Author: Libra Boyd

Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.

Protest against the decision made by American leaders

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"You Are God" – Charlie Bereal (Video)


Enjoy Charlie Bereal’s video of the single, “You Are God,” directed by Reymundo Santos.

Bereal has written and produced for the likes of Whitney Houston, Jamie Foxx, Mary Mary, and Chris Brown.




"Where Are U?" – CL Carr (Video)





Enjoy CL Carr’s video of the single, “Where Are U?” CL (www.clcarrmusic.com) is the president and CEO of C eL Entertainment, Inc.




R.I.P. Roy "June" Foster, Jr. of The Warrenton Echoes

Roy "June" Foster, Jr. has passed.
GMF extends heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Roy “June” Foster, Jr., who passed away December 21, 2017, at the age of 79.
 
Foster was an original member of The Warrenton Echoes.  The group, according to North Carolina Folklife Institute, is “Warren County, North Carolina’s premier African American gospel quartet. Since the group’s inception in 1957, the Echoes have served as a training ground for North Carolina gospel talent….By the 1960s, the Warrenton Echoes refined their own unique style that featured traditional African American hymns in tight gospel quartet harmony.  Despite their far-reaching acclaim—the group regularly traveled the East Coast and played with groups like the Dixie Hummingbirds—the Warrenton Echoes remained a homegrown enterprise.”
 

Alongside Foster’s tenure with the Warrenton Echoes, the quartet veteran sang extensively as a soloist.  In 2014, he told The Henderson Dispatch’s David Irvine he’d probably performed over a thousand solos over the years.

Homegoing information for Foster is as follows:

Viewing
Friday, December 29, 2017
12 Noon – 7 PM
(Family present from 5 PM to 7 PM)
Davis-Royster Funeral Service, Inc.
926 S. Garnett Street
Henderson, NC  27536

Musical Celebration
Friday, December 29, 2017
7 PM
Greater New Hope Missionary Baptist Church
515 Raleigh Road
Oxford, NC  27565

Funeral
Saturday, December 30, 2017
11 AM
South Henderson Pentecostal Holiness Church
905 Americal Road
Henderson, NC  27536

“Shout It Loud” – Clifford

“Shout It Loud”
Clifford
From the EP, Love and Worship (2017)
Available at Soundcloud

Cover art for "Shout It Loud" by CliffordBy Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

From the EP Love and Worship, Clifford brings listeners “Shout It Loud,” produced by Dotkeez.  Throughout the CCM vertical worship tune, the singer/songwriter and worship leader extols God’s worth, asserting that he will proclaim his worship thunderously.

Clifford is based in Nigeria and balances careers in both music and medicine. 

"Mercy" – Prince Tai

“Mercy”
Prince Tai
From the CD, Lessons (2017)
Available at iTunes

Prince Tai art workBy Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

I got goodness on my right side
I got mercy on my left
And I know I don’t deserve it
Even my haters callin’ me blessed

Don’t mistake Prince Tai’s declaration for conceit, because while the singer/songwriter acknowledges, “I’m far from what I was,” he makes no bones about his need for God’s continual mercy.  In fact, “Mercy” is the name of his hip-hop tinged contemporary single and the plea therein contained.  The hook alone is infectious, but the prayer lyrically expresses a widespread confession and request: “I’m far from what I was, but I’m not yet what I shall be.  Have mercy on me…”

Prince Tai is based in Norcross, GA, and has caught the eye of notables like Drake, Michelle Williams, Tyrese, Erica Campbell, Tweet, and Missy Elliott.

"King of Glory" – Psalmist Raine & The Refresh Team

“King of Glory”
Psalmist Raine & The Refresh Team (2017)
 
Psalmist Raine King of Glory cover artBy Libra Boyd
 
“King of Glory” is the new single from Psalmist Raine and the Refresh Team’s forthcoming CD, Refresh Worship Live II: For the Nations.  The enthusiastic praise anthem, produced by Nicholas McCree of Salohcin Media Group, invokes the King of Glory’s presence, for “the Lord God strong and mighty is the greatest of them all…King of Glory, we welcome you!”
 
The full-length project was recorded live on September 29, 2017, at Atlanta’s Tabernacle of Praise International Church and is the Chicago-based singer’s fourth live recording.  “King of Glory” is available at CD Baby, and the entire CD is set for release in early 2018.

"The Train" – The Torain Family Singers

“The Train”
Torain Family Singers (October 2017)
www.facebook.com/groups/torainfamily

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

cover art

The Torain Family Singers of Roxboro, NC salute their group’s former lead singer with the spirited single, “The Train,” produced by Demetrius Ledbetter.  As its title suggests, the song incorporates gospel music’s often referenced train metaphor into its rollicking invite for the Heaven-bound ride.

Frances Torain, whose rustic, churchy singing style and non-showy stage presence frequently left congregations craving more, long after she and her group took their seats, boarded the train herself in 2016 (see related story).  

This October, the Torain Family Singers released “The Train,” one of Frances’ most recognizable and requested songs with the group.  Thanks to the magic of digital audio recording and a three year-old amateur live performance archive, Frances rejoins her family on this single for the number’s opening call, “Come on, come on, come on,” to which the family responds, “Don’tcha wanna go?”  From that point, Victor Torain moves the song forward with the family in tow, enthusiastically affirming, “Yes, I want to go!”  The family ultimately charges into the bass guitar-driven vamp with a recurring interjection of “ooh-hoo,” but not before eight year-old Makiyh Allen makes his own affirmative assertion (“Oh yeah!”), echoed by his elders. 

To ride, Victor sings, “You’ve got to be holy / you’ve got to live right / no matter what the people say / you’ve got to live right…”

"Glory to God" ft. Taylor Simone-Butts – Vernon Hill

“Glory to God” featuring Taylor Simone-Butts
Vernon Hill
From the CD, Great Joy (2015)
Available at iTunes

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

“Glory to God” is a featured single from the Great Joy holiday project, presented by producer/songwriter Vernon Hill. 

Taylor Simone-Butts leads the delightfully fluid Christian Adult Contemporary worship song.  Melodically, she calls us to proclaim, like the multitude of the heavenly host in Luke’s biblical narrative, 

We sing glory to God in the highest
Glory to God in the highest
Let there be peace on earth
Goodwill towards men
We sing glory to God in the highest 

The Great Joy CD is available at iTunes.

"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" – Wanda Mo'Net

“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
Wanda Mo’Net
Indie (2014)
www.wandamonet.com

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” has been recorded by dozens of artists.  Wanda Mo’Net joins the list of singers and instrumentalists who has now covered the decades-old seasonal tune.

The gospel singer and Atlanta native delivers a recorded performance that boasts warm layers of clear, crisp urban contemporary-styled vocals.  Though I occasionally hear pitch correction technology at work, I imagine it is probably more for stylistic effect than for actual pitch inaccuracies.  After all, Wanda has been singing publicly since the age of three, has shared the stage with a host of gospel greats, and is a former member of the Georgia Mass Choir.