoration looks like.

Gerald: Let it go!

Markita: I like that!

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Stillall Good You may have been formally introduced to Myron Butler in 2005 upon the release of his debut “Set Me Free” with his group, Levi. But Myron was giving us great Gospel music back in the 90’s with his mentor Kirk Franklin (just check the front of that God’s Property CD).

After a few years off, this month, Myron Butler & Levi is back with a new project that will put them back where they belong, in our hearts and back at the top of the charts!

You have given us great music over the years. What inspires you to write and produce at this point in your career?

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from Kirk Franklin?

At this point in my career I’m inspired by everything. From the word of God, to watching my children grow up, to current Ü À ` >vv> ÀÃ] Ì Û } Þ Ü vit w ` inspiration in everything around me.

Without a doubt the biggest lesson I’ve learned from my mentor Kirk Franklin is that “What you do isn’t who you are”. I’m thankful for all of the accomplishments, awards, and records I’ve done but it’s just that... what I’ve done… not who I am!

Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant?

Michael Jordan!

Why Jordan?

Many people don’t know that you JCXG|DGGP KP VJG|DWUKPGUU HQT QXGT years and that you co-wrote songs on that God’s Property record, which is one of the highest selling Gospel albums of all time. What is your fondest memory of that time?

That was the best time of my life! My two fondest memories of that time is when we were recording the record, MTV came to the studio to shoot B-roll and we were in total amazement! Not only were we a bunch of kids in the studio recording ÕÀ £ÃÌ > LÕ ] LÕÌ /6 w } Õà Ü>à completely mind blowing! Then after the album broke all of these records, walking up on stage to accept the Grammy award for the record! All of my life I watched the Grammys and to be this young kid from a small town in Florida up on the stage accepting music’s highest award was a dream come true!

What surprises you most about the Gospel music industry?

It’s really not a surprise but more of a “seeing God at work” is how the Gospel music industry remains consistent even in the midst of industry wide declining sales with the advent of the digital/ streaming age, which all have affected the entire music industry. Yet through the technological evolution of the business/ industry of music, Gospel music is still very much relevant.

AS TOLD TO HASAN JAMES

I know it’s not everything… but six rings à LiÌÌiÀ Ì > wÛi° Tell us about your SCORE conference and why you think it was important to do.

The SCORE conference is something that I believe is truly needed for equipping the next generation of songwriters, producers and worship leaders! It’s a two-day intensive where I bring some of the brightest minds together to pour into budding songwriters and producers.

I believe they need a place where they can come and get both practical and spiritual instruction and advice to sharpen their craft. Last year’s inaugural year was AMAZING and we’re planning to go to the next level this year.

Talk to us about your new album. I saw [QW UKPI VJG ƂTUV UKPING FWTKPI 5VGNNCT Award weekend and it was amazing!

What direction are you going with this album? Is it classic Myron Butler and Levi?

What’s it like serving under one of God’s generals, Bishop T.D. Jakes every week?

It is THE ABSOLUTE BEST!!! I am eternally thankful to God that He allows me to serve under one of the most brilliant minds of our time.

Who is the one celebrity you met that you was star-struck over?

Stevie Wonder! Early on in the God’s Property days, we got a chance to record something with him and it was musical heaven!!

I don’t think you get enough credit for being a great writer/producer. Can you remind our readers of some of the people you have worked with over the years.

Kim Burrell, Donald Lawrence, Donnie McClurkin, Marvin Sapp, Tamela Mann, Smokie Norful, Karen Clark-Sheard, Twinkie Clark, Ted Winn & Sheri JonesMoffett, just to name a few.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVE WELLS

We had a blast sharing the new music during Stellar Award weekend and yes, this record is a return of that classic Myron Butler & Levi format. It’s been 10 years since we started and I wanted to do a project that would show our journey and growth over the years.

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for the opportunity to do that freely and with great people.

Once you received the deal with Motown Gospel, how did you feel to be free from all of that drama?

