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A W A R D S

Issue 31

JEKALYN CARR YOUNG AND IN CHARGE

E D I T I O N

Nov/Dec 2019

MULTIPLE STELLAR WINNER OPENS UP ABOUT STARTING A FAMILY AND BUILDING AN EMPIRE!

Editor's Note Greetings, We are still celebrating 10 years of Root Magazine and we literally could not have done it without all of our many readers, supporters, sponsors and clients over the last decade. Our Root 10 celebration in Las Vegas was simply insane! I personally want to thank each and every artist who performed: CeCe Nykole, Shelby 5, Rodney Jerkins, Keith Wonderboy Johnson, Keyondra Lockett, Jor’dan Armstrong, JJ Hairston, Tasha Page Lockhart, Isabel Davis, Leon Timbo, Christina Bell, Sensere and The entire My

Block roster; Mary Mary, Jason McGee and The Choir, Joi Starr, Krista Campbell, Toni Estes, Jason Champion, Lena Byrd Miles, social guest Anthony Brown and a special announcement for their newest signee, The Walls Group.

Special thanks to Jackie Patillo for seeing something in me and my team to partner with the GMA/Dove Awards for the inaugural Dove Awards Gospel event which we appropriately named: Root 10 Reloaded.

We were also honored to pay homage to some amazing trailblazers in Gospel music when we gave special awards to Vicki Mack- Lataillade, Dr. Leonard Scott, Donald Lawrence, Wardell Malloy and Jonathan McReynolds.

Root 10 Reloaded will finish where Root 10 left off with encore performances from our Stellar line-up, with a few amazing artists that will be the talk of Dove Awards week! And get this, we are honoring music royalty, CeCe Winans, who I have been a fan of since I was 14 years old. She has been my “Gospel Crush” ever since and my wife

I was literally on a high for about two weeks after the celebration and thankful to God for allowing Root Magazine to make such an impact in the world of Gospel music. We made history in many ways that day and with the premier of the documentary: Rooted and Grounded: The Evolution of Gospel Music. To see the reaction on people’s faces and to hear the applause of the crowd was a feeling that I cannot explain, especially after seven years of hard work! Welcome to Issue #31 of Root Magazine: The Dove Awards edition. This issue features two of the most dynamic artists of our time, Leon Timbo and Jekalyn Carr. Leon Timbo is one of the most eclectic and talented singers in the music business and he has the innate ability to cross musical genres without compromise, while Jekalyn, at just 22, is already a multiple Stellar Award winner, Grammy® nominee and future legend. Both have what it takes to take Gospel music to the next level.

Thank you to my amazing team: Fatima, Shawn, Roudy, Racquelle, Erika, John, Harry, Michelle, Mike, Vicki, Samantha, Bobby, Larif, my beautiful wife Kimberly and all of the volunteers who helped make Root 10 a success. To my documentary team: Derrick, Ashley and Jasmin, thank you for continuing to push this history making film. All of our hard work will not be in vain. You guys have been rocking out with Root for 10 years and although it hasn’t always been easy but it has definitely been worth it. I LOVE GOSPEL MUSIC! Love, Live Life! E-mail: Hasan@RootMagazineOnline.com Instagram & Twitter: @ROOTMAGAZINE Facebook: ROOT MAGAZINE

Editor-In-Chief: Hasan James Senior Art Director Fatima Burke www.fatimaburke.com

IN THIS ISSUE JEKALYN CARR ...............................................................06 FLIP SIDE:

LEON TIMBO .......................................................................11

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Contributors Michael Gordon Shadé Newkirk Chloe Vanderpoole Meta Washington David Williams J.S. Williams Jr Editors Kayla Johnson Amari Smith Jya Turner Photography Steve Ackerman Allen Cooley Jackie Hicks

Photography (cont’d) Alexander Lejo Simon Muchnik Stephen Reid DeWayne Rogers Jeremiah Sabado Alan Silfen ShotbySed Management Shawn Gibbs for The Firm Artist Management Sales & Marketing Ricardo Cantrell Kenneth Boyd Printing Shweiki Media

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

t just 22 years old, Jekalyn Carr has already given us more than enough music to last a lifetime. With five albums and five Top Ten singles to match, Carr is destined to follow in the foot steps of some of the great, solo female artists we know by one name. Think Shirley, Albertina, CeCe, Yolanda and now Jekalyn!

