Kirk Franklin | |
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.jpg) Franklin in 2017 | |
| Born | Kirk Dewayne Smith (1970-01-26)January 26, 1970 (age 56) Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | O. D. Wyatt High School |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Awards | Full list |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
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| Works | Kirk Franklin discography |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | |
| Website | kirkfranklin |
Musical artist | |
Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970)[2] is an American gospel musician, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Franklin's accolades include 20Grammy Awards.Variety has called Franklin a "Reigning King of Urban Gospel",[3] and Franklin is one of the inaugural inductees into theBlack Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame. Franklin has also been associated with The Family,God's Property, andOne Nation Crew (1NC).
A native ofFort Worth, Texas, Franklin was raised by his aunt, Gertrude, having been abandoned as a baby by his mother.[4] Gertrude recycled aluminum cans to raise money for Kirk to take piano lessons from the age of 4. Kirk excelled and was able to read and write music while alsoplaying by ear.[citation needed]
At the age of 7, Franklin received his first contract which his aunt turned down.[5] He did join the church choir and became music director of the Mt. RoseBaptist Church adult choir at 11 years of age.[6]
In his teenage years, Franklin rebelled against his strict religious upbringing, 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, but later he had to deal with a girlfriend's pregnancy and his eventual expulsion from school for bad behavior.[7]
Franklin studied music with Jewell Kelly and the Singing Chaparrals atOscar Dean Wyatt High School. He continued under her tutelage and ultimately became the pianist for the choir.[7]
When he was aged 15 he witnessed the death of a friend by shooting,[8][9] after which Franklin returned to the church, where he again directed the choir. 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, musical director of theGeorgia Mass Choir. 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 1990Gospel Music Workshop of America Convention, an industry gathering.[5]
In 1992, after the period of working with established choirs, Franklin sought to establish "The Family," which featured 15 to 17 in thechoir, formed from neighborhood friends and associates.[8] The same year, Vicki Mack-Lataillade, the co-founder of fledglingGospoCentric Records label, heard one of their demo tapes and was so impressed she immediately signed up Kirk & The Family to a recording contract.[10]
In 1993, the group, now known as "Kirk Franklin & The Family", released their debut album,Kirk Franklin & The Family.[11] It spent almost two years on the gospel music charts and charted on the R&B charts, eventually earning platinum sales status. It remained at No. 1 on theBillboard Top Gospel Albums chart for 42 weeks. It was only the third gospel music album to sell over a million units after Aretha Franklin'sAmazing Grace and BeBe & CeCe Winans'Addictive Love.[citation needed]
In May 1994, new material was recorded "live." Nearly two full years later, after releasing a 1995 Christmas album entitledKirk Franklin & the Family Christmas in late 1995, the delayedWhatcha Lookin' 4 in was released in April 1996, which was certified platinum and earned Franklin his firstGrammy Award forBest Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.
In 1996, Franklin's song "Joy" was recorded byWhitney Houston and theGeorgia Mass Choir. With production by Houston and Mervyn Warren, the composition was included on the best-selling gospel album of all time, soundtrack toThe Preacher's Wife.
GospoCentric's new sub-label, B'Rite, in partnership withInterscope Records brought another album. Released in 1997, is the collaboration with the choirGod's Property, aptly namedGod's Property from Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation. The lead single, "Stomp", featuringCheryl "Salt" James (ofSalt-N-Pepa), was a crossover hit, enjoying heavy rotation onMTV and other music channels and charting at No. 1 on the R&B Singles Airplay chart for two weeks, even making it into theTop 40.God's Property from Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation was No. 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for five weeks, No. 3 on theBillboard 200, and would go on to be certified 3× platinum by theRIAA. It also brought Franklin another Grammy for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album, as well as three Grammy nominations.
The Nu Nation Project was released in 1998.[12] The first single, "Lean on Me", produced by Franklin and pop producerDan Shea, featured several mainstream artists, includingR. Kelly,Mary J. Blige andBono ofU2 together withCrystal Lewis and The Family. "Lean on Me" and the second single "Revolution" (featuringRodney Jerkins) were considerable hits, and the album contained a version of a Bill Withers song "Gonna Be a Lovely Day".The Nu Nation Project went on to top theBillboard Contemporary Christian Albums chart for 23 weeks and theBillboard Gospel Albums chart for 49 weeks and brought Franklin his third Grammy.