I was just very thankful because I know how this business can be. Situations like the one I went through could’ve derailed me for a long time or stopped me from coming back, so I was thankful that there was a company that saw the value in me as an artist. In hindsight, it was such a small thing compared to the grand scheme of the “call” God has on my life and for my family. It seemed like a big deal at the time but it was just a storm that we had to go through.

There will be others, but that one has passed.

What was your profession before you became a Grammy Award nominated artist?

college and I initially worked for a meat processor. I would go to grocery stores to speak with the meat manager with the hopes of getting my product into their stores. When I started doing pharmaceutical sales, I would go to the doctors to convince them to write for my drugs.

One thing that Corporate America taught me was how to interact with people.

Worth Fighting For is such an amazing song. Where did it come from?

I wrote “Worth Fighting For” and Aaron Lindsey helped me produce it. It started with a conversation he and I had about the current state of the church and at the time, there was a lot of negativity concerning leadership in the church. It would have been easy for my answer to be negative, but I thought about when the church was there for my family and I when I was singing with the men’s chorus.

So I immediately answered, º Ì½Ã Ü ÀÌ w} Ì } v À°» / i song title really resonated with us because we both came up in church with our

own positive and negative experiences. With musicians, it’s easy to gather some negative feedback concerning Ì i V ÕÀV ] LÕÌ w} Ì } v À the church really resonated with us. Two years later, while he was asking me to write for another artist, that song came to fruition when I realized the church is going to win this w} Ì] Ì i «i « i >Ûi Ì Ü Ì i À ` Û `Õ> w} Ì v À Ü >Ì God is calling them to. While I was going through my own challenges, it just ran clear for me to know that I’m not Þ Ì Ã w} Ì LÕÌ Ì iÀi >Ài Ì iÀ «i « i w} Ì } Ü Ì me. That’s what I wanted to communicate in that song.

How did you feel after you found out you were nominated for a Grammy®?

It was a surreal moment.

I couldn’t believe it. I felt this incredible awareness of God’s grace. God has shown my family grace and favor.

I cried all over the country because I considered the fact that He didn’t have to do it but He did. There’s so many people out here that want to get heard, but for some reason He has given me the opportunity and I am so grateful.

I thought it was quite odd that you were not nominated for a Stellar Award this year. What are your real feelings for not receiving a Stellar Award nomination?

Ultimately, we were recognized because we were able to perform on the Stellar Awards main stage.

I had never sung on the show before, so I considered that recognition to a certain extent. In terms of the award, I don’t know how I feel about not receiving a Stellar Awards nomination. This is my fourth album overall, including the album with “The United Tenors.” I actually did win a Stellar Award with Fred Hammond, Dave Hollister and Eric Roberson for that album. If the Stellar’s is the core audience for Gospel music, I did wonder how we got missed. I get feedback every day from the “core audience” telling me how this song blessed them and how much it matters. The most important thing to me is that it keeps reaching people.

I talked with Don Jackson while I was at the Stellar Awards and he knows what’s happening and the value of what we’re doing. I can’t really say how I feel about it.

I try not spend a lot of time on it, because I don’t want to get sidetracked from what the real mission is. However, I do believe that the awards are important. If you’re going to be a body to represent the core audience and showcase that these set of artists are the best of the best, then the award is important.

You are known as one of a few Gospel Music crooners.

When are you going to give your audience an up-tempo song?

Believe it or not, I like to do up-tempo songs and we actually recorded some on the Worth Fighting For but when we started making Ãi iVÌ Ã v À Ì i wÀÃÌ Ã } i] “Worth Fighting For” won. I just felt like it was something that needed to be said. The follow-up single “I’ll Just Say Yes,” of course it’s slow; but people jumped on that one too. A lot of people thought that it was going to be the wÀÃÌ Ã } i > ÞÜ>Þ° ̽ V i > ` Üi Ü `iw Ìi Þ ` Ì° I just want to say things that needs to be said. “I’ll Just Say 9iû V ià >vÌiÀ Ì >Ì w} Ì° That’s the war cry.