Young & IN CHARGE

Her work ethic is that of someone twice her age and she still has a long way to go. With just one week away from a history making LIVE recording in Atlanta, Jekalyn talks about songwriting, life outside of music and starting a family one day.

pen Hasan James camera Kauwuane Burton

Root: You are about to record your sixth album in Atlanta, in front of 17,000 people. That’s a huge deal, so tell us a bit about that. Jekalyn: I am extremely excited about this new season that Got has me in and I hate to be deep but the Lord spoke to me and said,“This is not just another album, this is an assignment” and through this album I’m going to do three things: I’m going to restore, and not only is God restoring things to you, but he’s also restoring you back to where you belong. Secondly, he’s going to release victory. So many times we feel like we have to look for victory, but God says, I’ve released victory and it’s already in you, all you don’t have to do is tap into it and then you’ll begin to see the manifestation of it. Lastly, it’s about revealing your God given identity. I tell people all the time, you don’t want to just have the title of “I was born into royalty, I am joint heirs with Christ,” but you don’t want to have the lifestyle. There are benefits that comes with the covenant that God has made with you, and so all of that within this one album and I’m extremely excited. Root: Every single time I hear your song, “You’re Bigger,” I get so emotional and it amazes me that you wrote that song as a teenager. Often times we look at our youth and young adults and think that

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they don’t go through things like adults do. How do you write from a place like that being so young? Jekalyn: You know, my writing is based off of a few things. As you know, the best place to write from is from experience. During the time when God gave me that song, my family and I were believing God for something that looked entirely too big for us, so that song was birthed to remind God’s people that what may look big to you is small to God. Therefore, you have to learn how to trust his plan and know that he has you taken care of. I listened to different testimonies of people and people and they would tell me different things that is going on in their life and when God has assigned you to something, sometimes you feel the pressure of what the people of God are going through, and that also pushes the type of songs out that God wants me to release and that anointing for that next album as well. All of my songs come straight from the presence of God, so you can count on all of those elements in my writing process. Root: How old were you when you discovered you had the gift of singing, preaching and songwriting? Jekalyn: I was five years old when I started singing and 13 years old when I began preaching.

Root: You’re young, beautiful and successful. Do you make time to date? Jekalyn: Currently I am not dating, but I do have the desire to have a family. I actually want a big family like The Jacksons! Root: Oh so you want nine kids? You actually do come from a very close knit family. Jekalyn: Yes I do. And my family is big on both my mother and my father’s side of the family. Root: You are indeed a mini-mogul in the making and you have already done so many things at a young age. You and your family own your own record label imprint but what are some things that you want to work on outside of music? Jekalyn: I’m actually getting ready to launch my cosmetic line and the name of it is Jekalyn Beauty. We’re definitely excited about it but an endeavor of this magnitude takes time and anything worth having is worth waiting for, so we’re not rushing the process. We are in the final stages and I’m so excited about it.I also have some other things I am working on that I can’t speak on just yet but just know that some great things are coming very soon.

