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Daja Rice on new book ‘Daddy’s Girl’ and the journey from heartbreak to redemption with father

Below is the abridged transcript of my interview with Daja Rice, which first aired June 4, on “The Gospel Music Fever Show” with Libra Boyd. #GMFRadio

By Libra Boyd

Gospel Music Fever

Photo | Montez Hilliard

Daja Rice is a singer, professional theater performing artist, playwright, and author of the book, Daddy’s Girl. She’s originally from Spring Valley, NY and presently resides in GA with her husband, Jonathan. Aside from serving in ministry with her husband, she has spent much of her career performing on stage and enhancing the education of youth through the performing arts.

Libra: Daja, how are you?

Daja: I’m great! How are you?

Libra: I’m doing well, I’m excited [for you to talk] to us about your brand new book, Daddy’s Girl. I really want to get into that, but before we do, I would love for you tell our audience about your ministry. You are in ministry with your husband Jonathan and currently, you are based in Georgia. You and Jonathan both sing. Tell me a little bit about that, because you’ve come on Facebook Live, and maybe done some singing [on there], and you’ve done some worship events.

Daja: Yes, we have a duo called The Rices and we sing [gospel music] together. Singing is something that we enjoy doing together, but we don’t just limit our marriage ministry to that. We also enjoy having candid and transparent conversations with people about marriage and the lessons that we learn. As a matter of fact, this past Friday (June 1), we celebrated our first year anniversary–

Libra: Congratulations!

Daja: … as a married couple. Thank you, thank you, thank you! So excited that we made it.

Libra: Absolutely.

Daja: Because millions didn’t. We’re one of the couples who did. So, to commemorate that, on Thursday, we had a conversation on Facebook Live, called “365 Things I Know About Marriage”. And the reason why we called it that–we didn’t actually talk about 365 things–but we called it that because a lot of times people don’t think that newlyweds know anything about marriage, and that is so untrue. You literally learn something new every single day. Hence the name, “365 Things I Know About Marriage,” because we learn something new every day. And so if you wanna shoot over to Facebook, www.facebook.com/thericessing, you’ll find that video there.

Photo | Tierre Peterson

Libra: Awesome. And you have a brand new book called Daddy’s Girl. Tell us about it.

Daja: Daddy’s Girl is an autobiographical story about my process from heartbreak to redemption with my natural father, which inspires women to not only literally acknowledge and embrace the power of the father/daughter relationship, but it also shares personal experiences, like I said, with an effective strategy to promote healing and redemption period. Not only with your natural father, but with anyone or even with yourself. And so I’m really excited about it, because it’s always a beautiful thing when God turns your test into a testimony, and so I’m hoping that this will be a blessing to people.

Libra: [I like how readers have] the opportunity to reflect [through] the writing prompts [that] are connected to each of the nine chapters of the book. You said in the book that your assignment is to “help people choose forgiveness, even if you don’t get an apology.” Your assignment is to “help people to choose love, even if your heart is broken.” How did you find this place? How did you come to understand this as your assignment?

Daja: I just believe that [just as I] overcome by the words of my testimony, so will other people and so I believe that because God gave me this beautiful story, I have a mandate on myself to share it with other people and let them be blessed by it. And so that’s how I came into knowing that as my assignment. But before it becomes an assignment, it’s just a reality. Sin is a hard reality to face when you do have to do things like forgiving people who don’t say sorry, or love when your heart is broken. Those are hard things to do. And so what I wanted to do through this book was share my experiences with other people [and] tell them how I took responsibility for my healing and redemption.

Libra: You talk about the point at which you were with your then-boyfriend, now husband. You recalled the point that you were with him at the fair and you had a breakdown. But it was a breakdown that ended up being the breaking point that provided the segue for your breakthrough. Tell us more about that.

Daja: It was a powerful moment because I realized just how emotionally unstable I was, and that’s a hard reality to face too–because it provokes you. You have to do something. And you can’t just sit back and blame other people for how you feel; you have to take responsibility for it. So I listened. In context. My husband–or my boyfriend at the time–and I were at the fair. We’d had a really great time, it was an awesome day, and then we get in the car and I just burst into tears [over] what we thought was nothing. But it wasn’t “nothing.” It’s never “nothing.” So [I went] on this rant about how unhappy I was. He let me let it all out, and then he [said] to me–and I don’t even think he knew how powerful this was at the time, “You want me to be your father and I can’t be. I can’t be your father.”

Because I had a void there for my natural father, I was expecting Jonathan to fill areas that he was not meant to fill. And when you do that, it’s a very dangerous thing because then you start to place unrealistic expectations on your counterpart. And everybody comes into our life for a reason, and so I compared people to rubber bands in Daddy’s Girl. I said, “You know, rubber bands will do just like people. They’ll do what they’re supposed to do, but if you try to stretch them too much, eventually they’ll pop.” And that’s what I started to see with Jonathan. It was just, you know it was one of those “pop” moments, like, “Girl, I love you, but I can’t be all of this for you. I can only be what God has called me to be for you, and that is a boyfriend right now. And one day it might become a husband, but it will never be a father. That’s not what God called me to be for you.”

