Gossip Leak: Tye Tribbett and Da' T.R.U.T.H.

Got to call it what it is. It's gossip. But as they always say, there's always some truth in the tale.

Twitter posts and unauthorized gospel blogs went haywire this week concerning the moral discrepancies and recent fall outs concerning urban gospel/hip-hop rapper Da' T.R.U.T.H. and gospel star Tye Tribbett.

Both are now the subject of marital infidelity and moral indiscretion. For Da' T.R.U.T.H., the rapper publicly posted via his web site a letter to his fans that he will be taking a sabbatical from the music ministry and is need of time to heal for his wife and family.

But even more puzzling revelations are surfacing concerning a soap opera-tinged love triangle. According to gospel blog Da Gospel Truth, "Tye cheated on his wife with a choir member who was his good friend’s baby’s mother. Da’ T.R.U.T.H., Tye’s mentee, cheated with Tye’s wife."

According to reliable resources, Tye Tribbett nor his publicist will comment about the new revelations or his moral crisis.

In May, former label mate Ambassador was released from his record label, Cross Movement Records, concerning moral failure pertaining his wife.

After Da' T.R.U.T.H publicly announced his semi-retirement leaked, Cross Movement issued a public statement revealing their decision to drop him from the label. "It is with tremendous sadness and humble disappointment that Cross Movement Records must inform you regarding the suspension of the promotion and forwarding of the artist...Da Truth,...due to recent findings of moral failure in his marriage." stated the letter. "It is the expressed ambition and demonstrated intent of this label to foster Christian leadership that utilizes the platforms of an artist or musician. While obedience to the word of God is the high standard for all who name the name of Christ, for the Christian leader, the standards and the consequences are even greater.

No word has surfaced if Columbia or Sony Urban will decide to drop Tribbett from their roster concerning the newly released allegations.

In closing, for those that want to label this as just another sleazy, downgrading ploy designed by Satan. I leave you with these powerful words: "You shall know Da' T.R.U.T.H. And the truth shall set you free." Amen.

[PREACH THE GOSPEL, SPREAD THE GOSSIP]

Torrence's Take on Da T.R.U.T.H. [The Gospel According to Torrence/BET]

Love Triangle Takes On a Whole New Meaning [Da Gospel Truth]
Da' T.R.U.T.H. Takes Sabbatical for Moral Indiscretion [Gospel Pundit]

Official Web Site [DaTruth.net]

JJ Hairston & YP Rocks the BET Stage

Promoting their upcoming album release Resting On His Promise, JJ Hairston and Youthful Praise worked their "Awesome God" magic on the BET set of Bobby Jones Gospel for their new season in Washington DC. The album, Resting On His Promise, hits stores September 1, 2009.

The cool back-to-school look, a bit synonymous to Tye Tribbett's Stand Out uniforms, looks cool on the choir. By the way, ain't JJ looking more and more like Common.

More photos from the BET set, featuring snaps with Vashawn Mitchell and Bishop Eric McDaniels, are below.

[JJ, YP, ETC.]
Light Records (Official Website)
Pre-order the CD Resting On His Promise (Amazon.com)
Light Announces New CDs from Coko and Youthful Praise (PRAYZE Report)

Mary Mary Makes Big Presence at BET Awards

Besides all eyes being glued to the special dedications in memory of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson on June 28's airing of the BET Awards, gospel music lovers were treated with a special stage performance from gospel duo Mary Mary. The two were recently added to the line-up of performers for the award show held at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. They performed their latest radio hit, "God in Me," which included a cameo appearance from actress and rap diva Queen Latifah who filled in for an absent Kierra Sheard.

The L.A. Times covered the events' performances and had this to say about Mary Mary's performance:

Mary Mary: “God in Me.”Foxx introduces Mary Mary as “the new Queens of Gospel,” but they sound an awful lot like standard run-of-the-mill queens of R&B. With a skittering electronic beat, it’s mid-tempo R&B with a smattering of hip-hop. A midpoint appearance from Queen Latifah picks things up, but not by much. C

Mary Mary also took home the BET Best Gospel Artist award. The nominees in that category included Regina Belle, Shirley Caesar, Smokie Norful and Trin-i-tee 5:7.

