Last year, when Kirk Franklin collaborated with Kanye West, many within the faith community were upset.
Unhappy or not, the successful gospel artist is making it known that he doesn’t want to be boxed in creatively.
“If I’m writing and doing music celebrating the Creator, who is the most creative being in the world—I mean when you look at nature and when you look at all of the beautiful created things—why should I be limited in expressing myself?” he said in an interview with The New Yorker in his hometown of Fort Worth, TX.
The 46-year-old CEO of Fo Yo Soul Recordings continued his musings on God, saying, “He’s creative, so why shouldn’t my music be creative, too?”
The multiple GRAMMY® Award-winner who faithfully attends Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas led by Dr. Tony Evans is serious about his devotion to God. Yet, he believes his songs should not focus merely on this aspect of his faith.
“It’s still very much a genre that wants these vertical songs,” Franklin said. “But I want to write about the God that I live with, not just the God that I love. Because the God that I live with sees me having doubts with him, and being afraid of him, and being mad at him, and saying sorry, and making up.”
Unhappy or not, the successful gospel artist is making it known that he doesn’t want to be boxed in creatively.
“If I’m writing and doing music celebrating the Creator, who is the most creative being in the world—I mean when you look at nature and when you look at all of the beautiful created things—why should I be limited in expressing myself?” he said in an interview with The New Yorker in his hometown of Fort Worth, TX.
The 46-year-old CEO of Fo Yo Soul Recordings continued his musings on God, saying, “He’s creative, so why shouldn’t my music be creative, too?”
The multiple GRAMMY® Award-winner who faithfully attends Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas led by Dr. Tony Evans is serious about his devotion to God. Yet, he believes his songs should not focus merely on this aspect of his faith.
“It’s still very much a genre that wants these vertical songs,” Franklin said. “But I want to write about the God that I live with, not just the God that I love. Because the God that I live with sees me having doubts with him, and being afraid of him, and being mad at him, and saying sorry, and making up.”
The platinum-selling songwriter, who has been at the forefront of his industry for two decades, released Losing my Religion in 2015, which challenged some ideas and notions many conservative Christians hold dear.
“I just wanna have deeper conversations that intellectually challenge us, to make sure that we’re growing the right way,” Franklin told The New Yorker interviewer Vinson Cunningham.
“I wanna make sure that we’re not just being cultural Christians, just ’cause we’re black. Or because we’re American. I want to talk about weighty stuff,” he said.
For him, that may mean offending some in the faith, but he thinks it’s worth it.
“I just wanna have deeper conversations that intellectually challenge us, to make sure that we’re growing the right way,” Franklin told The New Yorker interviewer Vinson Cunningham.
“I wanna make sure that we’re not just being cultural Christians, just ’cause we’re black. Or because we’re American. I want to talk about weighty stuff,” he said.
For him, that may mean offending some in the faith, but he thinks it’s worth it.
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