“

I cried all over the country because I considered the fact that He didn’t have to do it but He did.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEREK BLANKS

I was a pharmaceutical salesman for about seven years. I began working in sales when I came out of

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Mr. Nice guy

BRIAN COURTNEY WILSON DOESN’T DO ANY RIFFS, RUNS OR VOCAL ACROBATICS BUT HE IS ONE OF THE BEST MALE GOSPEL VOCALISTS TO HIT THE SCENE SINCE MARVIN WINANS. FIND OUT HOW LEGALITIES WITH HIS FORMER LABEL, MUSIC WORLD, THE STELLAR AWARD SNUB AND HIS CAREER WERE ALL “WORTH FIGHTING FOR”.

Congratulations on your Billboard Award nomination. / Ã Ã Ì i wÀÃÌ Ì i ½Ûi iÛiÀ been nominated. This is very cool and I am very happy about being recognized.

How did you get started in the music industry?

It all started back when my dad would take me to choir rehearsal. They wanted to add boys to their men’s choir and they had three boys and I was one of the boys. I can remember them talking more than they sang. As I grew up I began to realize that they were trying to encourage one another. They were working class black men in Chicago who got together every week to stay encouraged while they dealt with the issues of being the black middle class in Chicago. I downloaded this Bible app and the verse of the day was Colossians 3:16. The verse ends with “Encouraging one another with songs, hymns and spiritual songs.”

When I started, that’s what I wanted to do; I wanted to be a part of the songs that the church was using

to encourage one another.

As far as getting my deal, I was volunteering at a couple of churches in Houston, Texas. One of the churches had a member who had a label; his name was Mathew Knowles and the label was called “Music World,” and Mathew heard me sing some of the songs that I ended up ÀiV À` } Þ wÀÃÌ > LÕ ° After hearing me sing he then decided to sign me to his label. As I volunteered, I started singing in the choir and on the praise team at a church called Windsor Village. The church wanted to start another service for the “unchurched,” street kids or those who were tired of church as usual. They asked me to become apart and write songs for that particular service. At the time, I wanted to do more music then what we were doing on Sunday. It seemed like we were doing some of the same songs.

I started writing songs for that service and one of the songs that came out of that experience was “Already Here.”

Another church, Saint John’s

BY HASAN JAMES

in downtown Houston, heard some of my music and they asked me to start that same type of service with them.

Eventually, they hired me on staff as one of the worship leaders. Being down there every week and connecting with that community is how I was heard by Mathew Knowles.

Did you always have aspirations of being a singer?

I remember we would have talent shows on the front stoop in Chicago. I didn’t know anything about the business side. When we went to church, we didn’t go to church to cut records.

It wasn’t until college that I met a young lady whose dad was doing some R&B demos and she invited me to come sing after hearing me sing at a talent show in college. I remember going to his studio on the Northside of Chicago to sing some songs for him and I was still reluctant because I didn’t consider myself that R&B guy.

It wasn’t until I got to Houston while at Windsor Village that

I met Tate Neil, who was the Minster of Music at the time and he asked me to sing on the church’s recording. From that point, I thought that I should try to record my own music and quite honestly up until that point I didn’t know anything about recording Gospel music.

After you released your Music World debut, you dominated the charts for a few years and then you were abruptly caught in the middle of a legal battle.

What were you praying for during that time?

That is a good question.

I didn’t want to be made a fool of for stepping out and trying to do this music thing. I wanted to make sure that the decision that I made of stepping out to do music ministry would not be something that could w > V > Þ Ã «ÜÀiV Þ family. I was also praying for clarity on how to move forward. I believe God has shown himself faithful. Once I came to terms with the fact that we were still supposed to be making music, I prayed

From a hardened heart to a

Heart of Worship Not too many people can say that they walked away from Major League Baseball to follow God’s divine plan.

Worshipper, Todd Dulaney, left it all behind for a unique opportunity and he is not looking back. We had the chance to catch up with Dulaney, the man behind the #1 hit song “The Anthem.�

Inside this one on one, the Chicago- area native takes us behind the scenes of his life, career and “A Worshipper’s Heart.�

By Michael Gordon Root: Can you share with us the inspiration behind your new album and its title “A Worshipper’s Heart�?

