Hello Fear - Kirk Franklin - A Review

This has to be one the best albums that I have heard yet this year. The music was well made, well produced, and well written. This album when I listen to it seems to flow from one song to another and at the end, the sense is one of completion.

      This Kirk Franklin album is a little different from all his previous album. The album begins without an upbeat, foot tapping song or an engaging story, but the beginning song "Hello Fear" has a lot of heart and describes the entire album. Kirk Franklin has shared his experience of his fight against fear. The album reflects on the struggle that many of us go through. Kirk Franklin changed the way we experience gospel music back in the earlier 1990's, when he mixed in the hip hop sounds with gospel music. I was expecting to hear something along those lines of intensely upbeat praise music. I was happily wrong and right, because the upbeat song "Today" that possess what one would expect from Kirk Franklin is on the same album of the lyically reflective song "Everybody Hurts." This album is more reflective and smooth R & B much of the time, but maintains the unique sound that is Kirk Franklin.
      When I first heard this album, I just wanted to share it with everybody that I saw. His song "I Smile" is one of reasons. It is really interesting to me because he describes bad things happen in an upbeat rhythm.  The song that tells us that even when bad things happen, we should still smile because of Jesus's joy in our hearts. I love how almost all the songs describe a silver liner in life that is the joy of Christ Jesus.
       Also on this live recorded album (and by "live" I mean that it was real backup singers and real instruments used), there are other artists featured of Marvin Sapp, Beverly Crawford, Rance Allen, Marvin Winans, John P. Kee, Isaac Carrie, and Mali Music. I love how Kirk Franklin was able to have the gospel legends and the new, talented Mali Music together on the same album. This is a multi-generational reaching type of worshipful album.

           Please enjoy the first single from this album below and I hope that you enjoy the rest of the album as much as I did.