106 & Gospel Cancelled

We kind of saw it coming.

Originally hearld as cable's answer to reaching the hip-hop community with gospel, BET officially announced their decision to cancel 106 & Gospel; sighting poor ratings to be the show's determining fate.

According to Black Voices guru Jawn Murray, the show was nixed from BET's lineup due to its horrific airtime on Sunday at 12 noon - a time when most of their target audience were likely to be at church.

The show, which featured hosts Angel Taylor (Trin-i-tee 5:7) and Jor'el Quinn (21:03) and guest appearances from Tye Tribbett and Kierra Sheard, became gospel music's golden token in helping reach the hip-hop community and newer audiences when it was announced to be the spin-off of the urban-focused, video countdown show 106 & PARK; which airs on weekdays and is still hearld as BET's #1 show in ratings (according to Wikipedia at current press time).

EJ Gaines, of popular gospel blog Gospel Pundit, began an online protest over the outrage of the show's cancellation by posting a petition to keep the show alive. After securing more than 1,600 signatures, BET released an official press statement from executive vice-president Stephen Hill in response to the grassroots campaign. The statement mentioned they "will continue to create new and exciting shows to entertain our audience. However, at times we must also face the hard task of making tough programming decisions, as in the case of 106 & GOSPEL, which was recently cancelled."

To see the 106 & GOSPEL online petition, click here.

[106 & NIX]

BET'S 106 & GOSPEL Cancelled [EURweb.com]

BET Bids Bye-Bye to '106 & Park' Spin-off [AOL Black Voices]

BET's Response to the Petition to Save 106 & Gospel [GospelPundit.com]

Save 106 & Gospel [PetitionSpot.com]

Sunday Best Finalists Make Official Debut

If you are a fan of Sunday Best (BET's version of American Idol), you may finally be relieved to know that Zomba Gospel has officially released albums of the finalist and runner-up. But there's more to the story - both projects dropped on music shelves on the same week.

Crystal Aikin, the crowned winner from the state of Washington, uncovers her self-titled project containing ten tracks layered with production from Kirk Franklin, PAJAM, Asaph A. Ward and Dre & Vidal. Though she confesses that the album contains something for everybody according to a December press release, the bulk of the project aims to reach the urban contemporary audience.

Chicago native Shari Addison, who cites her musical influences to be Shirley Caesar, Luther Vandross and Patti LaBelle, gives up a more traditional approach to her album and by staying transparent of the soulful personality she exerted while on the show. She was the runner-up, but it seems like she's getting more attention from radio and also from the press with her debut.

ChristianityToday.com gave Addison's new album a four (out of 5) star rating, while Aikin's album trailed behind with three stars. Her selected single, "No Battle, No Blessing," opened up in 2009 as the number one song added at R&R. GRAMMY-award winning producer Kevin Bond, whom worked on the lead single, is joined alongside other producers including Percy Bady, Donald Lawrence and Daniel Witherspoon.

Even though this is not a super battle like what we have come to expect from big shows like American Idol (remember Ruben and Clay or Justin and Kelly), Zomba is doing a good job in pitching a Holy Ghost duel between the two - with both albums being released on the same date. This is far from being declared a competitive war. But there's enough invested in the Sunday Best brand to determine if it will return to the airwaves after their newest season kicks off. In regards to Aikin and Addison, we just have to watch and wait to see what the final numbers will be next week to determine who come out on top. For Zomba and BET's sake, the battle is far from over.

[SHARI VS. CRYSTAL]

New music from Crystal Aikin [EURweb.com]

Shari Addison releases new music [EURweb.com]

Review: Crystal Aikin [ChristianityToday.com]

Review: Shari Addison [ChristianityToday.com]