TD: Yea, umm, A worshippers *GCTV KU O[ ƂTUV NKXG TGEQTFKPI /[ XGT[ ƂTUV CNDWO YCU recorded in a studio and we gave the best we could and tried to capture the live feel in the studio but it wasn’t the same. This new album and project, man we were able to capture the moment, the worship, in a room full of power and the presence of God. I believe this project has straight worship songs and anthems.

Root: For some, Todd Dulaney is a new artist. Many people don’t know about your amazing debut, “Pulling me through.� Why shift or change your style of music this time around?

TD: You know, I really feel like I’m growing everyday.

I’ve grown so much since my last record. With a song like “Pulling Me Through,� it was God pulling me through my struggles and obstacles in my life, but I’ve come to a place where I prefer to sing about Christ and not focus so much on what he has done for me. I just love singing about Jesus.

I believe simply singing about him will get more of a response

than me singing about what he has done for me. If I can call him awesome and wonderful, that would get him to move a room. Ultimately, growth changes your writing and penmanship when approaching a song.

Root: With your number #1 chart topping song “The Anthem,� how have you adapted to your new found success?

TD: Man, the best word I can use to describe it is overwhelming. I could remember when no one knew my name or my music and I was always watching from the sideline. So to be named amongst so many great artists and to be on the #1 spot on any chart is crazy to me.

Root: The song “Worship You Forever,� really ministered to me. Can you tell me about this record and the inspiration behind it..

TD: That song rocked the whole recording! It sent us to a place where we desired to be the entire night and sent WU KPVQ CP COC\KPI ĆƒQY QH worship.

Root: The song “Unchurched,� is so transparent. What is the story behind that song?

TD: When I was a youth going to church, I was just trying to touch the things of God and ƂIWTG VJKU YJQNG EJWTEJ VJKPI out, and the pastor of the church told me that I needed to wear a suit when I came to church. I told my father about it and he was very upset. At the moment, I didn’t know what the pastor meant, but that whole exchange was disturbing and I believe sometimes the church mishandles people that come out of the world. People come to church for help and the people who are supposed to help them are the ones who

turn them away. So I wanted to do a song that would cause people inside the church to check themselves and for the unsaved to look past the church folk and chase after God. Root: You were once an indie artist and you are now signed to one of the biggest record labels in Gospel music- eOne. How has the transition been?

TD: I did the indie thing for a while and I worked as hard as I possibly could on my own. When you don’t have help, there’s but so much you can do. Unfortunately, the kingdom of God is made up like that. Without us coming together there’s but so much you can do, so for me to be with a major label now, I have assistance. It feels so good to have people believe in you and push your vision. I had to learn how to let them help me because I was so use to doing things on my own. Being with G1PG KU C RGTHGEV ƂV HQT OG I have been working so hard that I haven’t had time to really soak it all in. I’m grateful for this moment in my life and I pray that people who hear this project will be blessed by it.

Root: How do you balance family and work?

TD: Man, I have to over compensate. My wife is my best friend, so I make sure I call everyday and check in with her and the kids while on the road.

Root: Being an artist, different obstacles may come your way.

What separates Todd Dulaney from any other artists?

TD: I don’t want to get in the way of the ministry and music at all. Let me make sure I say this right‌.. the thing that separates me from other artists is, I don’t want to be seen, I just want Christ to be seen in my ministry and music. I don’t

mind if you don’t say my name or if you don’t mention me, but if you buy my record because you believe God is on it then that’U ƂPG YKVJ OG DGECWUG + just want Christ to be seen. For that reason I think that is what sets me apart.

Root: You are not new to success or being in the URQVNKIJV %CP [QW DTKGĆƒ[ share the transition from Major League Baseball to Gospel music?

