By J. MATTHEW COBB
Editor-At-Large, PRAYZEHYMNOnline.com
Photo above courtesy of GospelFab/FlickR
Posted: February 5, 2009
ALREADY IN ITS EIGHT YEAR, BET's Celebration of Gospel continues to run gospel music lovers to the tube to see and witness today's music artists in gospel and other mainstream genres express their faith in song. It comes with a riveting package; sealed with glossy visuals, power-packed entertainment and a warm monologue from its original host Steve Harvey.
A common truth, individuals like me - raised on ol' skool - don't get much satisfaction in seeing Kirk Franklin gyrating his goods and pop-locking on stage like Chris Brown, but that's the kind of entertainment that BET is trying to promote on this two-hour spectacular of live performances. And then there's the big mix of traditional and urban. Normally there’s barely enough contemporary gospel or good traditional music - it's usually all the way left or all the way right. Mainstream acts usually perform a classic gospel standard or an arrangement of a hymn, while gospel stars jump into what's brand-spankin’ new off of their recently-released albums. In the end, the final product ends up looking like an edited-down version of a glitzy urban award show.
In former years, gospel lovers have argued about the sensation-driven marketing of mainstream pop and R&B acts making guest appearances on the show. But usually, their performances become the talk of the town and are usually the drawing cards for ratings. And make no mistake about it - besides Monica almost tripping on the floor on the very first version of COG - the mainstream acts usually deliver. Artists like John Legend and Patti LaBelle, from 2008's airing, remain definite classics in the history of BET’s lone gospel extravaganza.
Right now, the blogs and message boards are lighting up about 2009's edition and are quickly downgrading it from previous shows. But what do the critics have to say about the whole matter. Did it fair well this year with the other annual celebrations? Who was the shining star in the bunch and who deserved to go AWOL? Grading an event of this magnitude surely needs to be broken down in sections. So let's pull out the report card and check out who and what made the grade.
21:03: B-
Can somebody tell the gospel labels that boy groups have faded out years ago. Sure, they will reemerge again, but now B2K and N'SYNC are putting a red light on any future aspirations. Still, 21:03 entertained on a rambunctious version of “You.” The dance movements, while filled with lots of jumps and skips, were all skillfully executed. Even a half-split got thrown into the mix. But towards the closing, the group’s vocals faded into the depths of weariness (caused from all that trampoline jumpin’ - now you know why Usher, Omarion and Chris Brown lip syncs half of their performances). The vocals got even troublesome and so did their energy. You almost felt sorry for them at the end...all that stagework and so tired and sweaty. For the first half, the performance was met with mainstream appeal. The last half pretty much killed the prospects of a great finish.
HEATHER HEADLEY & SMOKIE NORFUL: A
“Jesus Is Love,” the lovely R&B/gospel 1980 hit from the Commodores, is an excellent choice on R&B vocal talent Heather Headley. But the song packs in a bigger punch with its featured duet with Smokie Norful. So that’s double the punch. Yes, Headley is much shorter than Norful, but both equally packed in belting drives and executed brilliant ad-lib trade-offs. But it was when Headley and Norful joined forces to present impressive bands of long legato harmonies that mesmerized the audience the most. It’s not a big surprise to those in the know to see how easy it was for Headley to transition from pop-like R&B into gospel ballads. She’s a glorious talent that moves with grace and beauty when in action. Probably one of the better highlights of the night.
L.L. COOL J FEATURING MARY MARY: C+
With Mary Mary taking on background duties, the cool rap legend and still-relevant LL Cool J steps out to the front with his inspirational head-banger “We’re Gonna Make It.” The song first appeared on Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion soundtrack back in 2006. Two years later, the song reemerges in its first ever live performance. Looking at the whole performance from beginning to end, you wonder how uncomfortable things really were at the moment. This is a first for L.L. to rock the mic in front of a crowd full of church folk and it was definitely strange to see Mary Mary only spit out ad-libs on a tough hip-hop anthem. And at times, their vocals seemed more like shrieks and wails. But the toughest flaw of the performance is how quickly the crowd went from immediate shock to a more motionless, fragile posture. James had to even pump up the crowd a couple of times and remind them, in an awkward way, that he had been to church a couple times. Towards the middle of the song, the lyrics got deeper and several points got across. He even warmed up the crowd to his celebrity by saying, “A little Christian hip-hop ain’t hurt nobody.” Probably the coolest star on this year's episode - but it's far from being memorable.
HEZEKIAH WALKER: B-
Maybe there were too many uptempo songs on board, but why did Hezekiah Walker choose to perform what felt like leftovers of “I Need You to Survive.” Walker is a choirmaster and one of East Coast's funk contributors, but he favored a simple ballad like “God Favored Me” instead. Immediately any sign of great expectations were diminished. Walker didn’t sing a note and instead opted to talk out the sung words from the imbalanced-amped choir. On the faces of the audience, you can tell they were generally pleased, especially when Marvin Sapp and DJ Rogers joined on stage. You could feel the ministry behind the warm message. Still with all the grand emotion, hollering and surprises, it’s still a more interesting version that what’s available on the album.
