Kirk Franklin
| Kirk Franklin | |
|---|---|
Franklin and wife Tammy in 2006
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kirk Dewayne Franklin |
| Born |
January 26, 1970 Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | Christian hip hop, contemporary gospel |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, record producer, choir director |
| Instruments | Piano, vocals |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Labels | Zomba, GospoCentric, Sparrow, Interscope, J, RCA, Fo Yo Soul |
| Associated acts | The Family, God's Property, 1NC, Kanye West |
| Website | kirkfranklin |
Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American gospel musician, choir director, and author. He is known for leading urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God's Property and One Nation Crew (1NC), and has won multiple awards, including eight Grammy Awards.
A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Franklin was raised by his aunt, Gertrude, having been abandoned as a baby by his mother. Gertrude collected and resold aluminum cans to raise money for Kirk to take piano lessons from the age of four. Kirk excelled in music, being able to read and write music, while also playing by ear.
He received his first contract offer at the age of seven, which his aunt turned down. He joined the church choir and became music director of the Mt. Rose Baptist Church adult choir at the age of twelve.
Despite his strict religious upbringing, Franklin rebelled in his teenage years, and in an attempt to keep him out of trouble, his grandmother arranged an audition for him at a professional youth conservatory associated with a local university. He was accepted and later there was an announcement of a girlfriend's pregnancy and then he was eventually expelled from school for behavioral problems.
Kirk Franklin studied music with Jewell Kelly and the Singing Chaparrals at Oscar Dean Wyatt High School. He was under her tutelage for music direction as she allowed him to be the pianist for the choir.
After the shooting death of a friend, Franklin returned to the church, where he began to direct the choir once again. He also co-founded a gospel group, The Humble Hearts, which recorded one of Franklin's compositions and got the attention of gospel music legend Milton Biggham. Impressed, Biggham enlisted him to lead the DFW Mass Choir in a recording of Franklin's song "Every Day with Jesus." This led to Biggham hiring Franklin, just 20 years old at the time, to lead the choir at the 1990 Gospel Music Workshop of America Convention, a major industry gathering.
In 1992, Franklin organized "The Family", which was a seventeen-voice choir, formed from neighborhood friends and associates. In 1992, Vicki Mack-Lataillade, the co-founder of fledgling record label GospoCentric, heard one of their demo tapes and was so impressed she immediately signed up Kirk & The Family to a recording contract.
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