TD: I had the chance to play professional baseball and was blessed enough to work two great jobs. While I was playing major league ball I knew there was a calling on my life to usher the people of God into worship, so after one off-season I decided to meet with my pastor, Smokie Norful, and I decided that I didn’t want to go back to spring training. I thought that I was going to stay home and serve at the church but that did not sit well with my family and friends. Everyone thought I was doing the wrong thing and quite honestly from the outside looking in, it did look like a bad decision, but I knew God was going to make it right. So that transition wasn’t the easiest, but it was the best victory I’ve had in my life because I knew I heard from God. Root: Pastor Smokey Norful is on your new project and you mentioned speaking with him help changed your life and career. Tell us more about that?

TD: Pastor Smokie played a huge role in my transition from darkness to the light. When I met him, I was full of sin and I was interested in everything but God. He brought me in and taught me how to live life and walk upright and he never judged me. He introduced me to Christ and from there + UVCTVGF VQ ƂPF O[ KFGPVKV[ Before I met him, I didn’t know who I was. I was still in the clubs drinking and smoking and he helped me change.

Root: What advice can you give to the indie artist trying to break into the music industry?

TD: The music industry will try to tell you who you are, so you need to be certain of who you are. You need to maintain your identity and don’t allow people to tell you what you should look and sound like. The world is desperate for the person inside of you.

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ROOT |17

18| ROOT secret. In order for people to get to God, we have to let them know the mess that we’re in and how God saved us. We normally don’t tell them that we were or still are a mess because we aren’t honest and this is the reason they don’t want to come in because they think they have to be perfect. My message is to sing about God to people who love and serve God, but may never step foot into a church.

I don’t want to force them, but to show the product of what God has done.

People may leave you, but God remains faithful.

Torin Derek: What has been you greatest and lowest moment?

Latice Crawford: My greatest and lowest moment is the same. In addition to being married, having my son was the greatest thing that ever happened to me.

It changed me. All at the same moment, I had to learn who I was all over again.

Sometimes, you get consumed with your child as a mother because you are trying to pour everything into them. Then, I’d just started traveling, got a record deal and even with all of this great stuff, I had to stop and put everything on hold and take care of my child. My husband could not be there because he was traveling back and forth to Ghana on business. Sometimes I had to eat out of the garbage to provide for the two of us and my child won most of the time. I had to move back home and go through a lot just to be a mom. There was no glitz and glam of having a sitter or a nanny. I was there the entire time. My son was never my lowest point, but the experience of having him was my lowest point.

Torin Derek: As an artist, what do you see in your future?

Latice Crawford: I see myself doing a lot more outside of music. Music is the center of it all; but I see myself doing fashion, having a show line, a nail polish line and other things. I think ministry comes in so many different forms. Sometimes people may not listen to what you say, but they may watch what you do or wear. When I go on Ài` V>À«iÌÃ] Ì i wÀÃÌ Ì } ½ >Ã i` Ã “What are you wearing?,” which strikes up a conversation and then ventures into a spiritual place. I think there are many different ways to put ministry there instead of always talking about God.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: Latice Crawford www.LaticeCrawfordMusic.com PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANTHONY ARTIS

Act 2

Torin Derek: What was the process like compiling your sophomore project?

BY TORIN DEREK

SUNDAY BEST SEASON 2 FINALIST, LATICE CRAWFORD, HAS HAD A TUMULTUOUS PAST FEW YEARS IN HER PERSONAL LIFE AND IN HER MUSIC CAREER. NOW ARMED WITH A NEW TEAM AND NEWER FOCUS, THE QUEENS, NEW YORK NATIVE IS BACK FOR ACT 2.

Torin Derek: You have been away for awhile. Let’s talk a bit about your current single.

Latice Crawford: The name of the new single is called “Offer.” It started out as a complaining session. At the time, I was going through a lot of losses, hard ache and trials like everybody does and I was kind of feeling myself a little bit by asking God why would He allow all of this to happen to me.

He answered by asking me “What did you do so right?

Get over yourself. Instead of asking for your situation to get better, your life should be better.” A lot of times we want our situation to be better, but sometimes we’re not ready for better to come.

This complaining session turned into me realizing that I needed to be better.

I needed a better level of Him, I needed to be a better

servant and an all around better person to prepare myself for what was to come.

Torin Derek: How would you classify the music on your latest EP, Diary of a Church Girl?