DONNIE McCLURKLIN: B+
A debut. “Wait On the Lord” is expected to drop on his upcoming album. So everyone is just listening and waiting to see what happens. Less reaction to be expected since no one has heard the song. The song is pretty and quite effective - filled with all the elements of a junior-sized version of a “Stand.” Karen Clark-Sheard delivers a captivating duet and even shows off with her jazzy exercise runs and preachy ad-libs; almost stealing the show away from songwriter/performer Donnie McClurkin. McClurkin returned on “Trusting In You Lord;” another new track. By this time, the show felt like a cheap way to debut unreleased singles. But McClurkin comes out with a big gospel drive on the funk-influenced and horn-punctuated groove. Must say that the band and choir was more polished here than on most of the show’s performances. It almost took you back to the kind of performances showcased on early Celebrations of Gospel.
MARY MARY: B
Probably refreshed after their appearance with L.L. Cool J, the powerhouse duo refreshen listeners with their club-friendly and chart-topping “Get Up.” Much of the instrumentation here was skillfully executed. Big beats, driving horns and synth magic was definitely in play - but the song was cut short to bring on another song, the reverent vibes of “I Worship You.” Even though the ballad isn’t a bad presentation at all, the intensity and spunk of the first performance is surely quenched and hurts the overall delivery of Mary Mary’s performance.
KURT CARR WITH THE KURT CARR SINGERS: D
“Right Time, Right Place” isn’t a bad song, but here it’s definitely not the best live performance to experience. It’s filled with everyone taking turns on overdone, screechy ad-libs and a poor balance of harmonies. That’s what happens when you sing songs that are designed for choirs and are too big for small ensembles. And why is it each singer had to do a solo ad-lib? Praise dancers dressed in Sunday morning outfits that could only be worn in The Color Purple stage play didn’t help much. It just felt overcooked, over-sensationalized and way over the top. You can tell the audience (especially the look on the face of TV host Judge Mathis) didn’t really know what to do with this one.
BOBBY JONES, NSC and 21:03: D+
It’s not a wise idea to take something great and turn it into something mediocre. The imaginative concepts of J. Moss and his 21:03 camp took out all the disco-tinged elements of the infectious Keith Pringle hit “Call Him Up” and juiced it up with sassy horns and forgettable hip-hop vibes. There’s a few elements of gospel here - but it doesn't feel old enough for Ambassador Bobby Jones. We are still wondering why they are trying to make a 60-year old vet appealing to teeney-bobbers.
TEENA MARIE: C+
First, let’s tell the story. With a career dug into the drenches of sweaty funk by funk legend and protege’ Rick James, Teena Marie is probably the only white artist alive that has ever fooled black audiences into thinking she was black. She has all the big, robust vocals and definitely the right strain of vibrato to execute any R&B song. So it wouldn’t be such a problem to hear her execute a hymn such as “His Eye Is On the Sparrow.” The lady has proven on mighty soul cuts like “Fire and Desire” and “Ohh Wee” that she’s well capable to deliver on a simple church hymn. But the simpleness of the hymn arrangement just doesn’t match her kind of electricity. And with a weaker control of the vibrato on long, sustained notes and a strong history of working up uptempo funk grooves like “I Need Your Lovin’,” “Behind the Groove” and “Lovergirl,” she seems a bit out of place on this presentation. Still in all honesty, she still can throw down on the high notes, the signature note climbs and her signature vocal affectations. But in most places, Marie was out of touch on the notes and the vibrato was way too much for a ballad like this.
KIRK FRANKLIN, RANCE ALLEN, ISAAC CARREE AND LOWELL PYE: B
“Little Boy” is more of a diary lyric than a serious radio single. Franklin works up the song with his rap and the gents of Men of Standard add their adrenaline to the rush, but the fire starts when soulman Rance Allen takes you back to the sweaty soul of the Stax era. The hip-hop-influenced groove does merge with big band vibes, so the Cotton Club stage set-up behind them worked perfectly with this kind of a performance. Beautiful to see the hyperactive superstar pay homage to Allen; a legend that has literally paved the way for many a urban contemporary gospel artist like Franklin.
PASTOR SHIRLEY CAESAR: B+
“Cornerstone,” featuring a duet with Dorothy Glass, builds on the traditions of Shirley Caesar’s legendary arsenal of churchy music. She still delivers a moving and engaging performance, even for a song that most don’t recall. It may not have been a familiar tune to the ears but it’s just perfect for the still-energetic and well-beloved Pastor Shirley Caesar. She probably could have carried the weight of the show by herself.
VICKIE WINANS: B-
She definitely wins with the best wardrobe of the evening: sporting a black coat, white-ruffled blouse, and some sparkling earrings. Her performance, something we should always expect, was full of animation and leaned more on being comedic than serious. On a touching ballad like “The Rainbow,” the big Mickey Mouse smiles and the Mariah Carey-esque shaky hand movements are not really necessary.
MUYIWA AND RIVERSONGZ: B
Mixing African grooves and Native American chants with Israel Houghton hype, Muyiwa & Riversongz makes their U.S. debut on BET’s annual celebration. But in all of the African dialect you can also understand that the group is based in London. “Hey Ya” isn’t all bad - it might not be familiar to listeners but the performance features incredible instrumentation, well-executed harmonies and a different cultural twist to American contemporary gospel.
TRIN-I-TEE 5:7: D-
These girls are getting way to old for this. Vocally, the three suffered in delivering the big harmonies for a track that feels like a Beyonce’ leftover. Sadly we failed to really recall what they were singing since all of their volume levels was turned to an extreme low on the chorus. Plus their wardrobes were borderline skimpy or cheap. The energy of the crowd almost compares to a bad night at the Showtime at the Apollo. Even with the cool musical band work, this probably marks Trin-i-tee 5:7's worst live performance to date.
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