The Giants Are Coming!

GospoCentric/Zomba recording artist Kurt Carr at 2004's Stellar Awards.

Technically, spring is usually the season of growth and expectancy. These are just some of those "signs and wonders" that point us to that glorious fact.

• We celebrate Jesus' resurrection during Lent season.
• FOX's American Idol rules the airwaves this time of year.
• March Madness begins a fast-paced journey for anxious college basketball athletes while many of them fix their pupils on the NBA for their "hoop dreams".
• The lawn gardeners returns to their roots and begins beautifying their front yard's landscape while our vehicles are sprayed with strong dosages of yellow pollen.
  

But you may want to beware of the most obvious point of them all. Music companies put out their best, or should I say, their "top crop" during this period. But let it be said that everything that looks good ain't always good (that's what Mama always say).

Take mama's advice.

GospoCentric and Verity Records, the big meatballs in the Gospel music industry, has unleashed a heavy load of projects in the last few weeks that are intended to satisfy your gospel tastebuds until the end of the year, or at least 'til the next batch of Stellar and Grammy Awards are given out. With new material from Kurt Carr and Donnie McClurkin leading the pack from GospoCentric/Zomba/Verity (and so on), and artists including Anointed, LaShun Pace and newcomer Micah Stampley trailing behind, there is no way to escape the hard-hitting album releases for this quarter. They are everywhere. And that's not all...John P. Kee just released a children's project a few weeks ago and now Verity drops a second project from the Prince of Gospel debuting newcomers packaged as being "John P. Kee presents The New Artist Showcase". That's two albums out already...and we haven't even see the middle of the year 2005!

But don't be shocked. Television has its revival session in the fall, while the music industry celebrates their newborns in the spring.

But with all of this said...most of the stuff from the "giants" (as I like to refer them as being) are not always big. Much of the projects are packaged mighty rapidly and are released too soon - meaning some of these big boys need to stay in the incuberator a little longer. Radio isn't even ready to find real singles for most of these "blockbusters", since it's hard to distinguish which song sticks out the greatest. Problems have already generated regarding EMI's LaShun Pace long-awaited album...and barely one song from John P. Kee's projects get a nod on radio and with the public. And even though Donnie McClurkin experienced a breakthrough with his double-cd project, reaching #1 on the Billboard Gospel charts, it was suddenly knocked down by Kurt Carr's single CD project ("One Church") the week after. That may be a success for GospoCentric/Verity on one hand, but it's like the humongus superpower is competition with itself.

By the way, both projects from McClurkin and Carr, according to most valuable and reliable sources, seem to be insipidly mediocre; in comparison to their previous recordings.

The giants are coming...but they are no problem for David.
All he need is a sling-shot and a rock.
That's why I love independents.