Latice Crawford: It’s very energetic life music. We’re still talking about the same HIM, but it’s a journey showcasing the healing and the ups and downs of life.

Every song is literally a diary page of something that I went through or something that I saw someone else go through. The songs are really a healing journey through the experience of a “church girl.”

I really want to show how we are all human beings and that we all go through the same stuff, but we all have a different person that we go to. This is like an invitation saying “Come on over to this side and see how I stay sane.”

Latice Crawford: I wrote all of the material. We wanted this project to be really personable. When you come ÕÌ Ü Ì Þ ÕÀ wÀÃÌ «À iVÌ] people are getting to know who you really are and you experiment with different things, but by your second album you realize who you want to be and the message that you want to get across.

With this album, I really wanted to be personable to show the “me” behind the fashion and the bald head.

You get to see a whole new Latice Crawford.

Torin Derek: What was the inspiration behind shaving your head bald?

Latice Crawford: The reason I shaved my head bald was not to make a fashion statement.

I had an encounter with a woman at the airport and it stuck with me. She was sitting there broken and I already had my hair short at the time from Sunday’s Best.

She walked up to me and said “Oh, you’re so brave.”

This was a white woman with a wig and a scarf on. I stood there looking at her not knowing what was going on.

I wanted to know her story and she began to tell me. She revealed to me that she was a recovering cancer patient who had a double vasectomy, her husband left her and her children were angry because of her sickness. She lost her job, her house and everything she had. I stood there in amazement. She was supposed to be celebrating life, but she was broken and just came from a treatment center to travel back home.

I looked at her and said, “I am going to go home, get a pair of clippers and shave my head bald to stand with you.” We are not our hair, breast and all of this stuff that society says that we are. We are women because that is who God has created us to be; it is who we are. I have been standing with her since then. It has become more of an identity for me and I have nothing to hide behind. I am me. I am who I am. It has become a stand for alopecia victims and other disorders, because they are trying to look like what society says they should look like. When I was younger, I was not the person people are trying to say I am now. I know I am skinny now, but being skinny wasn’t “in” when I was growing up, people wanted the “thick girls.” I was teased a lot and suffered from social anxiety disorder. I would begin to hyperventilate and pass out. Now my bald head has become a stand for me, saying that I am not hiding anymore and I am going to be me. Love me or hate me.

Torin Derek: What is the importance of reaching the unchurched?

Latice Crawford: It is extremely important to reach the “unchurched”; it is a part of my mission. I say as “church people,” we get so caught up and forget that we are all human. Often times, they don’t know what we go through; because we’re taught to keep everything

ROOT |19

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Black

Music Month

THE STORY CONTINUES‌

By Isaac M. Hamm III

“Isaac is dedicated to the preservation of the music and culture. That is so important.�

-- 2010 Dyana R. Williams, Co-Founder of Black Music Month

2000, U.S. Representative, Chaka Fattah, sponsored a House ,iĂƒÂœÂ?Ă•ĂŒÂˆÂœÂ˜ xä™ ĂœÂ…ÂˆVÂ… ÂœvwVˆ>Â?Â?Ăž acknowledged June – Black Music Month. In the following years [2009] President Barack Obama also shined a huge

Dyana Williams

The history of African American music whether performed, produced or written, dates as far back as the age of slavery. Music is indicative of African American culture. Black music is a genre of music that will live on far past the writing of this missive. Knowing there was a need to celebrate the efforts and energy that is put into the creation of music, Kenny Gamble (Songwriter and producer), Ed Wright (Television broadcaster) and Dyana Williams (Radio Personality/ Media Strategist), drafted a bill and lobbied congress for the awareness to celebrate the history of black music.

It was June 7, 1979 when then President Jimmy Carter acknowledged the month of June as a national celebration of Black Music. Later that year, he hosted a reception to celebrate the contributions of black music.