And so once I faced that reality, I also faced the reality that some of the pain and some of the hurt that I was experiencing, I was actually bringing on myself.

Photo | Tierre Peterson

Libra: Was Jonathan aware of the nature of the relationship between you and your father at that time?

Daja: Yes, but Jonathan (pictured right), even though he was aware of the nature of our relationship, only got my side–because my father lived almost a thousand miles away from me. And so my father and Jonathan had met, but they didn’t have a lot of interaction with each other, and Jonathan didn’t have the opportunity to make his own judgment.

It took me a little time [to come to terms with the reality that Jonathan presented me that day at the fair], but he was right. And I didn’t realize that until maybe a couple weeks later. So when I finally realized that he was right, I didn’t even tell him that he was right. I just went to work. I sat with it, I reflected on it, and then I did something with it.

Libra: And what strikes me is that you handled all this with care. You mentioned in the book that you received your father’s blessings to write Daddy’s Girl, which I think is critically important because your father is still a part of your life. He was at your wedding. How is your relationship with your father now, and what has been his response to the completed book?

Daja: My relationship with my father is real. It’s a real father/daughter relationship. We talk often. He gives me his fatherly advice. He disagrees with some of the things I do. I disagree with some of the things he does. We love each other through it. It’s a real father/daughter relationship. None of that idealistic stuff that I used to hold him to, and so our relationship is redeemed in that way. And what he thinks about this book is that people will be blessed by it, just like I do. And so he’s just super supportive.

Libra: Well that’s really encouraging. That has to mean a lot to you. How can folks purchase Daddy’s Girl?

Daja: You can go to www.thericesent.com and shop there. I am [also] going to start a virtual book club on Facebook. So if you want to be notified about that when it starts, just subscribe to our mailing list on the website [I just mentioned], and you’ll be notified when that starts as well.

Clarence Fountain (1929-2018) and The Blind Boys of Alabama enjoyed commercial appeal

GMF joins countless others in extending condolences in the passing of Clarence Fountain. The co-founding member and lead singer of the Five Blind Boys of Alabama made his transition June 3, 2018, in Baton Rouge, LA, at the age of 88.

Fountain and the Blind Boys enjoyed success on the gospel highway and appeal with mainstream audiences, amassing a dedicated fanbase, numerous commendations, five Grammy Awards, and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award during the band’s seven-decade recording career. The legendary frontman last recorded with the group on the 2017 album, Almost Home, though he had not toured with them since 2007, due to health issues. The Blind Boys of Alabama remain active today with the last remaining leader from their classic lineup, Jimmy Carter.

The Gospel Music Fever Radio Show with Libra Boyd will celebrate Clarence Fountain’s life with music and tributes this Monday, June 11, at 12c/1e on KWAY digital broadcast.

Meanwhile, read more here about the life and music career of Fountain.

– Photo from Blind Boys of Alabama Facebook page

60 Seconds with Rapper Mike Teezy

By Jane M. White
GMF Special Contributor

Mike Teezy is a rapper, singer/songwriter, musician, and dancer whose music – inspired by everyone from Kirk Franklin and Michael Jackson to Kendrick Lamar and Busta Rhymes – is creating a buzz throughout the gospel and urban inspirational community. I recently caught up with him for a literal minute at the 2018 Rejoice Awards, just before he was announced as the winner in the Urban artist category.

Mike, how did you get started?

I started off with poetry. I was always behind the scenes playing the drums and stuff like that. Poetry was my outlet to relieve stress or whatever I was going through at the moment, and then I thought, why not put it to a beat? So that’s pretty much what God started doing with me.

What is your latest album called?

I actually just dropped my new EP, Szn (pronounced “season”). I dropped that on my birthday, April 7th.

And how can people purchase it?

It’s on Spotify, Amazon, Apple music – everything!

Where are you based?

I’m in Winston-Salem, NC at Faith Christian Outreach Center, where my father [Michael Tyree] is the pastor.

How can people contact Mike Teezy?

My website is www.miketeezymusic.com.

DunAmis Kids Gospel Awards to celebrate youths’ contributions to community, region

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

The DunAmis Gospel Awards is gearing up for its very first awards event to recognize and promote children in ministry.

Billed as “The Ultimate Kid Experience,” the DunAmis Kids Gospel Awards will honor youth from ages five through seventeen who spread the gospel throughout their community and region. Awards will be presented in thirteen categories. The nomination window is open until June 16 at www.dunamisgospelawards.org.

The celebration, which will include red carpet interviews and spirited live performances, is set to take place August 25, 2018, at Morning Star Baptist Church in Burlington, NC.

The DunAmis Kids Gospel Awards is founded by Bishop Terry L. Young.