don’t think I would even know to see life this way. Root: What is a day in the life of Leon Timbo? Leon Timbo: WOW! That’s a very good question. You know, to be transparent with you, I’m rediscovering what that means. If you would’ve asked me that five years ago, I would’ve still been in the middle of an album probably with Tyrese or Mano Hanes (Andraé Crouch, Marvin Winans), who are two amazing brothers of mine. But the loss of my father left me with kind of a rebirth, if you will, that I’m still discovering. So a day in the life of Leon Timbo consists of opportunities to create connection with people, to create partnerships and to empower others. I’m doing an initiative right now called Leon Timbo and Me and the reason I’m so passionate about this initiative is because I have so many opportunities that I can’t enjoy all of it, and I realized there are a lot of people that wish they had some of the opportunities that I had. So, I’m going to be the bridge to connect, partner and empower them into what they’re dreaming and wanting to build and remind them that they’re not alone in their journey to discovering the best version of themselves. Root: I remember the first time I saw you perform LIVE was at a Ray Chew event in Harlem and I was blown away! Shortly before that though, I saw a YouTube clip of you singing in a restaurant for R. Kelly at the request of Tyrese. Did you actually build a relationship with R. Kelly after that? Leon Timbo: I met Tyrese when I was ministering at The Potter’s House in Dallas and from that relationship I’ve met and worked with the likes of R. Kelly, Babyface, David Foster and the list goes on. When I began working with R. Kelly, that was at a time when he wasn’t necessarily in album making mode, we were just creating music. But what I learned from that experience was that you can be so wounded that you create a world of protection and become whatever you want to be and live life without consequence. So initially, it’s out of protection so that you will never be below anything or anyone else again and if you do that well enough, you

create a world where you can move and operate any kind of way. The penalty comes when the consequences of how you operate in your world come back to haunt you. The bottom line is, the choices that were made out of a mode of protection without somebody to check you and tell you that you’ve gone too far, has become damaging to him. Root: What is it like being on stage? Leon Timbo: At this point in my life, it’s become the most humbling feeling because I’ve come to realize that people don’t have to feel or enjoy what you do. They don’t have to sing your songs or even connect with it. I’m sure there’s this thrill that in previous chapters of my life, you know, when you get on stage and there’s this excitement, exuberance and electricity that you feel. Just being able to conduct this perfect choir of emotion, connection and relationship and you guys are walking through songs that are emotional and that take you to certain places. It’s like you’re the perfect storyteller to an audience that’s waiting to hear your next story. Root: What’s next for Leon Timbo?

McDonalds? Yes, that movie was fascinating. Leon Timbo: One of the characters by the name of Mack had a line in a movie where he said, “And there we were, an overnight sensation 30 years in a making.” Root: I remember that line… Leon Timbo: If you never lived that life, you don’t understand the brevity of that statement. You can be digging a well for decades and all of a sudden it’s there and people don’t know you’ve been there, so I’m finally enjoying what that feels like and I’m excited about taking that journey. There’s an unknown aspect that I try not to put a title on, the unknown things. I’m at a place in my life that if I didn’t have a little bit of wonder, I would go crazy. I’m talking about movies, I’m talking about a TV show. I’m talking about a little bit of wonder on something I can’t touch that I know is right on the edge of what I’m doing. So that’s what’s next for me, man and I’m finally enjoying the journey!

Leon Timbo: I am so excited about this new music. I believe for the first time I’m able to articulate what goes on in my soul in an internal way that still relates to this commercial secular music structure. Without dotting I’s or crossing T’s, it’s just going to be raw Leon Timbo. I’m playing around with a title called Home and I’m really excited about doing my new music and touring. I’m excited about giving people a great show and about empowering people with this Leon Timbo and Me initiative. I’m excited about seeing and joining people that never met each other with opportunities that they wouldn’t have gotten any other way. I’m excited about being the bridge for that. One of my favorite movies is The Founder. Have you seen that movie? Root: The story of

Leon Timbo has been singing for over a decade, yet he’s still on the brink. The Soul/Gospel singer opens up about R. Kelly, Big Shiz, His future and what it’s like navigating through R&B and Gospel music effortlessly.

