(PHOTOGRAPH: BET PRESS)
Kirk Franklin’s name may be synonymous with gospel music, but with his hand in television, radio programming and hosting it is easy to think he is working hard to advance his own brand.
On the contrary, Franklin, 44, insists his goal is to make sure that God will be famous today and for the coming generations. Franklin’s popularity is hard to ignore with his own Sirius XM radio station, Kirk Franklin’s Praise, television hosting gigs on The Game Show Network’s “The American Bible Challenge” and BET’s “Sunday Best.”
Still, the musician finds time to run his own record label, Fo Yo Soul Entertainment, while hosting a gospel brunch at every House of Blues establishment across the country. Franklin told The Christian Post how much fun it is to be involved with his various projects, but revealed a deeper reason for taking on each endeavor.
“I’m always trying to find innovative ways to be able to keep God famous,” Franklin told The Christian Post. “For all the properties I’m involved in, that’s been my agenda. I think that sometimes we have compromised quality content for the fear of Christianity, and I think that they both can co-exist.”
While Franklin has a break from co-hosting GSN’s “The American Bible Challenge” which aired its third season finale in July, he is honoring his hosting duties on “Sunday Best.” After seven years of appearing on the popular BET gospel music singing competition, Franklin is still excited to return as the show’s host.
“It’s very cool to see people get excited about content that is still very vertical,” he told CP. “That’s what I want to do and get involved in. I continue to try to push that agenda.”
Although Franklin said he could never judge the competition because he would have a hard time sitting still, the veteran gospel musician is an executive producer for the show and decided to sign “Sunday Best” winners to his Fo Yo Soul record label. Tasha Page-Lockhart won the competition last season, which resulted in Franklin signing her and executive producing her recently released debut album, “Here Right Now.”
Franklin has a vision, not only for Page-Lockhart’s album or for his singing group The Wall Group, but for his record label to which they belong.
“We’re trying to create content that is very culturally forward without compromising the push of the gospel,” he told CP.
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: The Christian Post
Christine Thomasos
BCNN1 WP 