Also in 1998, Franklin had made a guest appearance on the hit television sitcomSister, Sister.[citation needed]
On November 2, 1998, God's Property sued Franklin. The lawsuit, filed in Los AngelesSuperior Court, alleges that Franklin induced God's Property founder Linda Searight into signing an "onerous and one-sided" contract withB-Rite Music.[citation needed]
In 1999, Kirk Franklin disbanded the Family, after the acclaimed, The Nu Nation Tour. He would shortly record,Kirk Franklin presents 1NC, which would be released in August 2000. The titular ensemble, is theOne Nation Crew, in the form of acronym.
Also in 2000, a select amount of The Family filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit for royalties for their work onThe Nu Nation Project against Franklin and GospoCentric Records.[9] The 1NC album was recorded prior to the lawsuit.
On January 16, 2010, at the 25th AnnualStellar Awards show taping inNashville, Tennessee, Kirk Franklin & The Family reunited briefly on stage to perform songs made popular by them in the 1990s.[citation needed] Both The Family and God's Property, would reunite in 2023 for The Reunion Tour, which also featured The Clark Sisters, Tye Tribbett, and Israel Houghton. The two choirs would also record a video for Silver and Gold during that same time.
In 2001, the soundtrackKingdom Come was released after periods of production. The soundtrack featured gospel artists includingMary Mary,Trin-i-tee 5:7,Crystal Lewis alongside 1NC, as well as mainstream artistsAz Yet,Jill Scott,Tamar Braxton,Shawn Stockman ofBoyz II Men and others.
In June 2000, a live recording of new material was done atLakewood Church, and after over a year of production,The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin was released in February 2002. It topped the Gospel Albums chart for 29 weeks, was No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certified Platinum. The album featured collaborations withBishop T.D. Jakes,Shirley Caesar,Willie Neal Johnson,TobyMac, Crystal Lewis,Jaci Velasquez,Papa San,Alvin Slaughter, andYolanda Adams. One Nation Crew, alongside several additional singers, done background for this record.
In 2004, Franklin launched a new label called Fo Yo Soul Entertainment and had signed a new distribution deal withZomba Label Group.[13][14]
On October 4, 2005,Hero was released in the United States. The album was certified Gold on December 2, 2005 (2005-12-02), and Platinum on December 14, 2006 (2006-12-14), by theRecording Industry Association of America.[15] It reached No. 1 on both theBillboard Top Christian and Top Gospel albums. The first single, "Looking for You", was a hit, as was the follow-up "Imagine Me", which made it onto the R&B charts. At the2007 Grammy Awards, Franklin won two Grammys forHero. Additionally,Hero was the 2007Stellar Awards CD of the Year.[16]
Franklin's 10th album,The Fight Of My Life, was released in the United States on December 18, 2007 (2007-12-18). The album debuted on theBillboard 200 at No. 33 with 74,000 copies sold in the first week.[17] It reached No. 1 on both theBillboard Top Gospel and Top Christian albums charts, and also peaked at No. 7 on theBillboardTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart.[18][19] The first single, "Declaration (This is It)," was released on October 23, 2007 (2007-10-23), and peaked at No. 35 on theBillboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart.[19] The album features guest appearances fromRance Allen, Isaac Carree, TobyMac,Da' T.R.U.T.H., Doug Williams (singer) and Melvin Williams (singer). The song "Jesus" was released as the album's second single in 2008 and was sent to Urban AC radio on July 15, 2008. In January 2010, after Haiti had a devastating earthquake, Franklin got an ensemble of gospel artists together to sing the song he wrote, called "Are You Listening". They includedYolanda Adams,Jeremy Camp,Shirley Caesar,Dorinda Clark-Cole,Natalie Grant,Fred Hammond,Tamela Mann,David Mann, Mary Mary,Donnie McClurkin,Bishop Paul S. Morton,J. Moss,Smokie Norful,Marvin Sapp,Karen Clark-Sheard,Kierra Sheard,BeBe Winans,CeCe Winans, andMarvin Winans.[citation needed]
In 2005, Franklin appeared with his wife onThe Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss how he ended hispornography addiction.[20] In 2010, he publishedThe Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life's Storms, a book in which he recounts the family difficulties experienced during his childhood, and how he got out of a sexually active life and an addiction to pornography.[21]
Franklin served as the host and co-executive producer of theBET original seriesSunday Best and the musical co-host ofGSN'sThe American Bible Challenge withJeff Foxworthy.[22] Franklin's 11th release titledHello Fear, was released on March 22, 2011.[23] The album featuresMarvin Sapp,Mali Music,Marvin Winans,John P. Kee, andRance Allen. The first single, "I Smile", peaked at No. 85 on theBillboard Hot 100, making it his first appearance on that chart in 6 years.[citation needed]
