Kirk Franklin

by itemvn  |  April 07, 2008 [Edit]

Kirk Franklin (born January 26, 1970 in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American Gospel music singer and author and is most notably known as the leader of urban contemporary gospel choirs such as the Family, God's Property and 1NC (One Nation Crew).

He signed with Sparrow Records in 1993, releasing Kirk Franklin & The Family. It spent almost 2 years on the gospel charts, also charted on the R&B charts (very rare for a Gospel artist), and went platinum. It stayed at #1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart for 42 weeks, into 1995. 1997 brought another album, a collaboration with God's Property, aptly named God's Property from Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation.

The single, "Stomp", featuring Cheryl "Salt" James (of Salt-N-Pepa), was a huge hit, enjoying heavy rotation on MTV and other music channels, charting at #1 on the R&B Singles Airplay chart for 2 weeks, and even making it in to the Top 40. God's Property from Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation was #1 on the R&B Albums chart for 5 weeks, #3 on the Pop charts, and would go on to be certified 3x platinum. It also brought Franklin another Grammy and three nominations.

Kirk Franklin's 10th album, The Fight of My Life, was released in the United States on December 18, 2007. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at #33 with 74,000 copies sold in the first week. It reached #1 on the Top Gospel and Top Christian albums charts and #7 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart.

The first single, "Declaration (This is It)," was released on October 23, 2007 and reached #53 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart. The album features guest appearances from Rance Allen, Isaac Carree, tobyMac, Da' T.R.U.T.H., Doug Williams, and Melvin Williams.

(Last edited by breebree45)