But it was not until former President Bill Clinton was in ÂœvwVi ĂŒÂ…>ĂŒ ĂŒÂ…i vÂœĂ•Â˜`iĂ€Ăƒ Ă€i>Â?ÂˆĂ˘i` Carter did not sign the bill to “>ÂŽi Â?>VÂŽ Ă•ĂƒÂˆV ÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂ… ÂœvwVˆ>Â?° Once this was uncovered, Dyana Williams lobbied in Washington D.C. to get the bill signed. In

light on June being now known as African American Music Month aka Black Music Month throughout the world.

After seeing Dyana Williams on a panel talking about this immense month, I was very interested in what she had to say about this coveted month in music. The excitement I felt after hearing that passionate story made me want to do my part in the efforts of keeping Black

open mic night- “Hidden Soul Wednesdays,� I knew once I wrote out my vision and started to talk about it, the people of Philly and artists would support.

Within nine weeks from the time I heard Dyana speak, I started to writing out the vision of what I thought Black Music Month should be.

The Comeback “Philly Styleâ€? was birthed June 30, 2010 at The Community College of Philadelphia. 265 seats were wÂ?Â?i` ĂœÂˆĂŒÂ… >Â?Â? iĂŒÂ…Â˜ÂˆVÂˆĂŒÂˆiĂƒ Âœv Â“Ă•ĂƒÂˆV lovers. Thirteen artists hit the stage one by one, honoring artists: Phyllis Hyman, Teddy Pendergrass, Jill Scott and more.

That year we also honored

Ăž>˜> 7ˆÂ?Â?ˆ>Â“Ăƒ ĂœÂˆĂŒÂ… ĂŒÂ…i Âş*Ă€ÂœwÂ?i in Excellence and Innovation Lifetime Achievement,â€? which we later put in her name. After a few years doing this event, Dyana gave me her blessing to continue on doing this event and it has forever changed my life.

Since 2010 we have honored more than 20 contributors in black music. Some past award recipients are: Gamble and Huff, Congressman Chaka Fattah, Wendy “Lady Bâ€? Clark, Carvin Haggins and Ivan Barias, Neicy Tribbett, Marsha Ambrosius, >Ă˘Â“ÂˆÂ˜i -Ă•Â?Â?ÂˆĂ›>˜ >˜` Â“ÂœĂ€i° This year, The ComeBack “Philly

recipients, Grammy award winning duo Helen Bruner and Terry Jones, Senator Vincent Hughes and his beautiful wife, award winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph and Stellar Award winner Lonnie Hunter. The event will be hosted by Radio One radio personality Tiffany Bacon.

For more information on The ComeBack and the history of Black Music Month visit www. im3media.com. “I love The Comeback because it celebrates the success of Philly artist, musicians and

management teams, at the same time introducing new and up & coming artist and musiciansâ€? —2013 recipient Grammy Award Winning Carvin Haggins The Comeback is a much needed event. An event which encourages a community of VĂ€i>ĂŒÂˆĂ›i ˆ˜`ÂˆĂ›Âˆ`Ă•>Â?Ăƒ ĂŒÂœ ĂƒÂœVˆ>Â?ÂˆĂ˘i] support and encourage one anotherâ€?– 2014 recipient Carol Riddick

Isaac Hamm III

Music Month alive. Already having a pretty good ear to the Philadelphia music scene via my

Style� will celebrate its 7th year anniversary and we are proud to announce our 2016 award

Âş/Â…i wĂ€ĂƒĂŒ Âœv ÂˆĂŒĂƒ Žˆ˜`t /Â…ÂˆĂƒ ÂˆĂƒ ĂœÂ…>ĂŒ it’s all about -- representing for the past and the future.â€?

-- Ukee Washington, CBS3 News Philadelphia morning anchorman [2010]

22| ROOT

THE BENEDICTION

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No words.

No caption.

Simply Prince 1958 - 2016

Photo Courtesy of Rolling Stone

I HEAR MUSIC EDITION

Issue 23

Jun/Jul 2016

BRIAN COURTNEY WILSON SAY HELLO TO MR. NICE GUY

TODD DULANEY

A WORSHIPPER’S HEART

+PLUS MYRON BUTLER

GERALD & TAMMI HADDON

LATICE CRAWFORD BLACK MUSIC MONTH

AND MORE!