JJ Hairston And Youthful Praise Burn Up The Charts

I had the pleasure meeting this awesome servant of the Lord a few years ago. A mutual friend and colleague, Joseph Burney, an executive at Zomba/Verity introduced us. I have had the privilege of working with some of the entertainment industries most gifted and talented artists and celebrities and by far this young man ranks amongst the most humble, grounded, and gifted artist I have ever met.

As for the music, this project features three of my all-time favorites, Pastor Shirley Caesar, Evangelist Dorinda Clark Cole and Myron Butler. Pastor Caesar lends hear vocals on the tag “High Praise”. This toe tappin’, hand clapping, head swaying song is a joyful up-tempo track that takes you to church. Pastor Caesar is one of the few gospel icons with whom I have yet to work. I hope to accomplish this sooner than later. Evangelist Cole not only is one of my favorite artist to work with, but her vocals are always smooth as silk and off the chain! As always, she delivers a powerful performance on the jazzy gospel selection, “Still Mighty, Still Strong.” Myron Butler graces the project with, “Great Expectation.” This up-tempo song is a wonderful praise and worship song with its celebratory overtones.

Other notable mentions are, “Powerful God”, “Lord You’re Mighty”, and the title song, “Resting on His Promise” is an awesome anthem of encouragement, hope and faith that speaks to the awesome relationship that we have with our Father and Maker, and the promises He has made to us.

“Resting On His Promise” is currently in the #4 position on Billboard’s Charts.

Derrick L.Wade is a Life Coach for Gospel Music on www.Elev8.com. You can visit him at www.derricklwade.com.

The Merge Summit: Where Industry Meets Ministry

I had the privilege of attending The Merge Summit this past weekend. The summit is the brain child of industry executives Holly Davis Carter, and Robbi Reed with the purpose of providing opportunity and access to Christian talent who had a heart for ministry in the marketplace. The conference theme, “Integrating Ministry and Entertainment.”

There were several workshops offered with panelist and moderators that included the “whose who” of the entertainment industry at large. A few of the workshops offered were:

Artist Development - “The Making of An Artist” Master Class

In this Master Class, Mary Mary shared techniques and their insight on developing skills as a brandable artist, the gave advice including tips on imaging, style, and originality. They will also shared their in-depth knowledge and expertise in building a life in entertainment.

Music Business - “The Sound of Music” - An In-depth Discussion with Hitmakers

In this Class, hitmakers Warryn Campbell, President and CEO of MyBlock Records, Rodney Jerkins, CEO, Darkchild Entertainment were joined by “Big Jon” Platt, President West Coast Creative, EMI Music Publishing. In this class attendees gained perspective on writing hits across the musical spectrum.

The New Business of Gospel Music

Explored the inner workings of the new label system as it relates to artist development, budgets, content output and the new game of radio.

Over my twenty something years in the industry I have attended several conferences. I must say for this to be the inaugural year of this conference, they have gotten off to a great start. I would strongly urge you to add next years conference to your calendar, which is slated to take place in Atlanta, Ga.

Derrick L.Wade is a Life Coach for Gospel Music on www.Elev8.com. You can visit him at www.derricklwade.com.