“I Can’t Afford” – Lowell Pye

“I Can’t Afford”
Lowell Pye
From the CD, The Master’s Will Project (2015)
www.masterswillmusic.com

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Lowell Pye appears on The Master’s Will Project with “I Can’t Afford,” a brisk traditional hand-clapper that hearkens to his New Life Community Choir days with John P. Kee.

A standout feature of “I Can’t Afford” is the way in which Lowell skillfully allows ample breathing room within its verses sans a grunt, moan, or riff in every cranny. The Stellar Award-winning singer seems to focus squarely on delivering the song’s straightforward message: God’s love and goodness continually exceed Lowell’s faults and frailties. In return, he “can’t afford to let [his] Savior down.”

The Master’s Will Project, executive produced by husband-wife team Dale and Carla Conaway, is the debut release from Master’s Will Music. Both the full-length CD and “I Can’t Afford” were nominated for Radio Alliance Awards in 2017 for CD of the Year and Traditional Song of the Year, respectively.

Winners of 2018 Rejoice Awards announced; Nancy Wilson recipient of Legend Award

By Libra Boyd

Gospel Music Fever

Nancy Carree Wilson and Duncan Butler

Congratulations to the winners and honorees announced at the 2018 Rejoice Awards, held Saturday, April 14, at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, NC.

Pastor and singer Nancy Carree Wilson was celebrated with this year’s Legend Award. Her résumé includes recordings with Bishop Larry Trotter & Sweet Holy Spirit and Pastor Debra Morton & the Women of Excellence Choir. In 2004, she released her own project–recorded live at Chicago’s Sweet Holy Spirit Church–entitled, Nancy Wilson – Designed for Worship. Additionally, Pastor Wilson, whose son Isaac Carree also enjoys success as a gospel recording artist, was a host of the long-running weekly regional television show, “Gospel Expo.” In 1994, the songstress and media personality became pastor of Greensboro’s New Beginnings Community Outreach Church.

Singer/pianist/songwriter Duncan Butler got double trophy love Saturday afternoon. He walked away with a pair of glass trophies for the Artist of the Year and Contemporary categories.

The Rejoice Awards is produced by Unwind Communications Outreach Network (UCON) and The UCON Alliance of Gospel Music Professionals to recognize the accomplishments of local and regional gospel artists, media, and legends for their contributions to gospel music and the community. For more information about UCON, visit http://ucontalent.wixsite.com/ucon. The complete list of awardees is as follows:

Praise and Worship
Kendall McDowell and RAW

Traditional
Charity Davis

Contemporary
Duncan Butler

Urban
Mike Teezy

Quartet
FOCUS

Instrumental
Gregory Amos

Media
Tony Welborne
WNAA 90.1 FM

Legend
Nancy Carree Wilson

Artist of the Year
Duncan Butler

Yvonne Staples of the Staple Singers has died

From left: Cleotha, Mavis, Yvonne, and Roebuck “Pops” Staples.

CHICAGO (AP) — Yvonne Staples, whose voice and business acumen powered the success of the Staple Singers, her family’s hit-making gospel group that topped the charts in the early 1970s with the song “I’ll Take You There,” has died. She was 80.

Staples died Tuesday at home in Chicago, according to Chicago funeral home Leak and Sons.

She performed with her sisters Mavis and Cleotha and their father, Pops, on hits such as “Respect Yourself” and “I’ll Take You There,” their first No. 1 hit. The family was also active in civil rights and performed at the request of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Yvonne Staples wasn’t as interested in singing as the rest of her family but stepped in when her brother, Pervis, left for military service, according to family friend Bill Carpenter, author of Uncloudy Day: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia. Yvonne Staples also helped her father with business tasks, Carpenter said.

“She was very no nonsense but at the same time had a heart of gold,” Carpenter said. “But when it came to business she was very strict. If this is what the contract said, this is what you better do.”

Staples was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with her family in 1999. The group also received a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys in 2005. Still, Staples wasn’t interested in the limelight, Carpenter said.

“She didn’t want to talk about her own singing,” Carpenter said. “She said ‘Mavis is the star. Mavis is the voice.’ She never cared about attention for herself.”

Yvonne Staples was Mavis Staples’ road manager until recent years, Carpenter said.

The family’s music career had its roots with Pops Staples, a manual laborer who strummed a $10 guitar while teaching his children gospel songs to keep them entertained in the evenings. They sang in church one Sunday morning in 1948, and three encores and a heavy church offering basket convinced Pops that music was in the family’s future — and the Staple Singers was born.

Two decades later, the group became an unlikely hit maker for the Stax label. The Staple Singers had a string of Top 40 hits with Stax in the late 1960s, earning them the nickname “God’s greatest hitmakers.”

The family also became active in the civil rights movement after hearing the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver a sermon while they were on tour in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1962. They went on to perform at events at King’s request.

It was during that period that the family began recording protest songs, such as “Freedom Highway,” as well as gospel.

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