WWNO skyline header graphic
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Local Newscast
Hear the latest from the WWNO/WRKF Newsroom.

Support local, independent journalism on WWNO with your Member Fest gift now! Click the donate button or Call 844-790-1094.

‘Losing My Religion’ With Gospel Star Kirk Franklin

Chance the Rapper, from left, Kirk Franklin, and Tamela Mann perform at the 59th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
Chance the Rapper, from left, Kirk Franklin, and Tamela Mann perform at the 59th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

Gospel star Kirk Franklin took home two Grammys. Played with Chance the Rapper. Plays with Kanye. He’s with us.

Gospel music can sound like the rock of ages. Old, grand, beloved, familiar. Unless it’s the gospel music of new gospel great Kirk Franklin. He’s won 12 Grammys taking gospel to new places. He won his two latest Sunday night. Was at the Grammys performing with Chance the Rapper.  His latest album is “Losing my Religion,” a funny title for a gospel man. But he’s serious. This hour On Point, gospel Grammy giant Kirk Franklin — Tom Ashbrook

Guest

Kirk Franklin, 12-time Grammy-award winning Gospel musician. His most recent album is “Losing My Religion,” which won a Grammy for Best Gospel album. (@kirkfranklin)

From Tom’s Reading List

New Yorker: How Kirk Franklin Is Pushing The Boundaries of Gospel — “In Fort Worth, Franklin spoke of the constraints he feels as a gospel artist. ‘If I’m writing and doing music celebrating the Creator, who is the most creative being in the world—I mean when you look at nature and when you look at all of the beautiful created things—why should I be limited in expressing myself? He’s creative, so why shouldn’t my music be creative, too? But everyone in my community, and especially the consumers, they don’t see it that way.'”

NPR Music: Gospel Star Kirk Franklin Wants To Help You Lose Your Religion — “My job on Earth, the reason why Kirk is created, is to make God famous. I just want God to be well-known. And I think it’s created a dialogue — I think it’s opened up conversation, and people have started to talk about what religion is to them.”

MTV News: The Gospel According To Kirk Franklin — “Performing on the 20 Years tour, Franklin evades strict categorization. He is a motivational speaker, urging people to ‘find their own way’ if conventional religion isn’t working. He is a comedian, ragging on the teen version of himself, when he had “messed-up teeth and a Jheri curl. Predominantly, Franklin is a consumed hype man, shooting ad-libs while his singers carry his set; he himself sings rarely. He interpolates Tyga’s ‘Rack City’ and Kendrick’s ‘Alright’ into his set.”

Playlist

“123 Victory”

“Road Trip”

“How Great / All We Got” (w/ Chance the Rapper, Live at the Grammys)

“It’s Time”

“123 Victory” (Remix, ft. Pharrell Williams)

“Wanna Be Happy”

“Stomp”

“Losing My Religion”

“Let It Go”

“Pray For Me”

“True Story”

“Over”

“Ultralight Beam” (by Kanye West, feat. Kirk Franklin)

“My World Needs You”

“No Sleep Tonight”

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

👋 Looks like you could use more news. Sign up for our newsletters.

* indicates required
New Orleans Public Radio News
New Orleans Public Radio Info