Transparent Soul pen Hasan James camera Alwon Mayweather

Root: Timbo, what’s up my brother? How’s everything? Leon Timbo: Everything is amazing, man! Some amazing things are happening, but it’s so weird that at the very same time some of the craziest things are happening but overall, I’ve learned to live a life with my hands wide open to the blessings that God has. Root: It’s ironic that you say that because although we are celebrating God’s blessings, we are also mourning the loss of our dear friend LaShawn Daniels, who was laid to rest today. Did you get a chance to work with him? Leon Timbo: I actually had a couple of amazing experiences with LaShawn. What was special about him was that he had an innate genius to take each artist that he worked with and pull the best out of them, but even in that, you still heard the heart of that artist. You never realized somebody was back there orchestrating these vocal choices. Only people that knew the game, really knew what it took to bring that level of quality. During my initial years of working with Tyrese, LaShawn (Big Shiz) was the “Go To” guy for vocal production and all elements of music production, and he taught you how to create an atmosphere in that space that was cold! That’s what made him so disseminating.

Root: I think you and him were similar in a lot of ways, in that you both are church boys who know how to navigate in both mainstream and gospel arenas. How are you able to successfully do that? Leon Timbo: Well, you know, the core of what music does to the soul is essentially the same. You learn that all genres of music have sounds, instrumentation choices and context. Words are words and they can create a truth, so whether the truth is romantic, whether that truth is an eternal truth or whether that truth is an idea of relationship on whatever level; as a friend, lover or worshiper, those words are what they are, but whatever vehicle you put them in, you have to know the in’s and outs of that vehicle and articulate your expression based on that vehicle. Certain genres of music create culture, and so the instrumentation used in representing that genre plays in how that culture was built and sustained. That’s why Hip-Hop has such a natural street culture and uses natural street elements, in which it’s evolved. However, if you don’t respect the elements used in the culture, you can’t respect the genre as a whole. The gospel genre came from a very jazzy perspective because the founder of gospel music was a jazz pianist, so when you respect the order of the origin, then you’re able to live in that genre and honor it properly.

Root: Tell us how you began collaborating with Northern Lights United? Leon Timbo: Over the last ten years or so, I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to mentor some amazing musicians and what I decided to do was to create a community that allowed worship leaders to come through and kind of stand united as a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic community and I built that umbrella so that I could invite these worship leaders in and then move forward with releasing albums. We have people from Sweden, as well as people from all across the United States and that’s where the concept of Northern Lights United came from. Root: I hear you have been spending a lot of time in California. Leon Timbo: Home for me is Los Angels and that’s because I connected with a brother by the name of Albert Tate from Jackson, Mississippi who started a church called Fellowship Church in the Los Angeles area. The church is seven years old and it’s an authentic multicultural experience like no other. This is a black pastor with a black wife and you wouldn’t believe some of the racial reconciliation and honest conversation that we get to experience, and truthfully if it wasn’t for his relationship in this season of my life, I

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THE BENEDICTION THE PAY PHONE By Gene Burke I know this may be hard to do, but can you remember a time when there were no cell phones? A time when the only way you can get in touch with someone was to hit them on their sky pager. Well in order for that person to contact you back quickly, they would have to dig deep in their pocket, pull out a shiny quarter and find…. you guessed it, a pay phone! In 1995, there were reportedly over 2.5 million pay phones in the United States. As of 2013, there were less than 500,000 (where are they?). Just like the kids of this present generation cannot imagine the thought of developing pictures at a drug store, the same can be said for a phone that you had to pay 25 cents to use for only a few minutes on a street corner. If you are thinking that life is so much easier now, let’s not be so quick to dump the nostalgia of the pay phone for the luxury of a pint- sized computer that you can talk on. The pay phone did not consume every waking moment of your day. The pay phone didn’t talk back to you or get interrupted for non-payment (although it did threaten to terminate your call if you didn’t put an extra nickel in the slot). Furthermore, the pay phone had a time limit. There was no time for awkward silence or silly text messages with acronyms that you need a dictionary to understand. Sure, modern technology is great and we love our iPhones and Galaxy’s, but the fact remains that life was much simpler when we weren’t held captive to technologically savvy gadgets. Lest we forget, The Pay Phone.

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