EEW Magazine Online // Gospel

Music collective Maverick City Music and Kirk Franklin – both Grammy winners – are centering their focus on the injustices around mass incarceration by amplifying the voices of 1,300 inmates at Everglades Correctional Facility in Florida.

Maverick City Music’s newest single “Bless Me,” from their collaborative album Kingdom Book 1, highlights the bounties of life as they already are, requests that God bestow more blessings, and acknowledges the good things you have rather than those you lack.

During a time of economic crisis and socioeconomic disparities in the U.S., the united voices of the choir members, in traditional gospel harmonies, proclaim, “We’ve got everything we need!”

The exuberant track and its message of hope is punctuated by drum lines, snare rolls, and energetic horns which call to mind the image of a football field or a pep rally, drawing a connection between these two spaces of celebration and powerful community. Rapid-fire hi-hat rolls and 808s frame the song with an unmistakably modern punch. More than anything, “Bless Me” evokes the electric, invincible feeling of being surrounded by your people and strengthened by their love.

The release of Kingdom Book 1 is set for Friday, June 17th – a somber day that marks the 7th anniversary of a horrific hate crime at an Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC, a native town of two Mav City members.

In 2015, a white supremacist, Dylann Roof, entered Mother Emanuel AME Church and fired more than 70 shots, killing nine black worshippers gathered for Bible study.

Unifying the world through gospel music is fitting at a time like this.

This year is shaping up to be a big one for the young pioneers of Maverick City Music. The group just won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album and completed a historic televised performance on the show.

They have also taken the music and the movement behind Kingdom Book 1 on the road with their headline ‘Kingdom Tour’ alongside Franklin. The tour kicked off to a sold out FTX Arena on June 1 in Miami, and the extensive, 37-date trek is hitting arenas across the nation through the end of July.

Kingdom Book 1 releases via Tribl Records / Fo Yo Soul Entertainment / RCA Inspiration. “Bless Me” is available now.