In 2013, Franklin began signing artists onto his label, Fo Yo Soul Recordings, which became an imprint withRCA Records, and he has signed acts such asThe Walls Group and artists likeTasha Page-Lockhart.[24] These two artists received tenStellar Award nominations at the 30th Stellar Awards.[24] The Walls Group won 7 awards, while Page-Lockhart won three of her own, and Franklin won two more for his label.[24]
In September 2015, Franklin announced his 12th studio album,Losing My Religion, which was released on November 13, 2015. The first single off the album, "Wanna Be Happy?", was released on August 28, 2015.[25][26][27]It was at this point that Vinson Cunningham referred to him as ahype man when writing forthe New Yorker.[28]
Franklin contributed toTori Kelly'sHiding Place album, released September 14, 2018. They had intended to collaborate on one song, but it turned into a larger project.[29]
On January 25, 2019, Franklin released his single "Love Theory" and official music video for the song. "Love Theory" served the first single from his 13th studio album,Long Live Love.[30][31] Franklin released his second single, "Just for Me", in April 2019.[citation needed] His third single, "OK", was released in May 2019.[citation needed]Long Live Love was released on May 31.[citation needed]
In February 2019, it was announced that BET's gospel music reality competition,Sunday Best would return from a 4-year hiatus. Franklin will reprise his role as host.[32]
AfterTrinity Broadcasting Network aired the 2019GMA Dove Awards on October 20, 2019, Franklin commented that his acceptance speech was edited to remove comments he made in relation to thekilling of Atatiana Jefferson by a police officer. He stated that he was boycotting the award show going forward as it was not the first time they had edited his acceptance speech to remove "reflections on police violence against Black Americans". GMA president, Jackie Patillo, apologized to Franklin and GMA made an unedited version of the speech available but stated that it was an unintentional action and that they were attempting to reduce the running time to meet a 2-hour time-slot. Several other artists supported Franklin's boycott.[33][34]
In 2021, he was among the inaugural inductees into theBlack Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.[35]
On May 21, 2021, Franklin and American rapperLil Baby released the song "We Win" for thesoundtrack to the 2021 filmSpace Jam: A New Legacy.[36]
On October 14, 2023, Franklin released his 13th studio album,Father's Day.
On December 17, 2025, it was announced that Franklin would receive the Black Music Icon award at the fourth annual Recording Academy Honours on January 29, 2026, presented byThe Recording Academy's Black Collective. The event takes place during the week of68th Annual Grammy Awards.[37][38]
On January 20, 1996, Franklin married long-time friend Tammy Collins.[5] When they wed, they each had one child from previous relationships. As a couple, they have two children together.
In November 1996, Franklin had a near death experience after accidentally falling from a stage into an orchestra pit during a concert inMemphis, he suffered a head injury which left him in critical condition; he eventually made a full recovery.[39][40][41][42]
In March 2021, Franklin's oldest son, Kerrion, released an audio recording of a private conversation between him and his father in which both can be heard using profanities. Franklin subsequently apologized to his fans and followers.[43]
In 2023, Franklin met his biological father Richard Hubbard for the first time and reconciled with his son Kerrion in his documentary filmFather's Day: A Kirk Franklin Story.[44]
Franklin has openly discussed how his faith axed his formerpornography addiction, which began when he was 8 years old and continued for over a decade.[45]
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Something to Sing About | Charles | TV Movie |
| 2012 | Joyful Noise | Baylor Sykes | |
| 2021 | Kirk Franklin's A Gospel Christmas | Himself | TV Movie |
| 2022 | The Night Before Christmas | Himself | |
| 2023 | Father's Day: A Kirk Franklin Story | Himself | Documentary |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | The 700 Club | Himself/musical guest | |
| 1997 | Late Show with David Letterman | Musical guest | |
| 1998 | All That | Musical guest | |
| The Kirk Franklin Show | Himself | Pilot episode | |
| Sister, Sister | James Henry | ||
| The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | Musical guest | ||
| 2003 | The Proud Family | Reverend Haygood (voice) | |
| The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | Musical guest | ||
| 2004 | Musical guest | ||
| The 700 Club | Himself/special guest | ||
| 2005 | The Oprah Winfrey Show | Himself/special guest | |
| 2016 | Steve Harvey | Himself/special guest | |
| 2019 | Steve | Himself/special guest | |
| 2022 | Kingdom Business | Deacon D'Wayne | |
| 2023 | Tamron Hall | Himself/special guest | |
| 2025 | Churchy | Freight Train | TV Series - Guest Star |
Franklin has received 20Grammy Awards[46] and 22GMA Dove Awards.[47] He has also receivedBET Awards,Soul Train Music Awards andStellar Awards.
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| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
